Thanksgiving in June

[0:00] We're going to turn to 1 Thessalonians, and 1 Thessalonians is right before 2 Thessalonians, if you were wondering where it's at. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, but really actually it's between Colossians and Timothy as you turn there. It's easy to miss sometimes.

[0:22] 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 18, just one scripture. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. Amen.

[0:36] In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. And today I just want to talk about, preach about, think about, from this title, Thanksgiving in June.

[0:52] Thanksgiving in June. Let's pray and ask God to bless us today. In Jesus' name I pray. God, bless us today with your word. God, I pray, Lord, that it comes with anointing.

[1:04] God, that it would be anointed when it meets our ears. Lord, open our ears to hear your word today. Open our eyes to see spiritually what you have for us today. God, minister to our hearts and spirits today.

[1:15] God, let us leave here changed by your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And you may be seated. Christians, by the name of Corrie Ten Boom, little interesting name there, Corrie Ten Boom, and her sister Betsy.

[1:33] Raise your hand if you ever heard of Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy. Nobody? Okay. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy, they were Christians and they were arrested by the Nazis for helping 80 Jews escape the Holocaust.

[1:49] After being transferred a couple times from prison to prison, they found themselves at one of the worst concentration camps in Nazi Germany called Ravensbrück.

[2:03] Ravensbrück was a horrific place. Horrific. Of its 130,000 prisoners, nearly all were women. It was a women's prison. Very few men there.

[2:16] And it was not just a labor camp, but it was an extermination camp. This is where they executed by gas and torture and other means, the Jews.

[2:27] And with 2,000 people in each of the barracks that were originally designed for 250 people, sanitation was a real problem.

[2:38] 2,000 people crammed into a place designed for 250 people. This was the barracks. And there's 130,000 prisoners and rampant disease, starvation, grueling labor, 14-hour work days, and brutal conditions with little clothing and no rest.

[2:58] In addition to the mass murder and executions at Ravensbrück, the Nazi doctors conducted horrific medical experiments. Experiments unspeakable over this pulpit.

[3:11] In her famous biography, a book titled The Hiding Place, Corrie describes the dehumanizing conditions of lice-infested bunks throughout constant hunger and the psychological toll taken upon her and her sister witnessing these daily deaths that would occur at this concentration camp.

[3:37] In the biography, Corrie tells of an incident that taught her to always be thankful. After being transferred to Ravensbrück, Corrie and her sister, upon going into the barracks, found them to be extremely overcrowded and flea-infested.

[3:54] Somehow, they were able to smuggle a small Bible in her pouch despite searches. And as Christians, Corrie and her sister would read a daily Bible verse.

[4:07] And that day's verse was the one I read to you today. 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18, In her book, Corrie writes that the scripture verse had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances.

[4:30] And Corrie's sister, Betsy, told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters at Ravensbrück. Corrie at first completely refused to give thanks for the fleas, but her sister, Betsy, insisted.

[4:46] And so, Corrie finally gave in and even thanked God for the fleas. And during the months spent at Ravensbrück, they were surprised to find out how openly they were able to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings without the Nazi guards catching them.

[5:05] So it was not like that at the previous prisons they had come from. This being a much worse prison and concentration camp, they were surprised how open they could be with their Bible studies without being caught.

[5:18] And it wasn't until several months later that they learned the reason the guards would not enter into the barracks was because of the fleas. And she concluded that it was their Bible studies in the barracks that gave many the strength to endure the hardships there that helped them survive that ordeal.

[5:37] Where over 50,000 of those 130,000 were executed and killed mercilessly. Experimented on. There are times and seasons in our lives that come that it is hard to find something to be thankful for.

[5:54] It's easy to be thankful on the fourth Thursday of every November because it's Thanksgiving. And so we have our big dinner and we go around the table. And in the spirit of the season of Thanksgiving, we each say what we're thankful for and we give God thanks.

[6:09] Amen. It's just something that we do. It's a tradition in our family. It's easy, right? But what about in June? What about in the heat of a different season?

[6:20] In the heat of a trial? In the heat of the turmoil of life? Far outside of the typical season of Thanksgiving. Can we learn to be thankful and give God thanks?

