MID WEEK MOTIVATION - "Embracing the Season" Psalm 95:1-7

You're listening to the Midweek Motivation Podcast from DeSoto Hills Baptist Church in South Haven Mississippi.

Here's your hosts Mark Lewis, david Burgess and Pastor Grant Stegall.

Welcome to the Midweek Moment Podcast here at DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

I'm Mark Lewis.

And I'm David Burgess as he's getting ready to drink a sip of coffee there.

We've launched our podcast channel here on Apple last week.

Be sure and subscribe.

Share our link on social media.

We hope that this programming can encourage folks throughout DeSoto County and beyond.

David, what's up?

Not too much, buddy.

How's it going?

It's going good.

Last week I asked Grant about decorating for the holidays.

Last week I asked Grant about decorating for the holidays.

When does the Burgess household put up Christmas Okay.

so good question Get in the mic You've got to get into it closer.

Good question.

So this year was a little different.

I mean, it's really hit or miss depending on the mood of the couple weeks leading up to Thanksgiving time.

So youall decorate before thanksgiving typically we did this year for sure, like there's been days where or years where we've uh waited till after, but uh, last few years have been before like weekend before, but this year it was like november 1st happened and so did our christmas tree, like it went up.

We had to get a new one and it was there and hannah was like, let let's just put it up, absolutely.

Yeah, so, uh, we did it, and then up goes the direct uh decorations pretty much right after that.

So yes, we've been up for a week now.

Uh, I told Grant I've.

Well, I've now got the outside up.

I haven't lit the outside, but inside is up and has been on for almost two weeks now.

Now, who's the decorator in the house, you or Han?

I mean this year, hannah, I was out of pocket the day that the ornaments went up.

So I came home one day and all the ornaments were on the tree and I was like, okay, right on, I skipped that part.

Getting the boxes up from the attic and down the stairs is not my favorite, but Hannah did all that, so I just kind of breezed through it this year.

Right Now.

I don't know if I'll get the chance to talk to you here on the podcast before Christmas, so I wanted to ask you this question real quick before we segue what's your favorite Christmas tradition and what do you enjoy most about the Christmas holiday?

All right.

Favorite Christmas tradition is just the feeling of being like free to go see people, just the freedom to go to dad's house to spend extra time at my family's house, to spend extra time with Hannah's parents, you know, at Hannah's parents' house and letting the boys run around and see cousins and play with whatever they got new for Christmas, or even before Christmas there's extra time that we get to spend with the people that we love and care about, and so I know it's not necessarily a focused tradition, but it is a tradition at our house that we just get some focused time with people.

That we love.

Right, you and Han have about a week off, something like that.

Yeah, yep, okay, growing up.

This is another one.

We're kind of still on the Christmas one.

Real quick, what was your most memorable Christmas gift?

Most memorable Christmas gift was probably my Nintendo 64.

Um, I guess it was 96.

Um, my brother and I were like pretty dead set on getting one.

Like we went to Blockbuster they had one set up and we would go into Blockbuster and play it, and I didn't even know how to play it.

It was all 3d and I was like what, this is the hardest thing I've ever done, and so we didn't think we were going to get one.

But cause, you didn't even know how to play it, it was all 3D and I was like what, this is the hardest thing I've ever done, and so we didn't think we were going to get one.

Because you didn't really know where to go in that game.

Yeah, the directions were crazy and you just didn't know how to move because you never moved in 3D, and so we got that and we were pretty pumped about that.

That was the most memorable.

I remember one year James and Kathy Lewis gave me a keyboard and it was a Roland keyboard and it had what's called a sequencer on it which allows you to multitrack, and that I can tell you for sure was the most expensive thing they probably ever bought for us.

Those things were very, very, very pricey.

And I spent a lot of time playing with that thing.

Contrast, contrast my favorite versus your favorite.

I mean, I'm nerdy with the video games, I get it, but the keyboard?

Yeah, absolutely, without a doubt.

Now I jumped the gun, like I said, with Christmas, but I want to go back to Thanksgiving, since that is the holiday that we're currently celebrating and what we're talking about today.

What's your most memorable Thanksgiving memory?

And I'll start with mine.

Growing up, we only saw my Tennessee grandparents twice a year.

We would drive up there for Thanksgiving holidays and we would drive up there for Christmas and because of that, we would stay for a number of days and Thanksgiving we would go on Wednesdays.

We wouldn't come home normally until Saturday.

My most memorable Thanksgiving memory, the memory I have embedded is we would always go into Nashville on Black Friday, and so I remember all of the.

You know, in the 90s Black Friday was a thing, and I know to some degree it still is, but with online shopping and stuff now it's just not what it was then, where it was.

Just everybody in Nashville was at those malls, and so, like I still remember to this day how crazy it was, but how exciting it was.

So what's your Thanksgiving?

memory Mine's along the same lines.

So growing up my family never did the Black Friday stuff like ever.

My family, you know, I come from a family where pretty to ourselves, reserved to ourselves.

You know, all my siblings, my dad, like with my family, if we have, if we have each other, and that's all we have, that's all we need.

That's kind of like been the way I've grown up and I've.

You know I'm different, like from my family.

You know the more the merrier in my life and I love being around people all the time and I would do it all the time have people over whatever.

But the Black Friday thing was way different for me when Hannah and I started dating.

Is Hannah big into it?

Oh yeah, for sure.

Maybe now that we have kids and we're two toddlers at the same age, you grown up, kind of make you a little haggard old and wear you out.

But pre-children.

Y'all went out.

Yeah, for sure.

