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other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
Each day this week we’re sharing one tip from Robert Emmons, “Ten Ways to Become More Grateful.” November 17,
2010 from Greater Good Magazine. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/ten_ways_to_become_more_grateful1/
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"Giving thanks when we worship"
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Psalm 95:1 Come, let’s sing to Adonai!
Let’s shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s shout for joy to him with songs of praise.
3 For Adonai is a great God,
a great king greater than all gods.
4 He holds the depths of the earth in his hands;
the mountain peaks too belong to him.
5 The sea is his — he made it —
and his hands shaped the dry land.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship;
let’s kneel before Adonai who made us.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people
in his pasture, the sheep in his care.
If only today you would listen to his voice:
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Learn Prayers of Gratitude. In many spiritual traditions, prayers of gratitude are considered to be the most powerful form of prayer, because through these prayers people recognize the ultimate source of all they are and all they will ever be. * Israel developed and refined their understanding of the one God they worshiped over time. At certain points, they adapted language from the cultures around them, as in verse 3 of today’s reading. They tended to refer to all supernatural beings, who the New Testament and most Christians call “angels,” as “gods.” But God was the great person they worshiped and thanked, the “great king over all other gods.”
• One continual hazard of Israel’s sacrificial system was the temptation to see the sacrifices as a way to “buy off” God and win divine favor. Psalm 50:13-14 expressed the reality: God didn’t need people’s sacrifices, but valued them as an expression of gratitude for God’s gifts. How have you learned to “come before him with thanks” in your times of worship?
• Verse 7 echoes many other psalms (including the beloved Psalm 23) in identifying us as sheep for whom God cares as a shepherd. The image may have been clearer to pastoral Israelites than to
modern city dwellers. Sheep are utterly dependent on their shepherd to keep them fed, watered and safe. Left to their own devices, they tend to be helpless to ensure their own survival. How grateful are
you that in a big, complex universe you are one of God’s sheep, watched over with caring and love?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for promising to be the “good shepherd” who cares for me, who doesn’t run away in the face of trouble but is always there. I gratefully worship and praise you. Amen.
* Each day this week we’re sharing one tip from Robert Emmons, “Ten Ways to Become More Grateful.” November 17, 2010 from Greater Good Magazine.
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Dr. Amy OdenDr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her latest book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.
The GPS tip for today is "Learn Prayers of Gratitude." Ask a room of people if they have ever been grateful for anything and every hand in the room shoots up. The face of a loved one, a good night’s sleep or a thrilling sunrise can fill us with gratitude if when we pause to pay attention. Gratitude gives us eyes to see blessings in each ordinary moment.
There is something about gratitude that is deeply embedded in the human experience regardless of background or religion, perhaps a universal experience at some point in every life. Could it be that gratitude is built in to the human species so that we can turn our hearts to the generous work of God all around us?
Neuroscience is discovering another apparent built-in mechanism of the human species: when we think grateful thoughts, we are more likely to see more things that make us grateful, strengthening neuro-pathways of gratitude that give us grateful “eyes to see” the world around us. Gratitude cultivates more gratitude.
Ask yourself: What am I grateful for right now, in this moment? You know the answer. You don’t have to look to someone else in order to know what you are grateful for. Your own grateful heart is itself a simple and powerful source of prayer. Pause for deep listening to gratitude and authentic prayer will follow. As gratitude rises in your heart, let it fill your whole being and overflow into the world. This is a prayer of gratitude, pure and simple.
Come, let’s sing out loud to the Lord!
Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation! (Psalm 95: 1)
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"Giving thanks every day"
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Psalm 96:1 Sing to Adonai a new song!
Sing to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Sing to Adonai, bless his name!
Proclaim his victory day after day!
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Make a Vow to Practice Gratitude. Research shows that making an oath to perform a behavior increases the likelihood that the action will be executed. Therefore, write your own gratitude vow, which could be as simple as “I vow to count my blessings each day,” and post it somewhere where you will be reminded of it every day. * If we associate expressing gratitude to God only with “worship,” we might think that gratitude is a once-a week experience. Psalm 96 anticipated much of the modern psychological research we’ve reviewed
during this series, as it invited us to express gratitude for God’s saving work “every single day.” The apostle Paul similarly urged Colossian Christians to “overflow with thanksgiving” and “be thankful people” (cf. Colossians 2:7, 3:12-17).
• “96:2 the news: The Greek word that translates the underlying Hebrew is usually translated as ‘good news’ or ‘gospel.’ See Isaiah 52:7, where ‘good news’ is also associated with the proclamation of God’s rule.” * What are some ways (besides standing on a street-corner handing out tracts) you can share the good news of God’s saving work every day?
Ø Some of us are musically gifted, and we like the idea of “sing to the Lord a new song.” Others, of course, tend to suffer in silence through the singing parts of worship, whether traditional or
contemporary. Regardless of our musical aptitude or tastes, what is the heart attitude expressed by the poetic imagery of singing to the Lord a new song? How can all of us join in that spiritual experience?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, many more of us sing in the car or the shower than we do in public. Help my heart to overflow with inner songs of gratitude to you, no matter what kind of singing voice I have. Amen.
