A Recipe for Lemonade

I think one of the more difficult things about preaching regularly is coming up with fresh approaches to topics, seasons, or observances that occur every year.  Case in point: Thanksgiving.  That being said, this year has been a bit different for me; focusing on All Saints Day and Veterans Day the first two Sundays of November has lent itself to sharing some really fun stories in worship.  This coming Sunday (11/18) presents a challenge in that it's the Sunday just before Thanksgiving, and we have a service on Wednesday, the Eve of Thanksgiving.  How to distinguish between the two if I'm using gratitude as a theme for the month?

I've settled on using 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 for this Sunday and one of the thanksgiving Psalms for Wednesday next week (11/21).

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 can be a hard word because it asks us to live in counter-intuitive ways: being joyful, prayerful, and thankful in ALL THINGS and whether we particularly feel like it or not.  The sermon is entitled "A Recipe for Lemonade", based on the cliche, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."  I don't want the sermon to be cliche but powerful.  So...if anyone has any stories that you'd like to share that have powerful messages in them about what it is to remain joyful, prayerful, and/or thankful in the midst of tough times, I'd be happy to hear and consider them for sharing on Sunday.

More as the week progresses...

Steve
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