I thought this is the wildest thing I've ever done is stay out till 2 am shopping.

So you were out, so she would go out Thanksgiving night yeah.

Thanksgiving night, as soon as some of the stores would open, when Tanger was there, like we were at Tanger at ridiculous hours and I thought, wow, at that Nike store.

I did not see myself ever being in this position, but here I am.

I love it.

We want you guys to head over to our Facebook page.

I've uploaded a post.

We want you to tell us your favorite Thanksgiving memory or tradition.

Last week we talked about Psalm 136.

As we approach Thanksgiving, Today, David's got a word for us about being thankful in a segment we like to call the Midweek Moments.

So being thankful at Thanksgiving?

You know you get that question what are you thankful for?

And so you kind of like rewind your year and think about all that you've done, think about what you didn't do and you think about your blessings.

And you know you look and see how you've grown over the year and a lot of people you know the default would be like, wow, like, I have my health, my family has my health, they have their health, I have my health, everybody's healthy.

That's great.

We did a good year financially, you know, monetarily, we've been blessed.

You know those are some of the go-to answers when you think about being thankful at Thanksgiving.

But sometimes you know being around, being on staff, at church, being a minister, you know you see and you hear about and you pray for people that are in your congregation that are sick, you know, that don't have their health, that are facing financial crisis or issues or they're struggling living, check to check or whatever.

You think about those things.

And then you start to, you know, question your heart's motivation, like what if that was me?

Right?

You know what if I was experiencing these type of hardships whether my health or like— Scary thought, yeah, scary.

And there's people in our congregation that are going through treatments for cancer and their bodies aren't healing.

And I think about those people and how would my heart's posture be if I was in more of that kind of situation?

My heart's posture be if I was in more of that kind of situation?

And so that's over the past couple of years, and even especially this year, I've noticed, you know, my thinking changing Instead of focusing yes, be thankful for all that God has done, be thankful for God growing you in different areas, whether it be financially.

You're growing your family, you have your health like.

Be thankful for those things.

But to make a big deal about it, let's change our perspective on the universality of God's blessings and how.

Let's harp on the things that we can all be thankful for, not just monetary things or health.

But no matter where you are, no matter who you are, there's something to be thankful for.

No matter what's going on in your life, no matter what you've done, no matter the pain that you're going through, the hurt in this life that you've received, there is something to focus on that everybody can be thankful for.

And so, with that said, I was thinking about Psalm 95.

So you think about the good things that's going on in your life, and then you think about people who are struggling.

And so where's the balance?

Like, yes, be thankful, where's the balance?

And so I was looking at Psalm 95, and this is what it reads.

I'll just read the first three verses.

Psalm 95 says this so come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise, for the Lord is a great God and a great King, above all gods.

And so when I think about Thanksgiving now, in light of my good situation or whatever I'm struggling with in the lives of our congregation and the people in our congregation, I want to be somebody who points to true blessing, that points others to the true blessing, to what we can truly all be thankful for.

And in Psalm 95, verse 1, it says make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Psalms 95:1

Like Jesus, I want people.

I want to point people to the blessing that is in knowing Jesus and being known by Him and having that foundation that he is, that salvation, that solid rock foundation that he is, that he provides for us.

That's good for me, that's good for the prideful heart that has a lot of things and doesn't give thanks to God.

That's a good reminder for that person.

And it's also a good reminder for the person who's in the trenches, who's dealing with just garbage in their life, that's dealing with pain and hurt and health issues and financial situation.

Like looking to Jesus is like the universal blessing.

He is the one who loves us.

He is the one who stepped into our shoes, even though he didn't have to.

He stepped down from heaven, from you know perfect presence and his presence with the Father and their relationship face to face.

Like he stepped out of that world, stepped out of that kingdom into this mess, identified with us, stepped in our shoes and did it without sin and lived his life perfectly on our behalf to save us, those who didn't even have the knowledge of him, who didn't even know that we could acknowledge him as our God.

He did that to people who didn't even have the knowledge of Him, who didn't even know that we could acknowledge Him as our God, like he did that to people who didn't even have a clue.

And so when I read this, let us come into His presence with thanksgiving His very presence and our ability to walk into His presence, especially through the work and finished work of Christ.

And what he did on the cross is the blessing that, no matter what you've been through, no matter where you've been, the pain that you've seen or the riches that you've endured, like whatever it is, the reality of Christ dying for our sin should bring us all to the space of being truly thankful.

And so practicing that man is to do just that every day, to acknowledge that, hey, I need to be in God's presence, I need to get in the Word, I need to pray, I need to talk to Him, I need to pour out what's on my heart, the pains, the hurts.

I need to pour out the pride that keeps me elevated and keeps me in a space where I think I don't need Him, and to remind myself of the gospel, what he's done, to come into His presence with thanksgiving.

That's what we need, that's what I need, and I've just kind of shored up in my heart and mind like that's what I want to project this season is I want to thank God for all the good that he's done, but I want to be a person that points every type of person, no matter what they're going through, to the one who loves them the most and the one who gave it all for them, and that's Jesus.

Man, that's so awesome.

Thank you so much.

We want to thank all of you for listening.

If you don't have a church home, we'd love to see you here on Sunday mornings.

You can catch our services online at desotohillscom.

Our YouTube channel is at Desoto Hills Baptist Church.

For all of our church family.

We love you so much.

We'll be off next week for Thanksgiving, but we'll see you back here on December the 4th.

God bless.

This has been your midweek motivation.

We'd love to have you join us in person on Sunday mornings.

Our services are at 9 and 10.30 am.