Podcast Summary: "Giving Thanks" – Renewing Your Mind
Host: Ligonier Ministries (Nathan W. Bingham)
Featured Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul
Date: November 27, 2025
Main Theme
This special Thanksgiving episode of Renewing Your Mind centers on the biblical call to gratitude, particularly emphasizing the distinction between feeling thankful and actively giving thanks to God and others. Dr. R.C. Sproul, delivering a message from the archives, draws lessons from the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers (Luke 17:11–19) to challenge listeners to not just possess gratitude internally, but to demonstrate it outwardly—especially towards God.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Tradition and Purpose of Thanksgiving
- Thanksgiving, as a national and spiritual tradition, serves as an intentional time to remember God’s benevolent providence.
- [01:52] R.C. Sproul: "One of the grand traditions of America is our tradition of taking one day out of the year and setting it apart as a special holiday, a holy day, a day to commemorate the benevolent providence of God."
2. The Human “Allergy” to Gratitude
- Dr. Sproul begins and reiterates that a primary flaw in fallen human nature is an “allergy” or resistance to acknowledging and giving thanks to God.
- [00:00 & 01:52] Sproul: "One of the basic, most fundamental, foundational defects in our fallen humanity is our allergy to being grateful to God and to giving thanks."
3. The Story of the Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
- Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one—a Samaritan—returns to give thanks.
- [05:50] Sproul (paraphrasing Luke): “As they went on their way, they realized... they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.”
- Detailed context on the social and religious implications of leprosy in biblical times:
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Leprosy entailed isolation, social rejection, and ritual uncleanliness.
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Diagnosis was deeply feared—arguably more than a cancer diagnosis today.
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The process after healing was to be verified as clean by a priest.
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[10:40] Sproul: “Because if there was any word that the Jewish person in antiquity feared more than any other word, it was the word leprosy. Because it not only meant a disease that was often fatal and painful and horribly disfiguring, but it required the ultimate quarantine.”
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4. The Real Lesson: Expressing, Not Just Feeling, Gratitude
- Dr. Sproul critiques common sermons on this passage, asserting that the other nine lepers surely must have felt grateful, but failed to return and express thanks.
- [18:11] Sproul: “The story here is not about being grateful or not being grateful. Obviously, ladies and gentlemen, they were all grateful. Jesus does not rebuke them for not being grateful. All 10 were grateful. The problem — only one gave thanks. Only one showed his gratitude.”
- [20:20] Sproul: “How many times in your life have you been grateful and never expressed it and never showed it? Do you see the difference between being thankful and giving thanks?”
5. The Cost and Importance of Giving Thanks
- Expressing thanks often costs little, yet is frequently neglected, including in prayers to God.
- Encourages listeners to intentionally act—specifically, to express thanks directly to God and others.
- [22:30] Sproul: “How much does it cost to give thanks? How much does it cost to show gratitude? … My challenge to you today is that you will act. That you will act concretely and specifically to do what the Samaritan did, to go back and say thank you, acknowledge the gifts that you have received from God and from people.”
6. Call to Action
- Dr. Sproul challenges listeners: not just to quietly feel grateful, but to practice concrete, explicit thanksgiving each day.
- [23:30] Sproul: “Let me ask now, today, that you ask not only what are you grateful about, but to whom? And to whom do you have the opportunity to give thanks, to say thanks, to demonstrate, to show your gratitude?”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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[00:00, 01:52] Dr. Sproul: “One of the basic, most fundamental, foundational defects in our fallen humanity is our allergy to being grateful to God and to giving thanks.”
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[10:40] Dr. Sproul: “If you can identify at all with that drama, with that anxiety in our own day, then perhaps you can understand something of the drama a Jew experienced when he read those pages of Sacred Scripture... the word leprosy.”
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[18:11] Dr. Sproul: “Adolf Hitler would have been grateful if somebody healed him of leprosy.”
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[20:20] Dr. Sproul: “The story here is not about being grateful or not being grateful... The problem—only one gave thanks. Only one showed his gratitude.”
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[22:30] Dr. Sproul: “My challenge to you today is that you will act... to do what the Samaritan did, to go back and say thank you, acknowledge the gifts that you have received from God and from people.”
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[24:00] Nathan W. Bingham: “That is a challenge that I think we all should accept. And let me begin by thanking you.”
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00 – 00:20 — Introduction: The Human Struggle with Gratitude (Sproul)
- 01:52 – 05:50 — The History and Meaning of Thanksgiving (Sproul)
- 05:50 – 13:00 — The Ten Lepers: Scriptural Context and Ancient Jewish Fear of Leprosy (Sproul)
- 13:00 – 18:11 — Analysis of the Leper’s Healing and Response; Critique of Common Interpretations (Sproul)
- 18:11 – 23:30 — The Difference Between Thankfulness and Giving Thanks; Practical Spiritual Application (Sproul)
- 24:00 – 26:07 — Host Reflection and Closing Challenge (Bingham)
Takeaways for Listeners
- Thanksgiving is more than a feeling; it should prompt explicit acts of gratitude toward God and others.
- Even profound gratitude is incomplete if it is not expressed.
- The biblical challenge is to be like the returning Samaritan leper: stop, turn back, and make your thanks known.
- Today and every day, identify both your reasons for gratitude and the people to whom your thanks should be given—and act on it.
“How many times in your life have you been grateful and never expressed it and never showed it? Do you see the difference between being thankful and giving thanks?”
– Dr. R.C. Sproul, [20:20]