"Serve With a Thankful Heart"

11-8-20 Sermon Notes“Serve With A Thankful Heart”
All month long we will be focusing on having a thankful heart. Last Sunday, All Saints Sunday, we remembered with a thankful heart all the saints who have died since last year. This coming Sunday, we are looking at what it means to serve with a thankful heart. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul expressed his thankfulness for the service of the church – in spite of the persecution they faced. He also gave service to his friends in Thessalonica – in spite of hardships and persecutions. Did these folks complain about all this? No! They considered it a privilege to serve – it was a labor of love.
Here is how Paul puts in the first chapter:
2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9 For the people of those regions[b] report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. (1 Thess. 1: 2-10 NRSV)
We have some wonderful “servers” here at Gadsden First UMC! I am thankful for every one of you. Maybe you are looking for a way that you can serve. We will talk about that this Sunday. We will also recognize the service of a very special group – our Veterans! Please join us for online or in-person worship, and tell a friend about it!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Sam