[6:32] Can we give God thanks? Can we be thankful to God? Oh, it's easy. Oh, it's easy. It's easy to celebrate and to be thankful on Thanksgiving and the season that has become a season of Thanksgiving.

[6:45] But can we celebrate Thanksgiving in June? Can we celebrate in a different season? Can we be thankful when it's not the typical season to be thankful? And it's God's will that we do.

[6:57] And it's God's will that we do. And everything give thanks for the will of God. And everything. Everything.

[7:08] Everything give thanks. Not just in the right season. Not just when it's expected and easy. But even in the off season when it's less often thought of and less often considered.

[7:21] And everything give thanks. Everything. It should be Thanksgiving in June. Just as much as it is in November. It should be Thanksgiving in July, August, September. Amen.

[7:32] It should be Thanksgiving every day. Amen. That's the way God wants it. That's his will for us. It shouldn't just be confined to a season. There are certain things that we get when we get God.

[7:46] Amen. When we get God, we get certain things. And getting the Holy Spirit of God in us, we get what the Bible calls gifts of the Spirit.

[7:59] The Bible teaches that God can give any number of gifts of the Spirit to whomever he wants. Different believers receive different gifts. And it's all according to the will of God.

[8:12] But what we also get when we get God is the opportunity to have what the Bible calls the fruits of the Spirit.

[8:22] The fruit of the Spirit. We easily call it mistakenly the fruits of the Spirit. But it's the fruit of the Spirit. Singular. Notice the singular in the fruit of the Spirit.

[8:33] Not fruits of the Spirit. We're not talking about coconuts and bananas. Right, Miles? We have a song that Taylor sings. You want to sing to Miles about the fruit of the Spirit.

[8:49] And we're not talking about coconuts. But in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22 and 23, the Bible says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

[9:05] Against such there is no law. And there's a list of the qualities, but it's considered the fruit singular of the Spirit.

[9:15] And so, you know, we can look at that list and say, well, we're pretty good at some of them, but others we struggle or we don't have it all. You know?

[9:26] But it's supposed to be fruits. It's not fruits. It should all be a package that comes to us. Amen. And we have the opportunity to let that fruit grow within us, and we should.

[9:41] So it's a list of these qualities. And where there are diversities with gifts of the Spirit, and we may have some but not all, with the fruit of the Spirit, every disciple of Jesus Christ has the opportunity to bear fruit of the Spirit.

[9:56] So I bring up the fruit of the Spirit because being thankful is absolutely relevant to the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit. Love, being selfless.

[10:07] Right? We know the importance of loving God. It's one of the main things that we talk about around here. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbors as yourself.

[10:18] Right? We got that. Joy. Joy is being glad and thankful. Having that joyfulness, the thankfulness of having the presence of God in you, regardless of the circumstances that you're in.

[10:31] You can have joy. It doesn't matter what you're going through. You can find joy knowing that the presence of God is in you. Peace. Being calm in the storm. You know, just when the things are so turbulent around you, you can have peace in a storm because you have the peace of God in you.

[10:48] Patience. The Bible calls it long-suffering. I think I can do okay with, well, actually, I don't know how good I am at any of these so far, so I'm going to keep going.

[11:02] I'm doing some self-reflection while I was putting this together, and even now. And we all should be doing some self-reflection. I wanted to take credit for some of this, but, man, I'm questioning whether I have the Holy Ghost.

[11:16] I know I have the Holy Ghost, but, you know, hey, we need to let it work on us and help us grow. Amen. Joy, no matter what's going on.

[11:27] Peace in a storm. Patience. My patience. Oh, Lord Jesus, help me. Patience. The Bible calls it long-suffering. Being able to endure.

[11:39] Endure difficulties. Difficult situations. Difficult people. Endure delays, you know, when we want it now. When it should happen already.

[11:52] Enduring all the difficult things in life, just situations and people, and enduring it with grace. Oh, that's the one I need help. Pray for me today. Kindness.

[12:04] Oh, my goodness. I'm on number five, and I haven't found one. Kindness. Being compassionate and generous towards others. I like to think of myself as generous.

