Podcasts about thanksgiving eve november

Luke 17:11-19 "Gratitude or Ingratitude?"

Word & Sermon Weekly –Thanksgiving Eve – November 22, 2023 Deuteronomy 8:1-10 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Luke 17:11-19 Learn more about Zion Lutheran Church and the Christian faith, by subscribing to this podcast, and joining us next Sunday by visiting www.zionhiawatha.org

This sermon is drawn from Luke 17:11-19.

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:Thanksgiving seems like it should be easy enough. Many parents teach their children this skill early with the words: “What do you say?” “Thank you.” Giving thanks is polite. Failing to give thanks is impolite. But being polite is one thing. Being sincere is another. What if you don't feel like giving thanks? Not feeling like giving thanks is very common. Sometimes things don't go the way we wish they would go. Why do things go the way they go? Is it a matter of luck? The Bible says nothing about luck. The Bible makes it clear that God is the one who does everything. So if something bad happens to you, if someone is taken away from you, if something is withheld from you, then this is not because you were unlucky. God being God means that he does all things. You can see that in the readings tonight. In our first reading from Deuteronomy Moses is talking to the people about what had happened for the last 40 years. The Israelites were supposed to go directly from Egypt into the promised land, but they were prevented from doing so. Who is responsible for that? God is. Moses said, “Remember the whole journey on which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you and to test you.” God humbled them. God made them hungry until he fed them with manna. Paul in our second reading spoke about his varying circumstances. Sometimes he had very little. Sometimes he had more than he needed. Sometimes he was full. Sometimes he was hungry. Who is responsible for that? Paul was a tent maker. It sounds like he worked hard doing that when he could in order to pay the bills along with the preaching and teaching that he did as an apostle. So you might think Paul is responsible for whether he had enough. But things happen. Walmart moves into town, selling a whole bunch of tents that were made in China. There are accidents, thefts, riots, and so on. A person could get sick. Well, then, maybe he could get some insurance, or maybe the government could give him a bailout. Maybe he could go to the doctor. Maybe he could go to the psychiatrist or psychologist. And God likes to work through ordinary means, so God can work through things like that in order to provide some relief, but you've probably experienced at some point, or are experiencing it tonight, that you don't feel like giving thanks. Things aren't going the way that I want them to. At this point I could respond with “What do you say?” If I wanted to be insistent I could make a case too. That's not too hard. All I have to say is, “It could always be worse.” Yes, indeed, it could always be worse. And look at all this nice stuff you have. You know there are starving children in Africa who would just love to have what you have. There. You see? Now be polite. But this, again, is avoiding what is really going on. This is just a variation of that lucky, unlucky theme. You're not unlucky. You're lucky. Just look at how lucky you. You're so lucky. And, you know what? Chances are you'll stay lucky too. You just have to look on the bright side of life. So be polite. Say thank you. And we'll all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. It will be a wonderful Thanksgiving because we won't have to bother our heads about God being in control of all things. We won't have to worry about anybody not feeling like giving thanks. They're not following the rules. They're being impolite. We should all just keep it light. Keep it fun. And then the next day we can shop until we drop. Christian thanksgiving, as opposed to what we'd maybe call “American thanksgiving,” is deeper, more intense. Christian thanksgiving is going to have to wrestle with God working all things. Sometimes he makes us happy. Sometimes he makes us sad. Sometimes he gives. Sometimes he takes away. Luck has nothing to do with it. Neither does having lots of stuff. Shopping is a very poor substitute for a relationship with God. The one thing the Israelites couldn't do while they were in the desert wilderness with Moses was shop. There was nothing to buy. That was very hard on those Israelites. They wanted to shop very badly. They wanted to shop so badly that they wished they could go back to Egypt. True, they were slaves there, but every now and then they could afford to buy a melon or some garlic. Not so in the wilderness. The way they survived in that desert was by gathering manna every day. They couldn't store it up. If they tried, it would spoil. And Moses in our reading tells us why God did this to them. He says that God fed them manna “to teach them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Does that sound familiar to you? It should. This was the Scripture that Jesus quoted to the devil when he was tested in the wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and he was hungry. The devil told him he should use his divine power to turn stones into bread. