Keion Henderson - Thanksgiving at the Lighthouse

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you! This one is different from any before, as we are unable to travel the way we would normally do. Some of us have our loved ones at home, and we’re wearing masks to protect each other. This year has been a different kind of year, but God used disruption to bring us to a place of displacement. You know what? Although it’s been a rough year, I’m still grateful and thankful. I pray for all of you who have been affected by this pandemic—those of you who have been impacted, which is all of us, by social injustice and unrest. This year has given us many reasons to hang our heads, but those of us in the household of faith give thanks. We give thanks unto our God because He is good. So, in lieu of being able to have a service, we have compiled some of your favorite moments from previous years and sermons so that we can just have a good time together. Some of our staff members will join in from time to time to express their gratitude for what God has done for them and their families. It’s a little unorthodox, but we didn’t want to leave you hanging this Thanksgiving, so we put our heads down and went to work for you. Please honor our efforts by staying with us for a few moments today. Again, Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you! Let me tell you: this year may have started off rough, but God told me to tell you it’s the year of balance. God bless you!

Now, what I’m about to tell you may not come from a lot of experience, but I’m going to talk about it as if I know what I’m talking about. Are there any fishers in the house? Anyone like fishing? I don’t like it because it stinks and it’s nasty. I’ve only been fishing once, but because I’m so smooth, I caught six fish the first time I went. Don’t applaud—I was expecting it, but I don’t need it. They were catching fish—my buddies were catching their fish, bringing them in, taking them off the hook, posing for pictures, and putting them in the bucket, because the chef on board was filleting the fish while they were catching it, cooking it, and they were eating it. Well, first of all, I’m allergic to fish, so even if I caught one, I couldn’t eat it. I’ve never brought harm to a fish because I don’t have an appetite for it.

Before I get into the sermon, I want you to know that God is about to give your enemies allergies—they won’t even have an appetite for you. If they ingest you and digest you, it will cause them harm because you are anointed. Somebody say, «I am anointed!» So, I’m out here fishing, and you know it’s beginner’s luck because I’ve never held a fishing rod in my hand. I’ve got the rod, and I’m doing my thing. I figured I was going to be good because I had a Wii. Anyone ever had a Wii? Yeah, I learned how to fish on the Wii! Y’all are a little younger, but back in the day, playstations and Wiis used to have a little wand. This was the first time you could do this! I learned how to fish on the Wii. I learned how to bowl on the Wii. I learned how to play tennis on the Wii, golf on the Wii, and boxed on the Wii! Y’all remember boxing on the Wii? It really worked your biceps if you did it right. So, I learned how to fish on the Wii, and I expected to do well, and I caught six fish without ever having fished before.

Now, my experience was different because—since I don’t like fish—when I caught one, I handed my rod to the attendant and asked, «Can you take that off for me, please?» He took it off the hook and said, «You’re going to need to take a picture with this fish because people need to see how big it is. Nobody’s going to believe you caught anything if you don’t take a picture.» So, he said, «You’ve got to hold it.» I couldn’t go out in front of my boys without holding it. So, I gathered myself and grabbed it. Why are you rolling your eyes at me? It’s nasty! I held the fish like this, and as soon as they finished taking the picture, I threw it back in the water. Everybody was like, «Whoa! We were going to eat that!» I said, «Well, I don’t have an appetite for it, and since I don’t need it and since it doesn’t benefit me, I’m going to release it.» I released it!

The fish thought his life was over. He thought he would be separated from his family forever, but he didn’t know that God had enough favor on his life to make sure that no weapon formed against him would prosper. He allowed that particular fish to be caught by someone who had no need for it. I declare and decree that God is going to make everyone who has you on the hook…