Say 'Thank You,' Paul!

Pastor Paul Dancy • November 4, 2024

“Say ‘Thank You,’ Paul!”

I remember my mother teaching me to act thankful for new underwear or socks from my grandparents on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or my birthday. What I really wanted was a new six-shooter and Greenie Stick-M-Caps that went “BANG!” I took a lot for granted when I was young. I never thought about the food, clothes, home, and everything else my parents gave me every day, but just what I wanted and thought was fun. I remember crying on my birthday once because I didn’t get the exact bicycle I wanted.


We can be that way with the Lord, who gives us every last thing for body and soul. He has given us beds, lots of clothes, 1,095+ meals every year, clean water, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, husbands, wives, electricity, homes, vehicles, gasoline, roads, jobs, salaries, investments, dishes, phones, TVs, computers, education, furnaces, air conditioning, freedom, friends, vacations, books, musical instruments, pets, parks, sports, museums, trees, sunshine, packed grocery stores, welfare and government agencies, military protection, salaries, medicine, nurses, doctors, dentists, therapists, hospitals, restaurants, insurance, photographs and videos of the past, lawnmowers, lawns, neighbors, artwork on our walls, indoor plumbing, tables, chairs, couches, windows, stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, dishes, dressers for all of our stuff, talents, skills, spiritual gifts, 1440 minutes every day, 365 days every year, libraries, hardware stores, movie theaters, hymns and Christian music, pencils, pens, and paper, tools, sewing machines, carpets, farms, employers, employees, the Bible in our own language, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, godly teachers and pastors and other church workers, schools, high schools, colleges, seminaries, a beautiful church building, a wonderful church family of dear Christian friends who love us, a Savior who died to give us forgiveness, life, and salvation, and faith in Him. And toys. Yes, toys, underwear, and socks! In a few minutes, I thought of over 100 blessings we receive from our Heavenly Father. Everything we have, whether physical or spiritual, comes from our gracious Lord. We came into this world in our birthday suits, and we go out in our best suits. Everything came from Him, and we leave it all behind. However, what we do with it in the meantime is vitally important.


Jesus tells a parable recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 about a man going on a journey who entrusts 3 workers with 10 bags of gold, 5 bags of gold, or 1 bag of gold. The first two invest what they are given and double its value, pleasing their master when He returns. But the third dug a hole and buried it because he feared losing it. He did nothing with it. He had it for a while, and it did no one any good. The Master was not pleased.


In November, we plan to have three Sundays focusing on what the Lord has graciously entrusted to us, namely our time, talents, and treasures. Whether God has given us a little or a lot, it’s not ours to keep but to use and invest for Him. Perhaps we’ve always thought of the church as a place where we receive many things. But where do they come from?


There is a story of a great King long ago whose son was being married, so he invited all the nobles of the land to a great banquet to celebrate. Instead of expensive gifts, the king asked each man only to bring a jug of fine wine, which would be poured together to create a fabulous mixed wine for the wedding banquet. As each noble arrived, he poured his bottle of wine into a huge barrel. The King dipped out a cup of the blended wine to give the toast, and he took a sip. Surprisingly, he spat out the cup’s contents and shouted, “This is nothing but water!” Each noble thought that no one would notice if he only brought water instead of expensive wine to the banquet. They each thought that the others would bring the ‘good stuff.’ 


So, how many of those 100 blessings has the Lord entrusted to you? And just what are you doing with them?

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I want to share a story, actually several stories. I remember when I was young in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in Fredericktown, Missouri, of going up to the altar rail with my parents and receiving a blessing from my pastor. I remember sticking my head in between the posts on the altar rail and the pastor giving me a blessing. I don't exactly remember the words, but I knew it was important and I wanted that blessing. I remember in confirmation learning about what the pastor was actually saying, what those words actually meant. To understand what God was saying in his scriptures and growing in it. Overall, just being absolutely amazed at what my pastors, Pastor Sean and Pastor Beering were teaching me and knowing God better and just the joyfulness of it. And I remember Lyndi going through confirmation, adult confirmation, with Pastor Schueler in Rosenberg, Texas, and then seeing from her eyes what it meant to be Lutheran, to understand the faith. I had grown up in the Lutheran church, so it was all ordinary for me, but for her it was extraordinary to know and to understand and have that time with a pastor. And I'm so thankful for the pastors in my life and all of the other church workers that have been a part of my life who have helped me to understand who God is. I mentioned in this weekend’s sermon that there's an initiative, a program through the LCMS called Set Apart to Serve. It points out that we have a lack of pastors, teachers, and other church workers. Set Apart to Serve reminds us that the Lord asks us to pray for laborers for the harvest, and I encourage you to pray for laborers for the harvest. To pray for those that teach us who God is and to help us to understand how much we need him. If you happen to know some young people considering church work or being pastors, pray for them, encourage them. God has gifted them to us to answer our questions. Pray fervently that the Lord would send workers into his harvest so that we know him. Keep that in your prayers. I encourage you to look for people who would be good to take God's calling into his church. May the Lord provide workers for His harvest that we may know God and how richly He blesses us. Amen.
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