Perfectly Understanding the Times and the Seasons

Service: GIFT Thanksgiving Worship
Second Sunday Worship
Date: December 7, 2025
Theme: “The Real Reason for the Season”
2025 Communion Service

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Perfectly Understanding the Times and the Seasons

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 / Daniel 2:20-22 / Acts 1:6-8 (KJV)

Beloved brethren, we have entered a season of commemoration. This is a call to remember the day when God gave His only begotten Son for the salvation of mankind (John 3:16).

Because He gave, we are saved.

God’s gift is beyond measure. To unwrap and understand it is a privilege given to every child of God. We are living in perilous times, yet grace-abounding times. In this season, let us rejoice and be glad, for unto us a gift has been given that is beyond comparison.

Let us not forget. And let us seek to understand.

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Understanding Seasons

A season is a period marked by a particular condition, circumstance, or purpose. It can be a suitable time, a natural time, or an extended stretch characterized by specific features.

The earth moves through four natural seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each driven by the earth’s movement around the sun.

In the Philippines, the patterns are more localized:

• A dry season from November to April
• A rainy season from May to October

In some regions, three seasons are experienced: a rainy season from May to November, a cool dry season from December to February, and a hot dry season from March to May.

Spiritual Seasons

God uses seasons to shape us, refine us, and form us into who He intends us to be. Each season, welcome or difficult, influences our faith and our walk with Him.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

God makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Every season serves a divine purpose, even the ones we would not have chosen for ourselves.

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A Season of Thanksgiving

This is a season to stop and give thanks. The Word is clear about this:

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1-4 (KJV)

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)

Giving thanks is not a suggestion. It is the will of God for every believer, in every circumstance. Thanksgiving is not a response only to favorable seasons. It is a posture we hold through all of them.

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The Reason for This Season

At the heart of all of it is a child, a manger, and a salvation that changed everything.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-14 (KJV)

“For unto us a child is born… and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV)

The season is not primarily about decoration or tradition. The season exists because of what God did when He sent His Son into the world to save it.

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The Real Reason for the Season: Because of Souls’ Salvation

The scriptures that anchor this point are Matthew 9:35-38, Acts 1:8, and Romans 1:16.

God created man as His masterpiece. The soul is what gives human life its value, not the body. The body is temporary. The soul is eternal.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36-37 (KJV)

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)

Everything God does is oriented toward the salvation of souls. That is the real reason for the season. And it is the reason the Church must stay awake, focused, and on mission, even in the middle of a festive and often distracting time of year.

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Two Spiritual Seasons Every Believer Walks Through

1. Salvation

“That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.” Luke 24:46-49 (KJV)

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Acts 2:37-39 (KJV)

Salvation is the foundation of everything. It is God’s invitation to redemption and new life. Nothing else that follows has meaning apart from this beginning.

2. Sanctification

To sanctify means to set apart for God’s special purpose. God’s people are sanctified because they belong to Him.

“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the LORD your God.”

Sanctification works on two levels. Positional sanctification sets us apart for God at the moment of new birth. Practical sanctification is the lifelong process of growing in righteous living through dependence on the Holy Spirit. Both are real. Both matter. And both are ongoing.

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Closing

Three passages send us forward:

“Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.” 1 Chronicles 16:8-12 (KJV)

“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (KJV)

“Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith… abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-10 (KJV)

Remain thankful, steadfast, and grounded in Christ. Understand the times and seasons God has placed you in. And do not lose sight of the reason for the season: the salvation of souls, purchased by the life of the One whose birth we remember.

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Communion Service

The Lord’s Supper

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a living memorial of His sacrifice:

Luke 22:14-20 (KJV)

Paul’s instruction to the church at Corinth calls every believer to approach the table with reverence, self-examination, and discernment of the Lord’s body:

1 Corinthians 11:23-30 (KJV)

Two expressions of sanctification prepare us for the table:

• Positional sanctification: being set apart for God at the moment of salvation
• Practical sanctification: a progressive growth in righteous living through reliance on the Holy Spirit

May we partake with gratitude, understanding, and reverence, remembering the gift given for our salvation.