Gratitude Is the Best Attitude / The D.I.G. / Bible Study

Join us for this Bible study, where Pastor Charles dives into the life-changing power of gratitude. Using Ephesians 5:20 as a foundation, this message reminds us that gratitude can transform how we see our families, treat our friends, and navigate life’s challenges. It’s easy to focus on what we’ve lost, but choosing gratitude shifts our perspective and fills our hearts with hope. Whether you’re facing frustrations or simply need a fresh outlook, this lesson will give you the tools you need to put forth your best attitude through gratitude. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) ABOUT US We Exist to REPRESENT God to the lost & found for Transformation in Christ. This is the vision of Transformation Church, led by Pastor Michael Todd and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. NEXT STEPS Have you made the decision to follow Jesus? Let us know so we can help you on your journey toward Transformation in Christ: http://transformchurch.us/saved Here at TC, we have a culture code of Relationship, and we want YOU to find your people! You found your church. Have you found your tribe? https://transformchurch.us/tribes/ Looking for a place to serve? Find an area that you would like to volunteer in & sign up below: https://transformchurch.us/serve/ GIVE To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world: https://transformchurch.us/give/ STAY CONNECTED Email Newsletter: https://qrco.de/beHPyX Website: https://transformchurch.us/ Facebook:   / wearetransformation   Instagram:   / wearetransformation   #transformationchurch #transformationworship #liveworship #sermon #preaching #onlinechurch #miketodd #livesermon #bible #theology #michaeltodd #tcnation #sermon #church #onlineexperience #biblestudy #charlesmetcalf DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS TODAY? CONGRATULATIONS! Fill out this form and we will guide you with Next Steps! https://qrco.de/beHPyX

[Music]

well hello I hope you are doing well I

want to take a moment and welcome you to

The Dig it’s a little bit different this

week normally we meet at the Tulsa

campus and stream all over the world uh

but it’s a little different because it

is Thanksgiving week as a matter of fact

when you’re watching this I believe

Thanksgiving will be tomorrow so

hopefully you got your sides prepped if

you haven’t started cooking yet that

means your food food won’t be good so

that’s uh an issue I’m joking but I’m

glad you’re here we’re actually here in

my living room and I thought we’d take

some time uh to be together to talk

about this season and um you know we are

in our house so I just want to welcome

you you can relax take a deep breath my

dog cappuccino is sitting right next to

me so it’s a very home welcoming

environment but if we haven’t got the

chance to meet my name is Charles I get

to serve as the Tulsa campus pastor and

every single week we do the dig it is

based off of three focuses that we have

as a church which is Faith friends and

formation those are the three things we

see in Acts 242 and so as a church we

wanted to take those things seriously so

Sunday is a space of faith and then we

have tribes which is where we grow in

our relationships and our friends and

then at the Dig is about spiritual

formation it’s about us becoming more

like Christ and so we’re glad that

you’ve taken time to be here with us

today and uh we’re just going to be here

for a few moments I’m going to read out

of this book and we’re going to talk

around an idea and then I’m going to

take a moment to pray for you and uh I

believe it’s going to be helpful

encouraging to you as you go into this

holiday season so I want to take a

moment and open us up in a word of

prayer and we will jump in would you

pray with me Lord God I thank you so

much for everyone listening I thank you

Lord that you know where they are and

what they’re going through I pray that

as we take the next few moments to

gather around your word that your spirit

would comfort your spirit would guide

that your spirit would speak to them

clearly it’s in the name of Jesus we

pray and everybody

said come on that was like door of the

Explorer right there I had to do the

like boots anyways we’re going to jump

in today I want you to write down I’m

going to talk to you just for a second

around this idea aidea it’s actually a a

pen my dad used to wear I grew up my dad

there was a season where he was a pastor

but early on growing up he worked at car

dealerships and he used to wear this

little pen that said attitude I don’t

know if you ever saw this if you saw in

the 90s you probably saw a businessman

that had a pen that said attitude but

here’s the title if you’re taking notes

I want you to write this down gratitude

is the best attitude I know it’s a

little cheesy I know it’s a little corny

but it is the truth and here’s what I

want you to write down this is my my

first uh this is my thesis all these

talks that I’m going to do I’m going to

operate from a thesis or from a core

idea here’s the thesis for this one

thank you cappuccino actually buddy I’m

going to release you to go somewhere

else here’s the concept gratitude can

change your life gratitude can change

your life it is my strong conviction my

strong belief and my experience that

gratitude has the opportunity to change

your life dramatically it can change how

you see your friends and family it can

change how you see a situation it can

change how you show up in the world it

can change who you do and don’t talk to

it can change how you vote it can change

how you cook your turkey tomorrow

gratitude is the best attitude you can

take and it can change your life I want

to read you a scripture out of the book

of Ephesians it is written by Paul he’s

writing to Church in Ephesus and it’s

chapter 5 verse 20 is what the Bible

says and give thanks for

everything to God the father in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ give thanks for

