Giving Thanks In All Circumstances

TCC • November 26, 2020

I’m thankful for you. Did you know that you are a blessing to me? Each of you in your own way add meaning and joy to my life. Kim and I just prepared a Thanksgiving video for you that I hope you have watched. If not, we hope you will watch it soon because we talked about the power of gratitude that helps us lift our eyes off the difficulties of life that can cause us to grumble.


We shared a concept from a book by neurologist Rick Hansen where he describes our brains as either Velcro or Teflon. Our natural tendency (we all have this) is for negative experiences, thoughts, words and actions to stick like Velcro to our brains. They’re hard to get unstuck. On the other hand, the positive or good events of our lives slip off our brains like an egg does in a frying pan coated with Teflon. Therefore, we have to act forcefully to pull the negative thoughts from our brains and at the same time purposefully act to stop the positive thoughts from slipping right out of our memories after we experience them.


Gratitude is the key to doing both. As I focus on the good, the bad is released. As I focus on the good, I can slow its departure from my brain and hopefully even lodge it there. Wow, that’s a lot of head stuff, and God didn’t leave us with just information about gratitude… He shows us how to make it work. In 1 Thessalonians 5 we find one of the key biblical commands concerning gratitude. Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I love that verse, but it’s not easy to live out in our daily lives – especially in this COVID logjam we’ve been stuck in since March.


I want to invite you to join me on a 30-day gratitude challenge beginning today, Thanksgiving, and ending on Christmas day. My plan is to spend five minutes each morning and five minutes each evening for the next 30 days expressing my gratitude to God for His blessings in my life. Since gratitude is the seedbed for joy, I want to plant as many seeds as possible and hopefully reap the benefits of expressing gratitude for 30 days. I want to begin the practice of unsticking the negative thoughts and making the positive ones stick through expressing gratitude.


Will you join me in this 30-day gratitude experiment? Here are a couple of suggestions on how to make this work for you and your family. Use a journal that you dedicate as your gratitude journal. Use a daily/monthly planner and write what you’re thankful for. Use a gratitude jar – a mason jar works great – and place it on your table with scraps of paper so the entire family can join in on this gratitude adventure. Whatever you do, make sure it’s simple and easy and memorable. Maybe it would help you, and others, if you posted your gratitude to your social media platform.


After Christmas, I’ll ask you if the gratitude experiment made a difference in your attitude, joy, contentment, peace, and overall satisfaction. Let’s increase our joy together. Just make sure that when you post about gratitude that you use #TCC30DayGratitudeExperiment. Gratitude reminds us of how we’ve been blessed and generates the emotional inertia to bless others.


I hope you’ll go to our website and look at our Holiday Serve Opportunities to see how you can bless others during this holiday season. You’ll discover how you can bless a family by making a Christmas basket. You can bless an At-Risk Student by filling a Christmas stocking. You can serve your neighbors through intentional acts of kindness. You can donate to help Interfaith Food Ministry supply meals to resource-challenged families. You can give generously to our annual Year-End Gift fund so that our church is prepared to pivot to meet new needs in the upcoming year. Whatever you do, your generosity will allow God to be seen through your actions as you spread the love of Jesus to our community.


We begin Advent this Sunday. I’m so thrilled at this opportunity to walk through this tradition with you. When we tap into the meaningful expressions handed down through the generations, we are reminded that God is faithful to His people to deliver His message of hope and love to the world. We will begin our Advent series which is called “A Messy Christmas,” to acknowledge the mess we’re experiencing together in this COVID-19 Christmas season.


Our young families are entering into this experience through the Advent Family Wreath craft. We had planned on having this as an onsite activity, but we’ve now moved it to an "At Home" event. Please call our Children’s Ministry staff at the church office, and they’ll be glad to serve you by making your own at-home Advent kit.


During this time when it’s impossible for us to be on campus together, please make sure to stay engaged online. Let me encourage you to keep your Sunday rhythms by watching the service live at either 9:00 or 11:00am. I believe that will help you stay disciplined as we walk this road of COVID restrictions together. 

 

If you need, you can watch the current service or any archived service on demand any time you want right from our website or APP. Here’s an idea: When you’re watching online, please invite your friends to join you. If you haven’t downloaded the TCC APP, just go to the APP store and search for TCC GRASS VALLEY and download it today. You can watch the service right from your device.  