* Each day this week we’re sharing one tip from Robert Emmons, “Ten Ways to Become More Grateful.” November 17, 2010 from Greater Good Magazine.
** J. Clinton McCann, study note on Psalm 96:2 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 946-947 OT.
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"Thanks for God’s forgiveness, healing, rescue and faithful love"
Friday, 1 December 2017
Psalm 103:1 (0) By David:
(1) Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!
3 He forgives all your offenses,
he heals all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the pit,
he surrounds you with grace and compassion,
5 he contents you with good as long as you live,
so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 Adonai brings vindication and justice
to all who are oppressed.
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Watch your Language. Grateful people have a particular linguistic style that uses the language of gifts, givers, blessings, blessed, fortune, fortunate, and abundance. * Sometimes even without a conscious intention (perhaps influenced by what we hear others saying), we adopt a "linguistic style” full of words like earned, deserved, produced, accomplished and achieved. There is nothing wrong with being conscientious workers, of course. But when the psalmist said, “Let my whole being bless the Lord,” it was not because of a belief that God should be grateful for what he had done, but because of gratitude for what God had done for him.
• Verses 3-4 strongly suggest that the psalmist had been through a hard time, perhaps a severe illness from which he could not deliver himself. What reasons for gratitude and praise has God helped you find in the wake of your painful experiences? How can you grieve life’s tragedies, personal or communal, and yet stay open to God’s healing Spirit and God’s pledge of a future free of terrible tragedies?
• 1 John 1:8 says “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” How does the first phrase of verse 3 in this psalm show that the psalmist felt no need for denial or deception about sin? How do God’s grace and compassion create a space in which moral honesty, with ourselves, others and God, is cleansing, rather than scary? In what area(s) are you particularly
grateful for God’s forgiveness?
Prayer: O God, grow my comfort and enjoyment of language that recognizes you, and not my own merits, as the ultimate source of so much of the good in my life. Thank you for your many gifts to me. Amen.
* Each day this week we’re sharing one tip from Robert Emmons, “Ten Ways to Become More Grateful.” November 17, 2010 from Greater Good Magazine.
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"Giving thanks to God eternally"
Saturday, 2 December 2017
Revelation 7:9 After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands; 10 and they shouted,
“Victory to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living beings; they fell face down before the throne and worshipped God, saying,
12 “Amen!
“Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks,
honor and power and strength
belong to our God forever and ever!
“Amen!”
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Go Through the Motions. If you go through grateful motions, the emotion of gratitude should be triggered. Grateful motions include smiling, saying thank you, and writing letters of gratitude. * A prisoner of conscience wrote the book of Revelation. The Romans exiled him for his faith on the small Mediterranean island of Patmos, isolated from the Christian churches he led and loved (cf. Revelation 1:9). Yet he produced (and somehow sent from the island) a work of awesome vision and praise. At its heart was the scene of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” in the courts of heaven praising Jesus as the self-giving, saving Lamb of God. Gratitude isn’t limited to this life or this world, Revelation said. Gratitude to our God and Savior is the vocabulary of eternity.
Ø Jesus called his followers to have the same positive impact on our world as light in a dark place, or salt on flavorless food (Matthew 5:13-16). In what ways is your life brighter (not flawless, but brighter!) because of God’s love, forgiveness and presence with you? In what ways does the promise of an eternity of praise and gratitude shine into your life, your heart from day to day? How can you refract the light of God’s eternity in ways that brighten the lives of others, and add zest and joy to their world? Ask God to direct you to at least one person for whom you can be God’s gratitude-inspiring presence in this holiday season.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I offer blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might to you forever and always. (And when I don’t, please remind me.) Amen.
* Each day this week we’re sharing one tip from Robert Emmons, “Ten Ways to Become More Grateful.” November 17, 2010 from Greater Good Magazine.
Family Activity: Play “Penny Praise!” Get one or two rolls of pennies from the bank. (Warning: Pennies are a choking hazard, so if you have very small children in your home, use an item larger than pennies.) Hide individual pennies all over the house, in the car, in shoes, backpacks, etc. Gather the whole family, set a timer for two minutes, and go on a penny hunt, with each person finding as many pennies as possible. Every time someone finds a penny, they shout out a praise to God for something or someone they are thankful for. Your house will be filled with voices shouting praises to God simultaneously! When the timer sounds, come back together. Have everyone share the number of pennies they found and name a few of
the praises they shouted. Some pennies are probably still hiding, so continue the game all week, with everyone shouting a praise whenever they find a penny. Thank God for all the reasons to praise Him!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Fry and family on the death of her aunt Lavon Hill, 11/18
• Margaret Dack and family on the death of her sister Lola Charlene Prather, 11/18
• Gisele and Mike Shore and family on the death of their son Danny Shore, 11/14
• Ralph Waters and family on the death of his wife Jo Ann Waters, 11/14
• Carol Horsch and Debra Tidmore and family on the death of their mother Jo Ann Waters, 11/14
• Family and friends of Connie Hines on her death, 11/11
• Lacey Finley and family on the death of her father Paul Kaberline, 11/9
• Judy Bass and family on the death of her brother-in-law Donald R. “Don” Rogers, 11/8
• Family and friends of Georgia Walker on her death, 11/6
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