[12:15] I can be generous. But compassionate. Ugh. Lord, help me, Jesus. Being compassionate.

[12:26] Demonstrating God's kindness through our kindness, right? We're talking about the fruit of the Spirit. Goodness. Doing what's right by God's word. Morals, integrity. Okay, I think I got at least some of that one.

[12:38] Faithfulness. Of faithfulness. Keeping our commitments to God. All right. I think I got somewhat of two of the nine. Gentleness.

[12:49] Oh, I missed it again. Gentleness. The Bible calls it meekness. It's having restraint in our interactions with others.

[13:02] I can be very passive-aggressive. Right, Jose? I can make comments like, well, let's just leave it there. Lord, help me. Self-control.

[13:13] I don't know why Taylor comes to my, I mean, I have a self-control problem myself, so I can't just look at my daughter.

[13:28] The Bible calls it temperance, controlling your emotions. Women are very emotional, I found out. But men can be too, and are. So we like to say, yeah, the women are the emotional ones, but the men can get pretty emotional.

[13:42] Not giving in to fleshly emotions, right? Having control of that. Not allowing anger to rule. Not allowing stress to take over and rule.

[13:54] Not allowing frustrations to rule. Not allowing fears and anxieties to rule us. This is self-control, being in charge of yourself, your flesh.

[14:05] But these are our singular fruit of the Spirit, and all disciples of Jesus Christ should exhibit these qualities. And so to the extent that we do, it makes evident our spiritual growth.

[14:17] Amen. And so as large and big as I am, I have a lot of growing to do. But embedded in the fruit of the Spirit, embedded in there, is being thankful, really.

[14:29] You can find it throughout there. With the fruit of the Spirit, you will be thankful even in the middle of a storm or trial. No matter the season of life you go through, you can find something to be thankful for.

[14:40] And it's good to be around someone that can figure out how to be thankful no matter what's going on. It just changes the whole atmosphere.

[14:50] When someone can find something, the good in something, even when it's just absolutely upside down. And again, Thanksgiving, even in June. Jonah was a man that God used as a prophet.

[15:04] You can find him in the Old Testament among the prophets. God used Jonah all through his life in one day. God told Jonah to go to a city and preach to them so that the city would be saved.

[15:17] And for various reasons, Jonah didn't want to go. He refused. And in disobedience to the calling of God, Jonah decided he would get on a different boat and go in a different direction.

[15:30] Go opposite what God told him to do. And so God prepared a great storm and a great fish, the Bible says. And Jonah, realizing that the storm that came upon him while on that boat, risked the lives of everyone around him.

[15:47] And it was all because of his disobedience to God. So Jonah told the others, you know, he was the one that he should be thrown overboard to save them.

[15:59] Because it was his actions that brought the storm upon them all. Who wants to be around somebody like that? And when they tossed him overboard, that great fish that God had also prepared swallowed Jonah up.

[16:13] How many have heard of the story of Jonah? And when they tossed him over, that great fish swallowed him up. And in a miracle, while able to live in the belly of a great fish, God had specifically prepared for that situation.

[16:29] Jonah prayed. Jonah prayed. Jonah 2, verse 1. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me.

[16:44] Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods come past me. About all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

[16:58] And then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters come past me about, even to the soul. The depth closed me around about.

[17:11] The weeds wrapped around my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was above me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.

[17:26] When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. The that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

[17:37] And here it is, verse 9. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. He's in the middle of the belly of a fish. And he's praying this.

[17:47] I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish and vomited him out upon the dry land.

[18:01] In the middle of his disobedience. In the middle of fleeing from God's will. And in the middle of a storm. In the middle of the ocean. In the middle of the belly of a fish.

[18:13] Jonah prayed. And when Jonah prayed, Jonah repented. And he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. And God got him back on track in the will of God. Amen. And even in a season of disobedience to God's will.

[18:26] When we're walking away, it would seem. We're trying to make an excuse why we can't. And in the middle of that. In which he sends dire circumstances. To try to get us back on track to where we know we should be.