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” The devil was basically saying to Jesus that he could have it all. He could have his best life now. All he had to do was make use of the resources at his disposal, develop his potential, and then, simple as that, no more sadness. Jesus is basically telling the devil that happiness, that is, the state of being blessed, is much more than the pursuit of property. Paul also says something very similar in our second reading. He says, “I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Perhaps that last little bit there sounds familiar to you too. It's not uncommon for folks to snip that verse out of its context and put it on their walls or on decorations: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Although I have seen that verse many times on decorations, I have never seen a decoration that says I will be content while being hungry, or I will be content while having not enough. I have a feeling that such a decoration wouldn't sell very well. But snipping out that verse from its context really changes the meaning. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” That makes it sound as though I can change stones to bread. I can make things just so for myself, however I want them, if I develop my potential—with Christ's help of course. I can do miracles. But the actual meaning of Paul's words is that if there is a miracle here, it's that he is content in much less than perfect circumstances. Even if he should be hungry or at a lack, he is content. This is not because he is some stoic or because he likes pain. It's because he knows God in our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not live on bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Being content and giving thanks in sad and uncomfortable situations is supposed to be part of our experience as Christians. The God who reveals himself in the Scriptures tells us that he is a Father who disciplines his children. Moses in our reading says: “So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Therefore you are to keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by revering him.” Now suppose that we were at the Thanksgiving table. We go around the table and everybody says what he or she is thankful for. Then it comes to you and you say: “I'm thankful for God disciplining me. I'm thankful for God causing me pain, for humbling me. Thereby he has brought me back to faithfulness and the keeping of his commandments.” That would be breaking the rules for how you are supposed to be thankful as an American holiday. However, it would also be refreshing as something that is true, instead of being merely polite. When the Scriptures are taken seriously there's no escaping the fact that God deals with those he loves like a Father who disciplines his son. Life is not a matter of luckiness and unluckiness. Stuff doesn't just happen. Nor is it the case that so long as we have enough resources at our disposal we can keep ourselves happy. It is instead the case that God makes us hungry so that we may be fed. He makes us sad so that we may be glad. The bones that he breaks eventually make us rejoice. Through all of this it is so that we may learn that we do not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Knowing God is so much more important than going shopping. Know God, therefore, and give him thanks. Don't just be polite. Thank him also for his discipline, for humbling you. Sad, humble times are the times when things get corrected spiritually speaking. That is when we grow in knowing our God. Good and easy times are when people forget God. Hard times are when we almost have no other choice than to be knocking at his door. And since we aren't that great of human beings, that is almost always exactly what the doctor orders. Paul, in the same chapter from which we read tonight, says another well-known verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say, ‘Rejoice.'” The key word is “always,” or “at all times.” Rejoice at all times, in trouble and when trouble is passed, knowing that we do not live by bread alone, but by the word that comes from the mouth of our God. Knowing him, and knowing his good and gracious will towards you in our Lord Jesus Christ, gives you the power to be content. That is doing all things through Christ, who strengthens us.