everything to God the father in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ there’s one

translation that says always give thanks

for everything

always give thanks for everything when I

read that scripture there were two words

that stuck out to me always and

everything how can we in the midst of

family pressure in the midst of being

gathered together or maybe you’re on the

opposite side of that coin this

Thanksgiving maybe you’re eating a meal

alone maybe there was someone who was at

the table last year that’s not there

this year maybe you have went through a

divorce maybe you lost someone you loved

maybe you moved your family across

country following what you felt like was

the voice of God and now you’re sitting

in a situation and the Bible’s telling

us hey you should always give thanks for

everything to God I don’t know about you

but in my life that’s a lot easier said

than done sometimes it’s easy to look

around everything that’s going wrong in

our life and that becomes the focal

point that becomes what’s most important

that becomes the center of our attention

what we don’t have who’s not there the

misses we had the NOS we got and we can

even as we come to the end of a year in

this holiday season we can get so

focused in an attitude of negativity

that’s the culture that we live in the

news is built off selling you bad news

nobody gets up on the news and it’s like

hey we want to give you 10 awesome

things going on in the world right now

they’re like no here’s a thing uh a

monkey was abandoned on the side of the

road and nobody cares about monkeys

anymore and there’s a war over it’s just

ridiculous stuff that is trying to get

us down but today I want to give you an

opportunity as you’re getting ready for

Thanksgiving as maybe you’ve got family

driving in or maybe as you’re

experiencing a lonely season that you

can make a decision that my attitude is

going to be draped soaked and coated

with

gratitude how do we live in an attitude

of gratitude you know I want to tell you

a story so we have four children our

oldest is five Arlo Phoenix then after

that is Luna Rose she’s four then Jade

October is three and blue Sunday is

about to turn two and um jade went

through a season recently where uh she

got potty trained she knew how to uh

potty trained he knew how to go to the

restroom by herself um but around two or

3 a.m. Jade would wake up sit up in her

bed and just scream d Dad Dad I gotta go

body Dad Dad she would not get up she

would not get out of her bed she would

not move she would sit there and yell

over and over and over dad I got to go

potty so I would slowly wake up in a

days come upstairs to her room and be

like Jade get up out of your bed and

then she would stand up out of her bed I

would say Jade go to the bathroom she

would walk into the bathroom I say Jay

go to the potty she would take off her

clothes and go to the potty Jay get back

in the bed and she she did all of it by

herself not needing my help and I

remember one night specifically it had

been happening multiple weeks at this

point and I was frustrated honestly I’m

losing sleep I’m getting mad I’m like

what in the world you can go potty by

yourself you don’t need me up here and

she screams 2: a.m. Dad I need to go

potty I come up there she’s in like a

drunken Slumber she stumbles out of her

bunk bed she like wanders to the

bathroom I’m like Jay get on the potty

she climbs up her little stool sits on

the potty and she’s sitting

there I walk up to her and I’m looking

at her and she lays her head on my

shoulder and falls asleep on the potty

and part of me there were two thoughts

that happened one was I’m so frustrated

that I am up at 2 in the morning taking

this girl to the bathroom that can go to

the bathroom by herself and the second

thought I had is one day I will miss a

little chubby cheek three-year-old

screaming for me to come take her to the

potty and I want to take a moment as

we’re going into Thanksgiving to make a

decision to be grateful for the things

that might be a source of frustration

right now I know you’ve got family that

there’s tension with but the truth is

the fact that you’re around some family

is a blessing I know you’ve moved and

you feel like maybe you’re not close to

family anymore but the truth is you’re

following God and he has comforted you

and he has provided and he’s made way I

know that loved one is not here anymore

but the truth is you have the beauty of

the great times you had together and

their memory and now this Thanksgiving

it’s an opportunity to honor their seat

at the table I know you may be in a hard

situation but there’s still something in

there that we can take as Ephesians 5

says and thank God the Lord Jesus Christ

as we close out I want to give you a

couple of thoughts on how do we give

thanks to God

no matter what how do we stay in a

posture of giving thanks the first thing

I want you to write this down is first

you got to pause you got to take a

second to stop I know it’s busy I know

you got to run to the store and get some

Hawaiian rolls because your husband

forgot to get them and I know there’s a

lot of stuff you got to do but amongst

all the busyness why don’t you take a

moment to pause maybe Mom you got to run

and say that you’re getting something