  

Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others, 

Walking With Jesus: Spiritual Authority + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • October 24, 2025
This weekend, we’re continuing our Walking With Jesus series by exploring a topic that’s both fascinating and often misunderstood — spiritual authority. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches and heals with astonishing authority. But what’s even more surprising is that He extends that same authority to His followers. What does that mean for us today? How do we understand and engage with the authority God has given His people? To help us navigate this conversation, I’ll be joined by my friend Dan Prout, founder of Sierra Ministries International . Together, we’ll look at what Scripture teaches about spiritual authority and how to walk in it with humility, faith, and confidence in Jesus. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

The Spiritual Battle for Our Mind + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • October 17, 2025
Last week, we saw how Jesus meets us with both grace and truth — grace that meets us where we are, and truth that calls us into something more. But that journey of transformation doesn’t happen automatically. There’s a battle taking place for what we believe about God, about others, and especially about ourselves. This Sunday, we’ll continue Walking With Jesus as we look at how He leads us out of the false identities and broken narratives that have shaped us, and into the freedom of knowing who we truly are in Him. I hope you will join us as we learn how to let go of the lies that hold us back and live in the truth that sets us free. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Grace and Truth + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • October 10, 2025
It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and feel like we’re doing “pretty good.” Maybe not perfect — but at least better than t hem . But when we start measuring our worth that way, we miss the heart of God entirely. This Sunday, as we continue our Walking With Jesus series, we’ll look at a powerful moment in Luke’s Gospel that shows us how Jesus meets people with both grace and truth — and what that means for us today. Whether we’re weighed down by guilt or quietly confident in our own goodness, Jesus’ invitation is the same: come close and let His love change you. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Loving Generously + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • October 3, 2025
Jesus didn’t wait for people to come to Him — He intentionally moved toward outsiders, those the religious establishment considered untouchable, and reminded them that not only did God see them but loved them dearly. This Sunday, we’ll explore what it means to follow His example and love generously, extending God’s heart to those around us. Speaking of loving generously, Fall Family Festival is less than 4 weeks away! While it may seem counterintuitive for a church to have an event on Halloween, it’s our way of following Jesus’ example and radiating the light of God’s love into an otherwise dark night. Come help us share God’s love with our community. Bring a bag of individually wrapped candy with you to church on Sunday and then sign up to serve our neighbors at Fall Family Festival. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Appetite for Distraction + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • September 26, 2025
We live in a world that buzzes with notifications and incessant noise. Our phones, our schedules, and even our own thoughts pull us in a thousand directions at once. It’s no wonder why so many of us feel restless, scattered, and spiritually dry. What if the greatest threat to our faith isn’t doubt, but distraction? What if our souls are starving for the very thing our fast-paced culture naturally distracts us from? This Sunday, as we continue our Walking With Jesus series, we’ll look at how Jesus navigated the constant pressures and demands for His attention without becoming overwhelmed — and how one of His most important practices could be the antidote our anxious, distracted souls desperately need. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Follow Me + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • September 19, 2025
When Jesus says, “Follow Me,” it isn’t just an invitation to believe something new; it’s an invitation to walk with Him, to learn from Him, and to be shaped by His presence. Following Jesus always comes at a cost. But so does refusing to follow Him. This Sunday, in our Walking With Jesus series, we’ll consider what’s really at stake when we choose how to respond to His invitation to discipleship. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Secure in the Spirit + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • September 12, 2025
Last week, we saw how Jesus’ ministry began with the Father’s blessing and identity spoken over Him . But what came next? Rejection, criticism, and pressure to compromise or conform at every turn. How did Jesus stand strong when others doubted, opposed, or even tried to silence Him ? He was secure in His Father’s love and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This Sunday, we’ll look at what it means to live with that same Spirit-filled confidence, rooted in God’s voice and empowered by His presence, not the world’s opinions. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Let’s Take a Walk With Jesus + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • September 5, 2025
This Sunday we’re kicking off a new series, Walking With Jesus . Together, we’ll journey through Luke’s Gospel and learn how Jesus stayed rooted in the Father’s love, stood firm against pressure, and never lost sight of what mattered most. Our journey will begin where His public ministry began, grounded in identity, love, and blessing from the Father. That secure foundation shaped everything Jesus did, and it’s the same foundation we desperately need today. I hope you’ll join us as we take the first step in Walking With Jesus . Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.

Don’t Just Go to Church — Be the Church + Sunday Morning Resources

By TCC • August 29, 2025
It’s so easy to think of church as a place we go for 70 minutes on Sunday. But Jesus had something far bigger in mind. The church isn’t a building or a service; it’s people. WE are the church. We comprise this brand-new movement that Jesus came to start and it’s a movement that moves beyond a building and permeates every area in our community. When you step into your school, workplace, neighborhood, or family, you bring the presence of Jesus with you.  This Sunday we’ll wrap up our Brand: New series by exploring what it means to live as the church everywhere we go and how each of us has a unique role to play in God’s mission. Here are some helpful resources to get you ready for the weekend: Message Notes and Study Guide Weekly Spotify Playlist Children's Ministry Student Ministry See you Sunday.
More Posts