Brothers & Sisters,
I have been praying for you all this morning. May the Lord bless you on this Thanksgiving Day as you take a break from everyday life to thank Him for His care and provision. As we prepare to celebrate today, I am filled with gratitude that our good and gracious Father has called each of us to be a part of this body of Christ at First Presbyterian. I cannot overstate how welcoming and encouraging you all have been to our family during our transition this past year. It is because of your faithfulness that I can say with Paul, "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:4).
While we celebrate God’s provision and care today, I want to take a moment to discuss what the Bible has to say about gratitude. Did you know that the idea of thankfulness appears over 70 times in the New Testament alone? Have you ever considered that the root of bitterness and self-pity is actually a lack of gratitude? In the gospel, God has given us reason to be eternally thankful. Thankfulness is a gospel imperative that we are commanded to cultivate in all circumstances. When are we to be thankful? Always. We can rejoice always because God has given us the greatest gift that has ever been given: forgiveness from sin through Christ’s sacrificial atonement and eternal life. The Father sent the Son, who was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5) and nailed to a cross, so that He might bring us into His glorious presence for all eternity. Friends, what else do we truly need? When we lack gratitude, we are ultimately telling the Lord that the gift of the Savior is not sufficient for our joy—that we need more!
Today, as you give thanks around the table, thank God for His provision—for a roof over your head and food to eat. The Lord is truly the great provider, meeting all our earthly needs (Genesis 22:14). But, while you give thanks for the Lord's provision for our earthly needs, remember that He has met our greatest need— forgiveness. Far more than anything else, give thanks for the gospel of our glorious Savior. It is the gospel for which we are commanded to give thanks, even in the midst of life’s fiery trials (1 Thess. 5:18, Eph. 5:20). If you have been feeling like life is beating you up and God's presence is not easily felt, the antidote is to go back to your first love—return to the gospel of Christ and behold the love of God incarnate, crucified for you. In this, you will find an eternal treasure sufficient for an eternity of joyous gratitude for Christ Jesus. I pray that you all are so filled with Christ today that the natural outpouring of your hearts would be joyous thankfulness for the Lord's provision of the sacrificial Lamb (John 1:29). "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken" (Hebrews 12:28a).