per day: $1 and 144 calories (12oz) per month: $30 and 4300 calories

per day:per day: $1 and 144 calories $1 and 144 calories (12oz)(12oz)

per month:per month: $30 and 4300 calories $30 and 4300 caloriesper year:per year: $365 and 52,000 calories $365 and 52,000 calories

4.3 days4.3 days

5.7 days5.7 days

10.5 days10.5 days

$30 per month$30 per month...from graduation until retirement...from graduation until retirement...into S&P 500 mutual fund (9.6%)...into S&P 500 mutual fund (9.6%)

$210,461$210,461

Habits of body and mind that allow us to effectively cooperate with God's Spirit in the process of character transformation.

Engagement:•prayer•worship•service•giving

Abstinence:•rest•fasting•solitude

Habits of body and mind that allow us to effectively cooperate with God's Spirit in the process of character transformation

Become a disciple through discipline.

What is Gratitude?English: “the state of being appreciative of blessings received”

What is Gratitude?Greek: eucharistia “an attitude of being thankful for the good things God has done in one’s life”

What is Gratitude?Colossians 2:6-7Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

What is Gratitude?Greek: charisboth God’s gift and our response“let’s say grace”

What is Gratitude?a conscious choice to continually thank God for His grace in our lives

What is Gratitude?Biblical opposites of Gratitude:•“Complain”

Numbers 11:1Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled...


Numbers 11:4-6…the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”


Psalm 55:2-3,17Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me…Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice.


Numb 11 - anan

“to complain, express discontent, accuse”

Psalm 55 - siach

“to lament, mourn aloud, express sorrow”

Response = dependent faith

Both are human responses to difficult circumstances


Psalm 55:16-18As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain (siach) and murmur, and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, for they are many who strive with me.


Numb 11 - anan

“to complain, express discontent, accuse”

Response = ungrateful disbelief

Psalm 55 - siach

“to lament, mourn aloud, express sorrow”

Response = dependent faith

Both are human responses to difficult circumstancesIncompatible

with GratitudeCompatible

with Gratitude

What is Gratitude?Biblical opposites of Gratitude:•“Complain”•“Grumble”•“Forget” – Psalm 106

What is Gratitude?Biblical gratitude...1.takes pain to God in faith.2.doesn’t complain to self or others.3.chooses to thank God for His past faithfulness.

When Should we Practice It?Gratitude should permeate...•Phil 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When Should we Practice It?Gratitude should permeate...•Phil 4:6-7•Phil 4:8

…our prayer-life

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

When Should we Practice It?Gratitude should permeate...•Phil 4:6-7•Phil 4:8•Deut 6:20-24

…our prayer-life…our thought-life…our family-life

When Should we Practice It?Gratitude should permeate...

Philippians 2:14-15Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world…

When Should we Practice It?Gratitude should permeate...•Phil 4:6-7•Phil 4:8•Deut 6:20-24•Phil 2:14-15

…our prayer-life…our thought-life…our family-life…our church-life

Why is Gratitude so Hard?• By nature, I am ungrateful• Gratitude requires sacrifice• We live in a “Culture of Complaint”

Why Should we Practice It?Practice Gratitude

1. Cultivates happiness

2. Grows faithPsalm 63:6-11

Complain & Forget1. Cultivates sadness

Why Should we Practice It?

Psalm 63:6-11When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life to destroy it, will go into the depths of the earth... But the king will rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him will glory...


Exodus 16:1-3…on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”




3. Motivates obedience


2. Empowers liesExodus 16:1-3


Common phrase in Deuteronomy...“You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”


Psalm 106:19-21They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt





4. Brings God’s helpPhil 4:6-7



3. Excuses sinPsalm 106:19-21


Numbers 11:1Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.





4. Brings God’s helpPhil 4:6-7



3. Excuses sinPsalm 106:19-21

4. Brings God’s judgmentNumbers 11:1

How Do we Practice It?• Keep a gratitude journal

How Do we Practice It?• Keep a gratitude journal• Keep an encouragement box

How Do we Practice It?• Keep a gratitude journal• Keep an encouragement box• Create a gratitude scrapbook

How Do we Practice It?• Keep a gratitude journal• Keep an encouragement box• Create a gratitude scrapbook• Find a gratitude mentor

per day: $1 and 144 calories (12oz) per month: $30 and 4300 calories

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