Presented at our home Sunday, August 9th, 2026

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Good morning. I’m kind of excited about sharing this even though I know I’m bad at public speaking and preaching. It’s not my gift!

I was in college the first time I spoke publicly. I played football at the University of Wisconsin and was involved in FCA. Someone suggested I go give my testimony at some event. I did, and afterwards I would not be surprised if some of the fans in the audience immediately became Michigan or Ohio State fans after my butchery of the English language. This time I wrote down what I want to say, and I’m hoping it will go better.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve switched from bingeing on dogma to being thankful and having more of a good attitude about Jesus, focusing on gratitude. So I’m going to talk, not preach, about gratitude!

I believe the first churches were more like what we are doing right now. Believers gathered together in homes, shared food, and fed each other spiritually.

If you think hard about it, the topic of gratitude grabs your attention. It shakes the cobwebs loose and reminds us of God’s most precious gifts.

Think about your prayers. Mine always starts, “Dear Lord, thank you for….” It is usually about the one or two things the Lord has been stirring in my heart lately.

Gratitude is the special place for thankfulness that grows deeper with the years.

Before we get too serious, let me share a little satire. I’ve noticed this about myself, and probably some of you have the same issue.

I wake up in a comfortable bed, have my tea, drive on gravel roads to church (which would preferably be pavement), and the first thing out of my mouth is, “Can you believe this dust, all the raft trailers, this traffic?” Or some days it’s: “The Wi-Fi is slow today—turn on the satellite radio?” Then there is, “The deer and the gophers ate my flowers again.”

Do you see what I’m getting at? Sometimes we act like small inconveniences are national emergencies while forgetting we’re breathing air! We are loved by family, standing on ground that God Himself sustains, and someday going to heaven—what’s to complain about?

It’s funny in a sad way, isn’t it? It’s like complaining about the small size of my steak while ignoring the full plate of God’s blessings right in front of me!

But these little examples point to something real: how easily ingratitude sneaks in and steals our joy. So what’s the antidote? The kind of deep, God-centered gratitude that our Lord demands and deserves.

Some people do devotions early in the morning. I like the quiet of night. Here is where I turn to God’s Word.

Recently it was Psalm 34 in my devotions. What a powerful reminder: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry; His face is set against evildoers.”

Reading and meditating on God’s Word rekindles in me the kind of gratitude that should readily be on our lips every single day. I read these verses and think about them all the next day, or I write about them in the wee hours of the night to entrench them into my memory or encourage others.

Ask about blessings?

I want to take some time together to name some of God’s blessings! Can anyone name one?

I’ll give you my prepared list:

FIRST and foremost, I’m thankful that I’m saved and I know it.

Before coming to Christ, we were all guilty, condemned, spiritually blind, and with no way to pay our debt. Our destiny was eternal separation from God. But Christ rescued us. Ephesians chapter 2 tells us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, He made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

At the Transfiguration, when Peter, James, and John finally looked up after the Father spoke, they saw no one but Jesus only. Think about that!

That’s the heart of our salvation—Jesus only.

Whether it’s the thief on the cross receiving paradise in his final moments or the Apostle Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners, being saved by grace, the message is the same: no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of salvation—it changes everything!

SECOND, I’m deeply thankful for the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Turn on the news for five minutes and the word “chaos” comes to mind. The world is full of conflicting voices, moral confusion, and no clear standard for right and wrong. But God has given us His unchanging Word.

Psalm 119 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Second Timothy 3 tells us all Scripture is breathed out by God and equips us for every good work.

From God’s Word we learn how to love our spouses, raise our children, work with integrity, and care for our neighbors. In fact, if you study it enough you’ll realize self-help books are hardly needed.

In a world where everyone does what is right in their own eyes, we have clarity and hope. We have God’s Word.

Psalm 34 reminds us that God is for the righteous. This truth brings me great peace. I thank God every day for the privilege of opening His Word, studying it, and sharing it.

THIRD, I’m even thankful for life’s storms. Nobody enjoys trials, but God uses them powerfully in our lives. James chapter 1 tells us to:

“Count it all joy when we face trials of various kinds, because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness.”