out of the bedroom and you shut the door

and you sit there and take a deep breath

Maybe friend you’re kind of overwhelmed

by that family member CU y’all haven’t

talked in a while and so you just take a

second before everybody arrives or

before you get out of your car to walk

into grandmother’s house you take a

second to pause take a moment to just

settle yourself the next thing is why

don’t you take a second to get some

perspective it’s exactly what happened

to me when I was sitting there with my

three-year-old little girl on the potty

at 2:30 in the morning the perspective

is yes I’m tired yes I’m losing sleep

yes she can go to the bathroom by

herself another perspective is one day

she’s going to be gone one day she’s

going to have her own life her own

family she won’t be calling for Dad she

won’t be needing my help for much things

so a perspective shift is even though

this is frustrating it’s still something

to be grateful for it’s still something

that I enjoy and as you’re cooking your

meals as you’re prepping for this

Thanksgiving why don’t you stop and get

some perspective even though things are

hard you’re still here even though that

family member is gone you still somehow

have peace even though there’s pressure

and tension and financial things and

you’re worried even about Christmas and

how you’re going to provide the truth is

you can look back over your life and get

some perspective that God has always

provided for you pause perspective and

the last one is profession I was writing

these sermons with my wife and we were

talking about it and I said the last

Point profession and she was like like

your job Charles that makes no sense I

said no swe that’s not what I’m talking

about I’m talking about what are you

professing what are you saying the Bible

is very clear about the power of what we

say the Bible says that life and death

resides in our tongue that what we do

and how we talk it matters the Bible

says that the greatest Miracle of

Salvation happens by you saying

something the Bible’s clear if you

believe in your heart and confess with

your mouth then you shall be saved what

you say matters and if you’re going into

this Thanksgiving and holiday season

season saying this is going to be tough

I just need to get through this nobody’s

going to show up to the dinner I don’t

know why I’m doing this or I’m hopeless

or I’m not going to make it or I’m not

good if you start to profess that the

truth is that is exactly how this

holiday season will go and inversely if

you say I’m going to decide to be

grateful this is going to be an

enjoyable meal we’re going to have a

good time as a family I’m going to

decide that I’m going to show kindness

even though it’s maybe not accepted I’m

deciding that this is going to go well

if you decide those things and you

profess those things I promise you it’ll

change your posture you’ll show up to

Thanksgiving dinner saying hey guys how

you do like you’ll show up in a

different way so as we close out our

time together again I want to say thank

you for joining us for the Dig and I

want you to decide today to have an

attitude of gratitude here’s what we’re

going to do U during the Dig we always

have Bible study and we always have a

time of prayer and you know uh a couple

years ago I took some time to start

studying prayer and I got this book um

and it’s a list of ancient prayers that

early church members prayed and I think

it’s beautiful sometimes you know uh to

see the power of prayer to see the power

of people who have been praying for

thousands of years and I want to read

you a Prayer by Augustine of Hippo and

some of you are like what in the world

is a hippo praying for just just go with

me I want to read you this prayer and

then I’m going to close out um our time

together here’s what it says the title

of this prayer is help me you who need

nothing come to my

Aid you who are the only Eternal and

true God Father and Son and Holy Spirit

without any variableness or turning

without any needs of lack of power and

without death you who always dwell in

the high EST in

brightness you are always totally

steadfast self-sufficient and one with

you there is no lack of good I want to

say that again I want you to receive

this prayer this blessing over your life

with God there is no lack of good you

are always full of every good and for

eternity you are father Father Son and

Holy Spirit would you close your eyes

and pray with me Lord God as we go into

this season of Thanksgiving I pray that

you would allow us to have an attitude

of gratitude that our Spirits would be

centered on you I pray for anyone right

now that is in a situation that feels

like they have nothing to be grateful

for would you turn on the lights in a

way would you show them that the family

the friends the home the job the peace

in their heart their mind the breath in

their lungs is a reason to be grateful

God I pray a blessing over everyone I

pray a blessing over the families that

are going to gather together and Lord we

pray a special blessing over all the

people who cannot cook help them in

Jesus name amen Hey listen we love you

so much thank you for joining us for

this dig I pray you have an amazing

Thanksgiving and we will see you next

time