Speaker 1: Greetings and praise the Lord.
Speaker 1: Brothers and sisters, we are indeed coming towards the end, not only of the month of November, but also coming towards the end of the year.
Speaker 1: This is the final week of the month of November, ushering us into the final month of this year, and I pray that the Lord has been good to you.
Speaker 1: Our theme this particular month?
Speaker 1: We have been focusing on the open door, renewal, uplifted kingdom, refreshing, and yesterday I started us off with a message on Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: And we are entering a season of Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: And just to continue with this theme of Thanksgiving, I invite us now to focus on a Psalm, psalm 136, where the Bible says in the first three verses that I will focus on this day.
Speaker 1: It says Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Speaker 1: His love endures forever.
Speaker 1: Give thanks to the God of gods.
Speaker 1: His love endures forever.
Speaker 1: And then verse 3 says Give thanks to the Lord of Lords.
Speaker 1: His love endures forever.
Speaker 1: It's a focus on thanksgiving and as we come towards the end of this year, which has been a great year, this year, which has been a great year, I want to invite you to a moment of reflection that will lead to an overflow of thanksgiving, I know, in one way or another.
Speaker 1: It has been a difficult year.
Speaker 1: It has been a difficult season.
Speaker 1: We've had ups and downs, you know generally, whether in the country, in the world or even at a very personal level, but I also know that there have been moments or seasons where it has been that it has been a great year to all of us, or to some of us.
Speaker 1: Nevertheless, from this particular psalm, we all have reason that we can give thanks.
Speaker 1: I want to invite you also to read the entire psalm.
Speaker 1: It is a repetitive psalm where you will find the words His love endures forever, repeated again and again and just telling us that God's love is for all seasons.
Speaker 1: Nothing will come over your life or happen in your life that can take away the love of God over your life, not circumstances, not situations.
Speaker 1: And so, as we come into the end, towards the end of this year, there is a reason for us to love, to give thanks to the Lord, and Paul reminds us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter how high or how low or how wide situations and circumstances may be, or how wide situations and circumstances may be.
Speaker 1: The psalmist is reminding us that the love of the Lord endures forever.
Speaker 1: But we can see three things that I want to invite you to reflect on as points of thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: Number one, verse one, says that give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
Speaker 1: I invite you to give thanks to the Lord because of his character, his nature.
Speaker 1: He is a good God.
Speaker 1: He is good to you.
Speaker 1: He will remain good in all circumstances.
Speaker 1: That's why, at Parklands Baptist Church, we have a motto that says, a slogan that says God is good all the time and all the time God is good, and that is his nature.
Speaker 1: But secondly, verse 2 tells us that give thanks to the God of gods, and this speaks to his sovereignty.
Speaker 1: Our God is sovereign.
Speaker 1: All other gods are not God at all, but our God is sovereign and therefore, because of his sovereignty, we know that he reigns forever, and so we can give thanks for the sovereignty of God.
Speaker 1: But finally, verse 3 says give thanks to the Lord of lords, and it speaks to his authority.
Speaker 1: Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto me, and the Bible reminds us that there is nothing that is impossible with God.
Speaker 1: Even when the year is coming to an end.
Speaker 1: All things are possible with God because he has all authority and therefore, for God's character, for God's sovereignty and for God's authority, I invite you to have a reflection over your life, how this has applied in your life, and give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.
Speaker 1: God bless you.