Offertory Prayer: Our Father, we praise you for being amazing, caring and loving. We thank you for you acts of service. We cheerfully give our offerings to you. In Jesus name Amen.

Intro: Good morning, Discovery Church! Happy New Year!

It’s 2025. A new year often comes with new hopes, new goals, and even some new worries. But before we rush into the future, I want us to pause and reflect—not on what we don’t have, but on all that we do have in Christ.

Because here’s the truth: Of all the people in the world, we as Christians have the most to be thankful for.

As we stand at the beginning of a new year, I want to ask you:

• What’s your foundation for this year?
• What’s going to anchor you when life gets hard?
• What will sustain your joy when things don’t go as planned?

Paul answers these questions in Colossians 3:15 when he writes:

This verse reminds us that gratitude isn’t just an emotion—it’s a command and a posture of faith that we carry into every season of life.

So today, as we step into this new year, we’re going to look at three areas of gratitude that should define us as believers in 2025 and beyond.

We need to be thankful for the simple things.

Paul starts by reminding us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts—not fear, not stress, not anxiety. And when we allow God’s peace to lead us, we start to see even the smallest blessings as gifts from Him.

Going Deeper:

It’s easy to overlook the simple things:

• The breath in our lungs.
• The food on our table.
• The roof over our heads.
• The people God has placed in our lives.

But the Bible reminds us:

We didn’t earn these blessings—they are gifts of God’s grace.

Application:

• For those feeling overwhelmed: Be thankful for the strength God has already given you to face what’s ahead.
• For those in seasons of waiting: Be thankful for God’s timing, even when it doesn’t match your plans.
• For those starting something new this year: Be thankful for the fresh opportunities God is opening in 2025.

Gratitude shifts our focus from what’s missing to what God has already provided.

We need to be thankful for hard things.

Now, this is the part we don’t like. How can we be thankful for trials, pain, and struggles?

But Scripture teaches us that God uses hard things to shape us, grow us, and prepare us for what’s ahead.

Paul says in

Going Deeper:

God’s purpose in our pain is always redemptive.

• Joseph was betrayed, imprisoned, and forgotten, but God used his suffering to position him as a leader who saved his family.
• Job lost everything but came out on the other side with greater faith and deeper knowledge of God.

Application:

• For those walking through grief: Trust that God is near the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). He’s not distant—He’s with you.
• For those facing financial struggles: Thank God for providing what you need today and for teaching you to depend on Him more fully.
• For those feeling stuck in trials: Ask God what He’s teaching you through the struggle—and thank Him in advance for the growth that will come.

Gratitude doesn’t deny the pain—it looks beyond it to the God who is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28).

3. We need to be Thankful for Spiritual Blessings

Paul ends Colossians 3:15 by calling us to be thankful in community—to remember that we are one body in Christ. And that leads us to focus not just on physical blessings, but on the spiritual blessings that anchor our faith.

A. Be Thankful for Salvation

If God did nothing else for us in 2025, the fact that we are saved by grace would be reason enough to worship Him every day.

We were sinners, deserving judgment—but God gave us life and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

B. Be Thankful for Christian Fellowship

We aren’t meant to walk this journey alone. God gave us the church—a family of believers who encourage us, strengthen us, and worship with us.

Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us:

C. Be Thankful for Our Faith

Faith isn’t just belief—it’s dynamic and alive.

• It sustains us when life is hard.
• It gives us direction when we’re lost.
• It connects us to God in prayer, knowing He hears us.

Application:

• For those struggling spiritually: Be thankful that salvation doesn’t depend on you—it depends on God’s grace.
• For those feeling isolated: Be thankful for the church family God has given you—and lean into it this year.
• For those looking for growth: Be thankful for God’s Word and His Spirit, and commit to deeper faith in 2025.

Conclusion:

Church, as we step into this new year, let’s not be people who grumble and complain about what we don’t have. Instead, let’s be a people who overflow with gratitude for what God has already done and what He promises to do.

• Be thankful for the simple things that remind us of God’s daily provision.
• Be thankful for the hard things that God uses to grow us.
• Be thankful for the spiritual blessings that secure our hope and give us purpose.

Challenge for 2025:

Start every day with three specific prayers of thanksgiving.

1. One for something simple.
2. One for something hard.
3. One for something spiritual.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank You for Your faithfulness in 2024 and trust You for what lies ahead in 2025. Teach us to be a people who give thanks in all circumstances. May our gratitude be a testimony to the world that You are good. Amen.