midweek message #36<\/p>\n
Hello and welcome to an early edition of the Midweek Message. I had thought about not doing one this week but after last week\u2019s lengthy MM, I thought I would add this one and just get it out early.<\/p>\n
I think we are all tired of a lot of things right now.\u00a0 The virus and all the life changes it is bringing about. The political arena and its mess. The economic upheaval as we \u201cwatch\u201d the market fluctuate, unsure of what is to come. The realization that some will truly suffer this Thanksgiving and we feel like our hands are tied. To top it off I suspect many of us don\u2019t feel like being thankful.\u00a0 Well\u2026my plan for this MM and my hope is that it will give you something to hope in and be grateful for.<\/p>\n
Over the past two weeks in my sermon, I have emphasized four reasons why we can be thankful for God\u2019s blessings. I\u2019d like to start out by reiterating them for you:<\/p>\n
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And keep in mind that sharing your blessings doesn\u2019t mean it has to be money. It can be a smile. A compliment. A kind word. \u00a0Go old school and send a note in the mail. The important thing is that we make an effort to share our thanks with someone else by blessing them.<\/p>\n
I recently read an article entitled Pastors, Choose Gratitude Over Grumbling<\/em>.\u00a0 Obviously it was directed to pastors, especially those who pastor contentious churches. People choose to take sides in the way the church is \u201crun;\u201d the direction it is going; even in politics. He concluded his article by giving eight practical ideas to spur gratitude for the church where God has placed the pastor. I want to modify them some to make them applicable to us all. So here are seven practical ideas which you can use to be grateful for and express that thanks to God:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s all I have to say for this week. Short. Positive. Encouraging. So I\u2019ll close with this: I am so grateful to be your pastor. Many of you don\u2019t know it but this past week was the anniversary of my first official week in 2004. I have never regretted coming to the small town of Spencer. There have been highs and lows; ups and downs; people coming and people leaving. Some have visited and stayed, while others have visited and never returned. Some have gone to other churches and sadly, some have left and gone nowhere. But that is church life. In reality, that is life\u2026period. I have learned the best thing I can do is to serve the people God has given me, to shepherd them as best I can. So this Thanksgiving, I will be sending up a huge \u201cthank you\u201d to God for you.\u00a0 Thank you for the privilege of serving you. I love you all.<\/p>\n One more thing: last week I mentioned about looking into a \u201cmasked\u201d service.\u00a0 Response has been positive. If you are interested, please let me know.<\/p>\n Pastor Bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" midweek message #36 Hello and welcome to an early edition of the Midweek Message. I had thought about not doing one this week but after last week\u2019s lengthy MM, I thought I would add this one and just get it out early. I think we are all tired of a lot of things right now.\u00a0 … <\/p>\n\n