Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The basis of gratitude Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA November 21, 2004 Main Scripture text: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. As Christians, our thankfulness isn't based on favorable circumstances. Our thankfulness should be rooted in something that transcends the difficulties of life in a fallen world. In Colossians 1, Paul tells us that because of what Jesus has done for us, we are receive of grace, mercy, and heaven, instead of justice, judgment, and hell. We deserve death, but by the shed blood of God's Son we get eternal life! Peter says, in 1 Peter 1, that because of Jesus, we have an inheritance in heaven that cannot perish, spoil or fade! Even if we never experienced one miracle and God never provided one material blessing, that truth alone would give us much to be thankful for. But there's more. In Christ, we have a two-dimensional freedom from sin and guilt: 1) Jesus makes possible interior transformation. We are being changed inside; we are being made like Jesus, holy even as God is holy. 2) Jesus has also nullified condemnation. We don't have to be perfect to serve God. He takes and uses us like we are. There's more! Hebrews 2 tells us that we no longer have to live in the fear of death. In Christ, death is not a final resting place, but merely a dressing room where the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality! The basis of true gratitude is this: The incredible Good News of what God has done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! This kind of gratitude transcends all the stuff life throws at us. Indeed, we can be thankful in all circumstances! Supporting texts: 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 | Colossians 1:9-13 | Romans 8:35, 37 | Luke 10:19-20 | Romans 7:21-8:2 | 2 Corinthians 3:18 | 1 John 1:8-2:2 | Hebrews 9:13-14 | Hebrews 2:14-15 | 1 Corinthians 15: 54-55, 57 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (35:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 041121a: The Basis of Gratitude. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us