Greatest Thanksgiving
Dennis Marquardt
II Corinthians 4:7-5:10
11/21/99
INTRO:
Each year we are faced with this national holiday called THANKSGIVING. As an American we are thankful for the bounty of our land and the blessings of God on our past, present, and the anticipated good future. Yet, as Christians our thanksgiving is much more fundamental than giving thanks for material things.
It is more than celebrating food; it is celebrating faith that is the greatest thanksgiving!
Our salvation is the most amazing thing in the Universe. We who were full of sin have become God's very treasures, in the fallen heap of humanity God has brought forth great treasures by His son's death on Calvary!
ILLUS: Craig Randall drives a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day, he noticed a Wendy's soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some french fries or a soft drink. Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home, reports U.S. News and World Report (11/6/95). -- Bob Weniger, Ft. Collins, Colorado, Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.
PROP. SENT: The bible teaches us that the greatest thanksgiving comes from the realization that in Christ we become stronger and stronger as the years pass by, while our physical being may slowly decline our spirit can soar!
I. REALITY IN THANKSGIVING 4:7-12
A. Problems! 4:7-11
1. God's most precious treasure resides in plain ordinary clay jars!
a. Paul's point is quite simple ... there is nothing externally to suggest that we are the vessels of great wealth!
b. By casual appearance we would not seem to carry such treasure!
ILLUS: When I was in high school, I worked for a time at an armored-car company, Brink's Armored Co. in San Bernardino, California. My job was to take care of the coin that Brink's handles. We used to get forty tons of coin from Las Vegas. My ...
Dennis Marquardt
II Corinthians 4:7-5:10
11/21/99
INTRO:
Each year we are faced with this national holiday called THANKSGIVING. As an American we are thankful for the bounty of our land and the blessings of God on our past, present, and the anticipated good future. Yet, as Christians our thanksgiving is much more fundamental than giving thanks for material things.
It is more than celebrating food; it is celebrating faith that is the greatest thanksgiving!
Our salvation is the most amazing thing in the Universe. We who were full of sin have become God's very treasures, in the fallen heap of humanity God has brought forth great treasures by His son's death on Calvary!
ILLUS: Craig Randall drives a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day, he noticed a Wendy's soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some french fries or a soft drink. Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home, reports U.S. News and World Report (11/6/95). -- Bob Weniger, Ft. Collins, Colorado, Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.
PROP. SENT: The bible teaches us that the greatest thanksgiving comes from the realization that in Christ we become stronger and stronger as the years pass by, while our physical being may slowly decline our spirit can soar!
I. REALITY IN THANKSGIVING 4:7-12
A. Problems! 4:7-11
1. God's most precious treasure resides in plain ordinary clay jars!
a. Paul's point is quite simple ... there is nothing externally to suggest that we are the vessels of great wealth!
b. By casual appearance we would not seem to carry such treasure!
ILLUS: When I was in high school, I worked for a time at an armored-car company, Brink's Armored Co. in San Bernardino, California. My job was to take care of the coin that Brink's handles. We used to get forty tons of coin from Las Vegas. My ...
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