Thanks Giving

Bishop Riggen builds a sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and Psalm 107:1, grounding the command 'in everything give thanks' in its apocalyptic context. He argues that Paul wrote this not during peaceful times but while warning the church that destruction and the Lord's return are imminent. The proper response to coming persecution, hardship, and even present suffering is not complaint but active, vocal thanksgiving. The bishop insists this is God's will—not a suggestion—and that believers must express gratitude bodily, fruitfully, and worshipfully. He contrasts being merely thankful (an inward attitude) with giving thanks (an outward action), using the ten lepers in Luke 17 to illustrate: all were thankful, but only the one who returned to give thanks was made whole. Suffering is ordained and purposeful; after we suffer a while, God perfects, establishes, strengthens, and settles us. The bishop urges the church to stop letting circumstances dictate worship, to rejoice and give thanks even in the worst trials, because God orders every step and works all things for good. Thanksgiving should not be a yearly event but a daily, forever lifestyle. The spiritual purpose is to prepare the church spiritually for difficult days ahead by cultivating a habit of grateful, expressive worship that transcends all circumstances.