spotlight

DEvotional: “Fall”

Devotional: “Attitude of Gratitude”

Hello Maple View Family,

The leaves have changed and are beginning to fall. The days seem shorter, and the nights seem longer. There is a crispness in the air, and pumpkin spice is everywhere. That means fall is in full swing, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

The Thanksgiving holiday is meant to be a day when we focus on expressing gratitude, sharing a meal, and gathering with family and friends. For some, however, it has turned into a day to overeat, watch football all day, go hunting, or prepare for the next day’s Black Friday shopping adventure, which is a form of hunting in its own right. Just hunting for great deals to save some bucks instead of hunting for bucks!

My family and I have a tradition of going around the table and sharing a few of the things we are most grateful for from the past year. This has become a great way for us to slow down and reflect on the many blessings God has given us over the past year.

But 1 Thessalonians 5:18 challenges us to go even further. Paul tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18: See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In these verses, Paul warns against seeking personal vengeance or retaliation. When we are wronged, we are not to seek revenge or try to “get even.” Instead, we are always to seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

That means that instead of responding to hostility with harm, Christians are called to pursue kindness, grace, and helpfulness actively. This applies both inside the church, toward one another, and outside the church, toward the broader unbelieving world. Paul says we are to do good “to everyone.”

We are also told to rejoice always. This isn’t a command to fake happiness or deny grief, pain, or difficult circumstances. Instead, it is a steady, deep-seated joy rooted in Christ’s victory over death and the unchanging hope we have in Him. Christian joy can coexist with difficult emotions and painful seasons.

That hope is strengthened in difficult times through prayer, which is why Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.”

Praying without ceasing doesn’t mean sitting in your prayer closet all day or chanting prayers 24 hours a day. It means maintaining an ongoing, unbroken attitude of dependence on God. It means developing the habit of offering up short prayers throughout the day, remaining aware of His presence, and living in constant communication with Him as we go about our daily lives.

And as we pray always, we are also called to give thanks always and give thanks in all circumstances, because this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Notice the preposition Paul uses: “in,” not “for.” Paul says to give thanks in all circumstances, not necessarily to give thanks for every evil, tragedy, or painful thing that happens.

We don't have to be thankful for cancer. We don't have to be thankful for loss. We don't have to be thankful for betrayal, suffering, or hardship.

But even in the middle of those circumstances, we can find reasons to thank God.

We can thank Him because He is sovereign. We can thank Him because He is with us. We can thank Him because He can use hardships to build our character and strengthen our faith. We can thank Him because His promises remain true when our circumstances change. And above all, we can thank Him because our hope is found in Jesus Christ.

Paul explicitly describes this lifestyle as God’s will for believers who are united with Christ.

This means gratitude isn't supposed to be something we practice only on Thanksgiving. It is supposed to be an attitude we carry with us every day.

We don't just need a day of thanksgiving; we need an attitude of gratitude.

Thanksgiving reminds us to stop and recognize our blessings, but the Christian life calls us to live with grateful hearts all year long.

So, as we gather around tables with family and friends this Thanksgiving, take time to count your blessings. Thank God for your family. Thank Him for your church family. Thank Him for the food on your table. Thank Him for the people He has placed in your life.

But don't stop there.

Thank Him even when life isn't easy.

Thank Him in the middle of the uncertainty.

Thank Him in the middle of the struggle.

Thank Him because He is still God, He is still good, He is still faithful, and our hope is still found in Jesus.

We may not always be able to choose our circumstances, but we can choose our attitude toward them.

So, this Thanksgiving, let's not just have a thankful day. Let's develop a thankful heart.

Closing Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before You with grateful hearts. Thank You for the many blessings You have given us, both the ones we recognize and the ones we often take for granted.

Thank You for our families, our friends, our church family, our homes, and the food You provide. Most of all, thank You for Jesus Christ and the salvation, hope, grace, and forgiveness we have through Him.

Father, help us to have an attitude of gratitude, not just when life is going well, but in every circumstance. When we experience hardship, remind us that You are still with us. When we are hurting, remind us that our hope is still in Christ. When we are blessed, keep us from taking those blessings for granted.