[18:38] We can find our reason to be thankful to God. Amen. Amen. Paul and Silas. They were put into prison for serving God. You got Jonah trying to run away from serving God.

[18:49] And you got Paul and Silas in the perfect will of God. Serving God as they were instructed. And put into prison. All they were doing was what they were supposed to be doing.

[19:01] They were witnessing to others. And for doing so, they were stripped naked. Beaten. And put into prison. Acts chapter 16 verse 22.

[19:13] The Bible says, And the multitude rose up together against them. And the magistrates rent off their clothes. And commanded them to be beaten. And then they had laid many stripes upon them.

[19:24] They cast them into prison. Charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who having received such a charge. Thrust them into the inner prison. And made their feet fast with stocks.

[19:35] And at midnight. Paul and Silas prayed. And sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. And so the foundations of the prison were shaken.

[19:46] And immediately all the doors were opened. And every man's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awakening out of a sleep. And seeing the prison doors open. He drew out his sword.

[19:57] And would have killed himself. Supposing the prisoners had fled. But Paul cried out with a loud voice. Saying, Do thyself no harm. For we're all here. And then he called for the light.

[20:08] And he sprang in. And came trembling. And fell down before Paul and Silas. And brought them out. And said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus.

[20:19] And thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord. And to all that were in his house. And he took them that same hour of the night.

[20:31] And washed their stripes. And was baptized. He and his. All of his. The Bible says. Straight away. And when he had brought them into his house. He sat meet before them.

[20:43] And rejoiced believing in God in all his house. That's an amazing story. I wanted to read the whole thing to you. You may look at the story of Jonah. And say, Rightfully so. The storm came to him.

[20:55] And because of his disobedience to the word of God. But sometimes you could be right in the middle of doing God's perfect will. You may not have been running from God. You may not have been running from the calling of God like Jonah had.

[21:08] You may be right where you're supposed to be. And still find yourself stripped of your dignity. Beaten down. Left on the side. Dragged into a spiritual or emotional prison.

[21:19] In life. If you can sing a song of thanksgiving. In your midnight hour. Amen. God will shake the foundations of that prison that you're in. Amen.

[21:29] I believe that. You will be saved from that prison. But not just you. Somebody else is going to see what's going on. And they're going to want to be a part of that. Amen. And others could be saved.

[21:40] Out of having that spirit of thanksgiving. You were doing what you were supposed to do. And the storm came. You know. And it's like God. Why is this happening to me?

[21:51] What? I'm not running from your will. I'm right. Trying to do what you asked me to do. And all this is coming upon me. And but you know what? How we respond to that makes the difference.

[22:02] Amen. Can we be thankful in a storm? Because storms come. They come and they go. But how we respond. Can we be thankful in June? Is there thanksgiving to be found in out of the season?

[22:17] Where we would typically find thanksgiving. If we can learn to have thanksgiving in June. We can have the promises of God fulfilled in our lives. And lead others to salvation too. So it's healthy for a disciple of Jesus Christ to be thankful.

[22:32] No matter what comes our way. No matter what comes our way. It's healthy for us to find a way to be thankful. I've been personally going through some stuff.

[22:44] Difficult times in life. Right? I've been struggling. For like the last month I've been telling Deanna and others. Like you know I think we should have thanksgiving in June.

[22:58] God's been really working on me. Because I'm the type that always notices the negative in things. And God's been working on me. And I thank God you know for his mercy and his grace.

[23:09] That he would take the time. And try to teach me something. About life you know. Like because they live with me. They know.

[23:20] It's like why is all this happening? Are you serious? What now? And we feel like we're trying to do everything we can do. Right? We don't have time for hobbies. We don't take vacations.

[23:31] We don't miss Sundays. We don't. Like this is. Our work. Family. Church. God's kingdom.

[23:42] It's our number one hobby. Right? And so that's what we're doing. And it's like. But still all these things come. And it's life. It's the storms of life. And we get.

[23:52] I'm saying we. But I'm talking about me right now. I get to the point to where. I just start noticing everything going wrong. And I don't see all the good things that are happening.

[24:04] And I lose a sense of thanksgiving. And I don't want to live like that. That's not how I want to live. There's plenty of things to be thankful for. But. Lately. I've been struggling to think of them.

