November: Appreciation Month
Sermon Series: “Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude and Appreciation”
Texts: Luke 17:15-16, 1 Samuel 25:32-33, 2 Samuel 9:7-8, Exodus 18:8-10, 12, 2 Timothy 1:16-18
Sermon #1: Thankful for the Blessing
Text: Luke 17:15-16
SCI: Thanksgiving Shouldn’t Be a Low Priority—Thanksgiving Should Be a High Priority
Billboard: Thank God for the Blessing!
Sermon #2: Thankful for the Spiritual Correction
Text: 1 Samuel 25:32-33
SCI: Spiritual Correction Shouldn’t Be Rejected—Spiritual Correction Should Be Accepted
Billboard: Thank God for the Spiritual Correction!
Sermon #3: Thankful for the Acceptance
Text: 2 Samuel 9:7-8
SCI: We Are Not at the Table Because of Our Goodness—We Are at the Table Because of God’s Grace
Billboard: Thank God for the acceptance!
Sermon #4: Thankful for the Deliverance
Text: Exodus 18:8-10, 12
SCI: Appreciation Doesn’t Thrive on Hidden Testimonies—Appreciation Thrives on Shared Testimonies
Billboard: Thank God for Deliverance!
Sermon #5: Thankful for the Refreshment
Text: 2 Timothy 1:16-18
SCI: Some People Support Us During Good Times, But Others Support Us During Difficult Times
Billboard: Thank God for Refreshment!
Each Sermon Central Idea is developed in the form of an indicative.
Each Billboard is developed in the form of an imperative.
Sermon Series Overview and Outline
Prepared by Pastor Trevor Crenshaw for November 1, 2026 – November 30, 2026
All outlines are subject to divine adjustment.
Helpful Quotes for Strategic Spiritual Formation and Discipleship
Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Life Together (1938) “In the Christian community, thankfulness is just what it is anywhere else in human life: only the thankful heart can receive again and again. Only the person who thanks God for the little things he has received can also receive the great things.”
G. K. Chesterton — A Short History of England (1917) “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
C. S. Lewis — Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (1964) “Gratitude exclaims, very properly: ‘How good of God to give me this.’ Adoration says: ‘What a presence is here.’ And adoration could not have begun except in the form of gratitude, though it reaches towards something greater.”
Jonathan Edwards — A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746) “Gracious affections do arise in the saints from the contemplation of the beauty and glory of the divine perfections; and gratitude arises from the contemplation of the benefits they receive from God.”
Richard J. Foster — Celebration of Discipline (1978) “Celebration comes when the common parts of life are redeemed. Celebration comes when we discover our life together in Jesus Christ. Celebration brings joy into life, and joy makes us strong... And thanksgiving is the soil in which celebration grows.”
Dallas Willard — The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus (2015) “Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn’t just a good wish. It is the conferring of good. Gratitude is our response to blessing, acknowledging the hand of God and the hand of others who have enriched our lives.”
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chapter 7 (1559) “There is no other way of fulfilling the commandment of love than by casting off our own private interests and making ourselves servants to others... Whatever a person has received from the Lord, he ought to regard as entrusted to him on the condition that he should distribute it for the common benefit of his neighbors, with a thankful heart to God.”
Henri Nouwen — Bread for the Journey (1997) “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never indifferent, is constantly awake to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God.”