Luke 17:11-19 "Please and Thank-You"

In this episode, Erika covers the 70-year-old unsolved murder of 33-year-old Garnet Ginn, a high school Economics teacher at Portland High in Portland, Indiana.  Garnet was found murdered on the morning of February 28, 1950, when she didn't show up for classes and the City Superintendent went to check on her at her apartment.  When the superintendent couldn't find her at her apartment, he went to the garage where she parked her car. That is where he found Garnet hanging from her passenger side door by a sewing machine belt. Law enforcement ruled her death a suicide, but her parents knew better. An investigation of their own points to murder.Erika was drinking Cape Red, a 2020 Vintage South African Wine from Western Cape Vineyards, Amber doesn't particularly like this one, but I think its pretty good.  Erika pulled her sources from:www.wane.com / New suspect and details emerge, but Portland cold case may never be solved / October 24, 2019www.wthr.com /New evidence emerges in 1950 cold case murder of Indiana Teacher / Rich Van Wyk / October 25, 2019 www.wthr.com / After 69 years, Indiana cold case has new life / Rich Van Wyk / October 22, 2019 www.reddit.com / Garnet Ginn – Portland, Indiana, USA – 72 year old case / u/_heidsterThen Amber covers the mysterious case of D.B. Cooper. Cooper. D.B. Cooper, also known as Dan Cooper, hijacked a commercial plane traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, on Thanksgiving Eve (November 24th) in 1971.  He  parachuted out of the aircraft with the ransom money and was never seen again. Amber was drinking a Pinot Noir from Straight Shooter, by the sounds of it, she really liked it!  LOLAs promised on the episode, here is a partial lists of suspects that were considered:Kenneth Peter ChristiansenLynn Doyle CooperBarbara DaytonWilliam GossettJohn ListTed MayfieldRichard McCoy Jr.Amber pulled her sources from:www.en.wikipedia.orgwww.fbi.govwww.crimemuseum.orgwww.history.comwww.rollingstones.com / The Missing Piece of the D.B. Cooper Story–Tina  Mucklow-Flight Attendance Article / Ricardo Nagaoka / January 12, 2021www.washingtonpost.com  /  D.B. Cooper's skyjacking continues to fascinate Americans half a century later / Katrina Gulliver / December 22, 2021 www.seattlepi.com / The mystery of D.B. Cooper's hijacking and disappearance lives on 50years later in the Pacific Northwest / Callie Craighead & Daniel DeMay /  November 24, 2021   

