Gratitude in Worship

Series: Thankfulness
Speaker: Chris Blue
Text: Luke 7:36–50; Judges 6:11–24

Introduction

As we close our series on thankfulness, today’s focus is gratitude expressed through worship. Using the story of the sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet (Luke 7) and the story of Gideon (Judges 6), Chris Blue shows how gratitude flows from those who know how deeply they’ve been forgiven and how faithfully God has carried them through seasons of hardship.

1. Life Happens Around the Table

During holidays and family gatherings, we sit around tables where life is shared—stories, conflict, forgiveness, laughter, and relationship.
Jesus also did powerful work around tables. In Luke 7, He sits at a banquet table, and in that setting, gratitude, judgment, religion, and worship collide.

2. The Woman Who Wept at Jesus’ Feet (Luke 7:36–50)

Setting the Scene

• Simon the Pharisee hosts a banquet and invites Jesus—not to honor Him, but to examine Him.

• Jesus reclines at the table immediately, the posture of the most honored person in the room.

• A woman known as a sinner (likely a prostitute) hears Jesus is there and refuses to stay on the outskirts.

Her Bold, Scandalous Worship

• She ignores judgment, gossip, and social boundaries to get to Jesus.

• Simon withholds every basic greeting of hospitality:
  – No kiss of welcome
  – No water to wash feet
  – No oil for the head

• The woman offers the opposite:
  – Tears for His feet
  – Hair as a towel
  – Perfume from her alabaster jar

• Her love is extravagant because she knows how much she has been forgiven.

What She Saw in Jesus

• Jesus looked at her differently than everyone else.

• He saw past shame, past brokenness, and past labels.

• He saw value, dignity, and a heart longing to be made new.

• Jesus declares:
  “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

3. Chris & John’s Testimony: A Season of Hard

Chris describes their seven-year “season of hard” (2012–2019):

• Losing their home

• Leaving a beloved church

• Closing a dream business

• Cancer scares

• Teen pregnancy

• Drug addiction, rehab, and suicide attempts

• Betrayal, bitterness, fear, and uncertainty

In that season, Chris wrestled with questions:
“Will we recover? Will we lead again? Will we own a home again? Do we have it in us?”

But the central question became:
“Is Jesus enough?”
And the answer was yes—He was enough for the woman in Luke 7, and He was enough for them.

Their family motto came from this season: “Love hard, fight hard.”

4. Four Ways We Show Gratitude in Worship

A. Humility

• Christianity is beautiful but involves suffering.

• Tears lead to revelation.

• Paige Allen:
  “Every moment of humiliation is an opportunity to grow in humility.”

• Tears are salty—reminding us to stay “salty” for God and let others see His goodness in us.

B. Sit in the Chair God Gave You

• Everyone has a God-assigned “seat at the table.”

• When we try to sit in someone else’s seat, we lose what God wants us to bring.

• Young people especially: you have something unique to offer your generation.

C. Word • Pray • Worship Day

• A PPC motto: Word, Pray, Worship Day.

• The Word:
  – Defines your identity
  – Defies the enemy’s attacks

• Scripture is your field guide, survival tool, and source of spiritual clarity.

D. Peace

• Jesus tells the woman, “Go in peace.”

• Peace = Greek eirēnē, Hebrew shalom:
  wholeness—nothing missing, nothing broken.

• Peace isn’t perfect circumstances; it’s trusting the One who is in control.

5. Gideon: From Hiding to Peace (Judges 6:11–24)

• Gideon sees himself as the weakest in the weakest clan.

• God calls him a mighty warrior while he’s hiding in a winepress.

• Gideon puts out a fleece twice—God answers both times.

• Before God gives the battle plan, Gideon builds an altar and names it:
  Jehovah Shalom – The Lord Is Peace.

Key Insight

You may see yourself one way, but God calls you according to how He sees you.

6. When You Let Go of What You Lack

Chris shares a moment of anxiety and identity crisis.
God spoke:
“Don’t call it your anxiety.”

Breakthrough came when she handed her lack to God so He could lead.

Key Line:
“When you let go of what you lack, you make room for how He leads.”

Even in the “dumpster fire” moments, God gives peace.

7. Identity, Aroma & the Feet of Jesus

• The woman once known as “the sinner” becomes known as a worshipper.

• Gideon, once a fearful doubter, becomes a warrior.

• Jesus takes the stench of our past and turns it into the aroma of redemption.

• When Jesus gives you a seat at the table, you can invite others to sit beside you.

Arabella’s line from the testimony video:
“The highest place I will ever reach is at the feet of Jesus.”