[24:18] And their place in my mind has been all the difficulties of life. All the problems and the challenging circumstances that. It's just the season I'm in right now. But I'm thankful today for God.

[24:30] Who cares enough for me. That. Maybe this whole service is just for me. I'm sorry. I'm taking over the service for me. But. Maybe it's all just for me.

[24:42] But God's been working on me. I'm thankful for God that cares enough for me. That he would orchestrate. This stop. Help me stop and recognize. That even. When life's turned upside down. And everything seems to be falling apart.

[24:55] In every area of my life. There's still always something to be thankful for. And so I'm thankful today. I'm thankful for my salvation.

[25:07] I'm thankful. Look. I should have been a statistic. If you could watch. You know. On. Two. Double speed. YouTube video. Of my life. Okay. You know.

[25:18] And see. Just. From day one. Till now. Or. Just even until. Until. You know. I was married. That's when it all got.

[25:29] Became bliss. Right. Marriage solves everything. Right. But you know. If. I should have been a statistic. Really. But. I have salvation today.

[25:40] I have. I've. I've repented of my sins. I've been baptized in Jesus name. I have the gift of the Holy Ghost. And if. If the trumpet sounds. I know where I'm going. I know where I'm going. I have salvation.

[25:51] No matter. First of all. That's number one. Like. Okay. So. If you don't have anything else. And you have that. You have everything. Amen. So we should be thankful.

[26:02] I'm thankful that I have salvation. I'm thankful that I have a calling. I'm the least. I'm the last person. That God should be using for anything. In his kingdom. I'm serious. Like. Maybe like.

[26:13] Sweeping the streets of gold. Or something. I could do that. But like. Anything else in the kingdom of God. You know. I. I never thought I would be a pastor. Like.

[26:23] Like this. I never thought I'd be planting a church. And sometimes. I'm. I'm serious. Sometimes. And. All I have left. It seems like. When. Lord bless.

[26:36] Her. We have a great. Wonderful marriage. But. Lord bless her. When. When. My wife. Acting funny. My kids are acting funny. The job's acting funny. The money's acting funny.

[26:47] Everything's acting funny. I still have my salvation. And I know. I have a calling. And sometimes. That's. Sometimes. I feel like. Like. You know. Like. That's all I got left. Sometimes. Is just.

[26:58] God. And I'm thankful for God. I'm thankful for salvation. I'm thankful for a calling. To be in his kingdom. To do work in his kingdom. I'm thankful for you guys. The church. Like.

[27:08] You guys travel. From a distance. To be here. To help us. Plant this church. You don't have to be here. You can find. You. You guys passed. At least ten other churches. That.

[27:19] Preach truth. On your way here. And I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for my wife. Twenty-four years. Of marriage.

[27:30] Twenty-four years. We're supposed to take a cruise. On. Twenty-five. We're going to go to Alaska. Next year. And she might want to leave me there.

[27:41] And I might want to stay there. To be honest. If we're being honest. Today in church. Amen. I'm thankful for my kids. And my grandkid. They're a treasure.

[27:52] They're a gift from God. I'm thankful for my mom. And other family members. That serve God. I'm thankful that my mom has salvation. And she's the only light.

[28:03] In her. In our family. Over there in New Mexico. And I pray that. God does a great work. Through her witness. So despite all the challenges.

[28:14] All the challenging things. The things. You know. That I despair over. Right. I can truly say. God has been good to me. You're looking at somebody.

[28:26] That God has been good to. And so I thank God. For all he's done. And I thank God. He's teaching me. That Thanksgiving. Should never be.

[28:37] Out of season in my life. And because no matter. The season that we're. In. There's always things. That we can thank God for. And be thankful for. So.

[28:48] And so. Is there anybody else. That would like to testify today. So we can do volunteers. Or voluntolds. Oh. Sister Eccles is jumping up.

[29:02] God is good. Yes. So. Shane already kind of mentioned this. But typically around. The Eccles Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving table. On Thanksgiving day. We all go around the table.