 Audio recording

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:If there hadn’t been this latest surge in cases, we might have thought that we were getting back to some kind of normal. As it is, case count have gone up significantly not just in Iowa, not just in red states, not just in the United States, but throughout the northern hemisphere. In light of this, the governing authorities have recommended that we all stay home for Thanksgiving. And so we can just add this to the list of things that we thought would never happen. Before this pestilence came upon us, I never would have thought that Christians would be prevented from gathering in churches for Easter, and yet, so it was. Now many families won’t get together for Thanksgiving—at least not in the same way as we are accustomed to. Who would have thought? But Easter was not cancelled this year. Every element of Easter worship was fulfilled this year as it is every year by those who are Christians. For true worship is nothing other than faith. And most assuredly there were Christians on Easter believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who rose from the dead. Even without meeting in large numbers or in the way that we normally do—even without receiving the sacrament that day—nothing was missing from the celebration of Easter for those Christians to whom faith in Christ has been given. For Jesus says in John 6 that his flesh can be eaten and his blood can be drunk by faith. Those who believe that his flesh is the living bread from heaven, and that whoever eats this bread will live forever, most assuredly have what Jesus says, because Jesus doesn’t lie. As it was, Easter went on an involuntary diet. Lots of stuff went by the wayside. There were no large scale Easter egg hunts. There were no large scale ham dinners. But everything that was essential for Christian worship was there, for you have been given the promises of God concerning Christ. True worship is nothing other than believing that God’s promises in Christ are true. This is pleasing to God, when we honor Christ, by believing what God has said about him. One of the ways that trying times, such as the ones we are living through, can be beneficial for us is that it reveals what is essential. When all the niceties go away, what does it mean to be a Christian? What is necessary for the Christian Church to survive? The answer, again, is faith. When Peter identified Jesus as the Christ, Jesus told him that this confession is like a rock. Even the gates of hell cannot prevail against a Christian’s confession that Jesus is the Christ. Not this Sunday, but the Sunday after, you will hear Jesus say in the Gospel reading that heaven and earth not only might pass away, but most certainly will pass away. And yet, Jesus says, his word will never pass away. This is a very practical matter. It is applicable to times like ours when things are done differently than they normally are. Wherever there is faith in Christ, you may be assured that everything is going to turn out just fine sooner or later. Or even if we are not dealing with these large scale events, but quite personal tragedies and evils, the same applies. If you are sick unto death, and it’s hard to breath, and there’s little hope that you will recover, so long as you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, all things will turn out right. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus’s Word will never pass away. And he says, Whoever is baptized and believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. This means you are not dependent upon living forever in this world in order for you to be happy. Jesus will make you happy at that time that he has already predetermined for you. You are not dependent upon not getting sick with this virus in order to be happy. Any one of us could get this virus, regardless of how careful we might be. Is all lost if that should be the case? Or if we do get the disease, is our happiness dependent upon recovering and surviving? If that is the way that we think, then we are not Christians. Whether we should die of this disease or in some other way, Christians believe in the happiness that has been promised to us. We know that our Redeemer lives. Even if this skin should be destroyed, nevertheless, in our own flesh we will see God. We will see him with our own eyes. Now we’ve arrived at Thanksgiving, and it is likely that our plans have changed. It is likely that our festivities have gone on an involuntary diet. We might not be cooking for a crowd. We might only be cooking for one or two. So is Thanksgiving cancelled? No, it’s not. At least for Christians it is not. For Christians this holiday is about giving thanks to God. It is not first and foremost about family gatherings, just as Easter is not about Easter eggs. This virus does not prevent you from giving thanks to God. In fact, this virus might just burn away the dross so that we learn something about giving thanks as Christians. For many, giving thanks is a matter of counting your blessings. That is to say, “Just look at all the stuff I have!” What we can learn from Paul, in particular, is that we can be content and give thanks regardless of what situation we might find ourselves in. His little letter to the Philippians is sometimes called the epistle of joy because it is practically bursting with praise and thanksgiving. But as Paul himself says in that letter, he is writing the letter in chains. He’s sitting in prison as he writes. And yet he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” Or in another place he says, “We boast or rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.” It is natural and easy to be on top of the world when everything is going splendidly, and to be down in the dumps when things are going poorly. It is natural and easy to set our sights merely on the things of this world, as though our happiness may only be located in our earthly happiness. It is something else to set your sights a little further out, to the life of the world to come—to be far sighted instead of short sighted. When we are far sighted we might very well recognize that the suffering which God places upon us is for our eternal good. It might make us quit believing in an idol that we especially cherished—idols that have no power to save, even though they might give us a great deal of pleasure in this life. By being deprived of what we might otherwise want, we might be taught about what is really essential. What does it mean to be a Christian? How can I be sure of my salvation? These are by no means small questions. Learning the answers to the questions in the school of hard knocks leaves a much deeper impression than learning them in confirmation class. Plus we might learn in a new and deeper way, the everyday goodness of God that we so easily take for granted. We wicked sinners are so blind to the goodness of God that practically the only way we can learn about the goodness of something is when it is taken away. We don’t know the goodness of health until we become sick. We don’t give thanks for the sunshine until we’ve had to endure weeks and weeks of grayness. In the midst of all the disruptions caused by this pestilence that God has sent upon the earth, we might recognize what otherwise was taken for granted. Speaking for myself I can say that I took for granted the ability to gather in person for worship. Meeting in the sanctuary on Sundays ran like clockwork until it didn’t. I took for granted that I could have Bible studies whenever I wanted and anybody who wanted could join them. These were effortless and abundant. I don’t think I ever once gave thanks for them. We don’t know a good thing until it’s gone. But all things work together for the good of those who love God. With the lessons of 2020 our eyesight has been adjusted. It seems to me that we as congregations have not been harmed by what has happened. By and large, I think our people have learned to pray. We’ve learned to put not our trust in princes. As the hymn goes: “Trust not in rulers, they are but mortal; Earthborn they are and soon decay. Vain are their counsels at life’s last portal, When the dark grave engulfs its prey. Since mortals can no help afford, Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord. Alleluia, alleluia!” As members of a congregation, I think we better know what we are about. We better know why we are here. These teachings—and these teachings are by no means small teachings—couldn’t have been better taught than through the bitter experiences of this year. So Thanksgiving has not been cancelled. If anything, perhaps, it has been sharpened. When other things fall away, there’s a better chance for us to really get it, for we are not distracted by other things. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. And his mercy endures forever.

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