Psalm 100 is often referred to as a “Psalm of Thanksgiving”—And nothing in our worship calls out our thanksgiving to our God more than when standing to sing the doxology that we know by heart. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise God all creatures here below”… Meditating on the lyrics of the doxology allow us to truly understand the blessing that flows from our God. The fact that our body is a gift; our children are gifts; the seeds we plant, and the earth and rain and sun, and certainly the subsequent growth of our crops. All these things are gifts; even the work we do, a gift; life itself is a gift! The food on our tables—all the blessings we have enjoyed over the years are gifts that have flowed from God; and when we truly realize that God gave us one more gift: the capacity for gratitude—we finally comprehend how amazing our God really is.
In his book, author John Ortberg points to these insights and writes: “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It opens us up to wonder, delight, and humility. It makes our hearts generous—It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. Gratitude is not something we give to God so as to make sure God knows that we acknowledge how much trouble He went to for us. Gratitude is more than that. It’s the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all God’s other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food. Without gratitude, our lives degenerate into envy, dissatisfaction, and complaints, taking what we have for granted and always wanting more.” Join us this week at Sedona UMC as the Rev. Fred Mast will deliver a sermon of Thanksgiving entitled “The Gift of Gratitude”.
Sunday mornings we enter the spirit of worship at 9:30 a.m. featuring joyful music, special times of prayer and passionate life changing messages designed to move you closer in your relationship with Jesus Christ and others. Immediately following worship you are invited to stay and join us in our Fellowship Hall for the friendliest and best fellowship time you will find anywhere featuring delicious snacks and great coffee and always friendship. Tickets are now available for our “Annual Women’s Christmas Dinner” a very special night on Wednesday December 6th beginning at 6 P.M. There will be a wonderful Christmas Program, Ornament Exchange, Beautiful Decorations, and a Delicious Gourmet Dinner served by the Men of Sedona UMC. Come, invite a friend, and be pampered and welcomed into the spirit of Christmas. Information and tickets are available by contacting the church office.
We offer a number of book and bible studies—Contact us about our upcoming Advent Studies which will begin November 28th—So many great missions, ministries and events happening at Sedona United Methodist Church. Visit our website at www.sedonaumc.org and “Like” us on Facebook. We would love to pray for you! Prayer requests may be submitted online or by calling us at 928-282-1780. We are conveniently located at 110 Indian Cliffs Road off the Back O’Beyond roundabout on Route 179 in Sedona. Come and grow with us!