[29:13] And say what we're thankful for. And. Usually the way that. I determine. My thankful. Reflecting on the past year. Things that have happened.

[29:23] Over the past year. And today. As I was thinking about. Thanksgiving in June. I was actually. Actually since yesterday. I think. Since I knew.

[29:33] I was going to do this. I was a little convicted. Because as Shane said. It's actually. Honestly. Quite hard. To find. The spirit of thankfulness.

[29:44] When. The season. The weather. The leaves aren't falling off the trees. You know. Typically those are the signs. Pumpkin spice. You know.

[29:55] Those are the things that we start to look for. And. Even though it's not a month. That ends in burr. I feel like. I still have to find a reason. To be thankful. Shame on me.

[30:06] Right. That I could even voice that. But. Here I am. God's good all the time. Not just in November. As I looked back over. These last six months. Since Thanksgiving season.

[30:18] It's. Always easy for me to say. That I'm thankful for my family. And my husband. My kids. And my grandbaby. Because I. Thousand percent. Am very. Very. Very. Thankful. And my church family.

[30:29] I'm very thankful for all of you. But today. I think that what I'm most thankful for. Is. God's.

[30:40] Protection. His provisions. And his strength. As I look back over my life. I can pinpoint. Many times. When all of those. Has been. Have been evident. When God's.

[30:50] Protection has been in my life. His provisions. Have been evident. His strength. That he provides. Has been evident. However. Sometimes I think what. I. And we. Probably. As Christians.

[31:02] Forget to thank God for. Is all the times. That we can't pinpoint. You know. All the times. We were protected. And we didn't even know. We were protected. All the times. That he's provided provisions.

[31:12] And we didn't even know. That we were going to be short. On those provisions. All the times. That he's provided strength. Yes. In the midst of the storms. I'm very thankful. For all that strength. That he's provided. But even in the times.

[31:23] When I didn't know. That I was going to need. His strength. He was there for me. And I am so thankful. For that. So many times. He's built the walls. Of protection. Around me. And I didn't even know. I needed that. Walls of protection.

[31:35] Sorry. I'm thankful. For a father. Who knows my needs. Even before. I know my needs. Amen.

[31:46] Let's thank God. For that. Thank you. Jesus. Lord. Thank you. God. For being in our lives. Today. God. We thank you. Jesus. We thank you. Jesus. Anybody else? Brother Jose.

[32:03] Well. The one time. I gave my testimony. That I was up here. But. You know. Thinking back. In my life. Is. You know. I'm. I'm grateful.

[32:13] For the protection. Without us. Knowing that he's protecting us. You know. There's. There's days going. That you didn't even think. God was there around you. But.

[32:24] It was. A trial. A tribulation. For you to get stronger. As a person. I'm very grateful for. Those. You know. Those hardships. That I went through. Because that made me. Who I am today. And.

[32:36] Continue. Like. We all know. That life's going to continue. Getting hard. And. It's always like that. Never gets easier. It gets easier. For a season. And then we go back. To our hardships. But. You know.

[32:47] I'm grateful that. God gives me the strength. To go through those trials. And tribulations. And be able to become. A better person. And be able to maybe. One day speak to someone. That's gone through the same thing.

[32:57] Or is going through the same things. That you did. So. I'm very grateful for. What God has given me. My wife of course. Very grateful for my wife. She's. Been a big role model.

[33:09] To me. Even though she. Maybe doesn't know it. But. And. Our pastor. Our church family. You know. We're very grateful for you guys. For. Everything you guys have done for us.

[33:20] And. I can't wait to see what else. God has in our path. Amen. Let's thank God for that. Lord Jesus. We thank you. Jesus. To you be the glory today. God. To you be the glory today.

[33:31] Anybody else. God. Oh. Oh. Sister Hannah. First. I want to say. Pastor. I think the word was for me as well.

[33:44] Maybe. Maybe. Thanksgiving. And June. Is for. The birthday people in June. All right. Let's. Let's talk about that. Amen. Amen. in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, it says, Trust the Lord your God and lean on your own understanding.

[34:32] In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. And for me, that's so powerful because there's so many times where I think that I can figure it out on my own, and every time I've tried, I've failed.

