Follow Along with the Message

Gratitude Makes Me More Likeable

Pastor Tom Lundeen

...gratitude isn't intended by God to just be a one day a year event squeezed into a small part of  and football games. 

It's designed by our Creator to be a "365 days a year" experience and attitude that shapes and  our lives in extraordinary ways.

Gratitude is so important to God because He tells us that it is to be the  motivation behind everything in our lives (note 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and Ephesians 5:20).

Gratitude makes us more likeable and it  relationships:

1. I Can Only with Gratitude

It's simply impossible to put into practice these one another's without gratitude a  attitude. 

A. To love one another...(to choose for the highest good of others; note John 13:34-35), which is the main defining  of a Jesus follower (according to Jesus), can't really be practiced from an ungrateful heart. 

B. How can I  welcome and accept others without a thankful spirit (note Romans 15:7)?

C. Honoring each other (note Romans 12:10) happens when gratitude  in my life.

D. Showing hospitality to others can certainly be done with either the wrong or right attitudes, but a thankful heart  I will do it God's way (note 1 Peter 4:9). 

E. Living in harmony with others (note Romans 12:16a)...

F. ...being  to each other (note Ephesians 4:32a)...

G. ...comforting and  for each other (note 2 Corinthians 13:11a; 1 Corinthians 12:25)...

H. ...bearing other's burdens and praying for each other (note Galatians 6:2; James 5:16a)...

I. ... one another and building up others (note 1 Thessalonians 5:11)...

J. ...and doing good to one another and serving each other (note 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Galatians 5:13)...

...all these things and more become meaningful and powerful and significant when they happen our of the deep  of gratitude. 

2. Gratitude Makes My Relationships  

Just ask yourself, Do I like to be with people who are  or grateful? Do I want to  in a person who never expresses appreciation/says "thank you"?

You'll have  unresolved conflicts when you grow more thankful for people in your life. 

Note Colossians 3:12-15

Gratitude is the for better relationships.

Gratitude brings you closer to others (it builds  and intimacy).

Science is catching up to God's truth about how gratitude can help our relationships be healthier:

It lessens loneliness (because it's a solidifying  that binds adults into meaningful and important relationships).

It can shift the   in a conversation/interaction. 

Gratitude releases oxytocin ( hormone) which helps you feel more loving and caring...

It makes us want to  in friendships and even be more helpful to coworkers. 

It raises the  of others in our lives. 

Gratitude strengthens communication and helps develop greater  for others, and causes people to like each other more. 

And gratitude is often linked to another important character quality that the Scriptures identify as so critical in our lives = ...

What's my gratitude adjustment?:

• The most important relationship for every human being to have is with our ...
• ...and gratitude is the  for this relationship, as well (note 1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 9:15; Colossians 2:6-7).

(Psalm 100:1-5, NLT) Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He mad us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. 

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