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused, and forgotten in prison, yet he could later say, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

The Apostle Paul faced beatings, shipwrecks, and a thorn in the flesh, yet he learned that God’s grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness. Even our Lord Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.

Strong winds make the timber strong.

At Faithful Keep, that’s what we call our starter castle, even the practical work and challenges have taught me dependence on God.

I tell everyone I built this place all by myself, but in reality God helped me every step of the way. So even in the hard things and in the storms, I’m learning to say thank you, Lord.

FOURTH, I’m thankful for faithful churches.

It grieves me to see congregations and friends compromise God’s Word and lose their way. But I’m deeply grateful for every church and every friend that grows and stays true to God’s Word.

Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Biblical churches are not clubs for perfect people; they’re hospitals for sinners pursuing holiness together under the Word and the Spirit.

May the Lord grant us grace to pursue holiness without the illusion of perfection. This means we need to try our hardest, and with God’s help we can make progress.

The early church devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, and prayer, and the Lord added to their number daily.

Even the small church in biblical Philadelphia had little power on the scale of things today.

Like our little church, it was commended for its people keeping God’s Word. (No scandals, please.) We need to thank God for every faithful church that encourages our hearts and advances His kingdom.

Remember this: “It will do more good to praise what is good than to condemn what is not.”

FIFTH, I’m thankful for the people who make a difference in my life. My wife Jackie is my best friend and partner on this journey. Our son, adopted at birth, is a precious gift directly from God’s hand, and we pray he will one day labor earnestly for the gospel.

I’m also thankful for friends like you who both hold me up and sometimes lean on me.

As Proverbs says, iron sharpens iron. And I’m especially grateful for the guests and neighbors and the people we have met here and in different places and cultures. You and they bring us fellowship and mutual encouragement. Something to be thankful for!

These relationships bring color, warmth, and strength to life. We need to be thankful for each other.

ONE MORE, I’m also thankful for God’s creation. At our home, with its pond, gardens, mountain views, and surrounding wilderness, I often stand in awe. The changing seasons, the wildlife, the quiet off-grid serenity—these are daily reminders of a generous Creator and the blessings He has given all of us who live up here.

It’s a place of peace, reflection, and hospitality where we can both experience and share God’s goodness with others.

And LASTLY, I’m thankful for these later years—we are all getting old! The Lord has kept us reasonably healthy, and He has given me time and resources to study His Word, write, and focus on what truly matters—it has been a season for knowing Him, loving my family, and pointing others to Christ.

There will come a time when it will not be so, and those strong winds will hopefully make me more like strong timber!

I look at Snuffy and think, “God is making him strong! Despite his pain and suffering he remains faithful! You are strong timber, my friend!”

“Contentment with God’s provisions needs to replace every sense of entitlement.”

Don’t let this day pass without taking inventory. Count your blessings! Not just at holidays! Biblical gratitude is not seasonal. It’s an attitude that should shape every moment of every day. As Colossians 2 says, “Continue to walk in Christ, rooted and built up in him… abounding in thanksgiving.”

Let me encourage you—encouragement might be one of my gifts.

Tonight at your dinner table or in your personal devotions, take time to name specific blessings out loud or in writing. Make gratitude a habit that shapes your prayers and your witness to a watching world.

Our pastor in Sint Maarten preaches for an hour and a half every Sunday. At the end of every service Jackie and I look at each other and say every week, “I think he preached every verse in the Bible.” It’s actually refreshing hearing so many verses deeply examined and repeated.

So, here are just a few of the most central Bible verses on gratitude and thanksgiving:

Core New Testament Commands

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

– Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

– Ephesians 5:20
“…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

– Colossians 3:15–17
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. … And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

– Colossians 4:2
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Foundational Old Testament Calls to Give Thanks

– Psalm 100:4–5
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

– Psalm 107:1 (also 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 136:1)
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

– Psalm 95:1–2
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

– Psalm 9:1
“I give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

– Psalm 28:7
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

These verses consistently present gratitude not merely as a feeling, but as a duty, a deliberate response to God’s character (His goodness, steadfast love, and faithfulness). This is God’s will for His people in every circumstance.

May the gratitude of our hearts overflow to the glory of God every hour, every day, all year long. Fix your eyes on Jesus only. Rejoice in the Lord always! And be filled with gratitude, always! Amen.

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