[34:46] But as soon as I open up my word and I pray and I just try to reach out to him is when he speaks to me the most, and I'm so grateful for him. Let's praise the Lord. Lord Jesus, we thank you, God.

[34:57] We thank you, Jesus, for who you are today, God. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. Oh, Mario. I'm still learning a lot.

[35:13] Obviously, I'm thankful for my family and, you know, my children and everything that I have so far. I thank Jesus for allowing me to be here right now, and, you know, I do give a lot of thanks to him for allowing him to put Shane and your family in my path of life and giving me the opportunity and to be here and learn.

[35:44] And it's hard for me to put it into words. But I've learned a lot this last year, and I just know that difficult times don't last forever.

[36:01] And, you know, when we're going through something right now, we lost one of my family members recently. And I know, you know, the Lord was with me the whole time with our family.

[36:12] You know, when I was down there, you know, I was thinking about the church, you know, thinking about you. I was thinking about God a lot, you know.

[36:24] And it just done a lot of positive things for me in my life.

[36:35] And I know that, like Hannah said, when I try to figure it out on my own, it just doesn't work. And without him, you know, I get strength, and I'm able to move on and learn.

[36:49] And I know he's going to be by my side all the time, regardless of what the situation may be. And I do, you know, I thank him so much for just, you know, putting you in my path and for your family and the church family for being so open with me and my family and, you know, allowing me to participate and take part in this.

[37:15] Thank you. Let's give God some glory today. Lord Jesus, we thank you for your peace and your mercy and your grace. God, for bringing us together to serve you together. Lord, we thank you, Jesus.

[37:25] We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. Anybody else? Oh, Taylor. Taylor. I'm thankful for that beautiful boy over there.

[37:41] Amen. I'm thankful for God bringing me through this season that I'm in right now. And it's hard to see the end of it, and hard to thank him for the season that I'm in right now and that I've gone through, but I'm thanking him for it and for bringing me through it and bringing me and Miles through it.

[38:05] And I'm thankful for my parents and all that they've done for me and Miles. And I'm thankful for God who sees where I'm at and knows where I'm at and is helping me through it.

[38:24] And I thank him for this season. Amen. Let's thank God for that. Lord Jesus, we thank you for being an ever-present help, Lord God. God, you know the beginning from the end, Lord, and we trust you, Jesus.

[38:37] We may not see it, Lord, but we trust you, God. We see you, Jesus, and we know that you have our lives in your hands, Lord, and our faith is in you today. Amen. How about you, Miles?

[38:49] Vincent, you want to testify? You want to testify, Vincent? Say what you're thankful for God for? Say it again. Thank you, God.

[39:04] Yeah. Thank you, Dad. All right. Good job, Brother Vincent. I thought a spirit of laughter was going to come in this place.

[39:16] Amen. Let's all stand. Let's all stand. I mean, it feels good in the house of God today. I was also trying to think of an illustration of what I could use, and then I thought of the evergreen tree.

[39:34] Now, we got a few that we had in our backyard when we first bought the house, and we loved those trees, the pine trees. You know, they're supposed to be green in the summer and the winter all year round.

[39:45] That's why they call them evergreen trees. Our trees died because their root system wasn't very good, and they couldn't get water like they needed. But typically, they're supposed to be evergreens.

[39:57] You know, they're supposed to be evergreen trees. You know, they're supposed to stay green. It doesn't matter what the changes of the weather are around it. The tree just stays green in the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter.

[40:11] It goes through fall when all the other trees are losing its leaves. It's there and green. Amen. And I believe God wants to teach us that we have to have an ever thankfulness, like an evergreen tree.

[40:27] We've got to be careful, though, because if the root system's not right and we're not getting the living water, the word, you know, it can still end up in a bad situation.

[40:37] But if we're connected to God, if we're connected to the word of God, amen, if it's in us and we have a root system that can bring it into us, into our hearts, amen, we'll be ever thankful.

[40:51] No matter what storms, no matter what seasons we go through, we can be ever thankful. Amen. And everything give thanks because it's the will of God. Amen for us. Thank you, Jesus.