Help us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. Give us the strength to respond to evil with goodness, to respond to hostility with grace, and to treat everyone with the love of Christ.

Teach us to recognize Your presence in our everyday lives and to continually depend upon You.

May our gratitude not simply be something we express with our words, but something that is evident in the way we live.

Thank You for being faithful when we are faithless, for loving us when we are unlovable, and for giving us a hope that cannot be taken away.

We give You thanks for all that You are, all that You have done, and all that You continue to do.

It is in Your precious and holy name I pray.

Amen.

Eric Vance

Lead Minister

MV Teens

Hello, Maple View Teens and Families.

October was quite a fun month for the teens. Sunday Nights have continued to be great and a highlight, as Danny and Barb Hazelwood continue to give the youth opportunities to teach each other and properly serve the Kingdom. For Wednesday Nights and Sunday School, we have been wrapping up our lessons and are ready to move on to the next areas of study.

Sunday School is finishing up Romans this coming Sunday, and then we will begin going through the Gospel of John to help the teens continue to move past a surface-level Sunday routine and build a personal, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Beginning on Wednesday nights, we will look at how God did “67” first. Going through some of the most important Chapter 6: Verse 7 in the Bible. Seeing God’s word and meaning through a meme that our world uses.

For the month of October, the Sunday Night Teens focused on how we can lead our friends to Jesus by living faithful lives for him. Luke 5:17-26

We can share our love for cooking with a friend while showing how Jesus tells us to love one another. Caleb and Brynley put this in action by providing our group snack.

The C/A Youth Rally brought our camp friends back together to share in song and word around the campfire.

Brynley and Sam shared with us how to make monster cookies and helped us remember our favorite things from C/A.

Kyler brought the month to an end by sharing his devotion from Luke 5. The faithful friends took their friend to Jesus; they knew he could heal him. Kyler challenged us to have the faith to tear off a roof for one another.

Christmas started on November 1st for the Teens, and Barb & Danny have put together a great lineup for the remainder of the year for Sunday Nights in youth.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about one of our most fun events of the year that took place in October: our annual costume party. This year's theme was “Oops I Thought This Was A…”, where you dressed for any occasion, besides just a regular costume. We had the 3 F’s: food, fun, and fellowship. Some of the youth were able to win at the pumpkin search game and claim some Chick-fil-A gift cards. Brynley Carpenter was able to snag the award for “Best Costume” for the 2nd time in 3 years.

Thank you all for entrusting the MV Teens Team with your teens. We love working with them and working with you to equip the present of our church to be the future disciple makers of the church.

In Christ,

Eric Vance,

Lead Minister, Maple View Church of Christ

mv kids

Hello Maple View Family!

October was here and gone in a flash! It was a month full of fall fun, fellowship, and opportunities to share God's love.

On October 17th, we had our annual MV Kids trip to the pumpkin patch. We were blessed with beautiful weather and enjoyed a wonderful day of pumpkin picking, games, hayrides, and making memories with our church family. It was such a sweet time of fellowship, and we're so thankful for everyone who joined us!

Unfortunately, due to building repairs, we weren’t able to have our Fall Festival this year. Instead, we hosted a Trunk or Treat for the people in our community and welcomed an estimated 300 children plus their family members! We give God all the glory for another successful event with an awesome turnout. It was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships and share the love of Christ with our neighbors!

I want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible! Whether you prepared food, ran games, painted faces, decorated a trunk, donated candy, or helped behind the scenes, your willingness to serve made this event a tremendous success. We truly couldn't have done it without you!

But the greatest reason to celebrate this month had nothing to do with pumpkins or candy! We had the incredible joy of witnessing Piper and Clover Booton make the decision to be baptized into Christ! There is no greater blessing in children's ministry than watching young hearts grow in faith and choose to follow Jesus. We are so proud of Piper and Clover and can't wait to see how God continues to work in their lives. Please join us in celebrating these two precious young ladies and keeping them in your prayers as they continue their walk with Christ!

As we head into November, we're reminded of just how much we have to be thankful for. God has blessed MV Kids with a wonderful church family, faithful volunteers, and countless opportunities to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of children. We're excited to see what He has in store for us as we finish out the year!

With a grateful heart,

Rebecca