Last night at the Worship Central UK Tour in Sheffield, we had the privilege in joining with other Christians from local churches to worship God and to learn about gratitude.
Worship Central released a live album ‘Let It Be Known’ last week and many of the songs sung were from that. The set list is given below:
* 10,000 Reasons
* Hallelujah
* Guardian
* God Most High
* Happy Day
* Let It Be Known
* Ready for You
* Breathe on me
* You are holy
* The Same Power
Tim Hughes & Al Gordon introducing the evening:
Al Gordon spoke from Luke 7:35-50 on the woman who anointed Jesus with the costly perfume. He spoke about the importance of gratitude, quoting G. K. Chesterton: “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” The benefits of gratitude are physical, emotional and spiritual.
1) Gratitude shapes the heart.
Al spoke about how he had proposed to his wife in Paris and been so utterly grateful when she actually accepted the proposal of marriage! When we realise all God has done for us, our hearts are filled with gratitude, as happened in Luke 7. ‘Gratitude is the memory of the heart’, a French proverb says and Jesus has delivered us from all the rubbish in our lives. Simon the Pharisee was outwardly religious but was missing what God was doing, whereas the woman, though outwardly sinful, grasped all that Jesus could do for her. God wants to shape our hearts and this process starts with two simple words: ‘thank you’.
2) Gratitude shapes the house
The Pharisee did not welcome Jesus into his house, but the woman did all that a host was supposed to do. We need church to be more than a ‘house of politeness’, where things are done properly. It needs to be a house of praise: praise which will always be extravagant, embarrassing and costly. God is drawn to gratitude like a magnet! Jesus turned to the woman and faced her: if we want God’s face to shine us, we need to have gratitude and express this.
3) Gratitude shapes history
Thankfulness leads to fruitfulness; Jesus told the woman ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’ The woman was changed by Jesus. History belongs to those who hunger for God and who are changed by Him. We carry with us the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:15) and enter His presence with the password ‘Thank You’. Others then see and are drawn to the presence of God within us.
The evening concluded with prayer and praise, singing:
* Dry Bones
* Spirit, Break Out
* The Cross Stands
* For Your Glory (We Will Dance)
* Dance
* Let It Be Known
fun video of ‘Let It Be Known’