Give Thanks

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 23rd of November, 2025.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, the day specifically set aside in America to give thanks to God for His divine providence over these United States.  It harkens back to the harvest feast in 1621 between the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the local Native American tribe to celebrate a successful harvest following a deadly winter.  Those early Pilgrims recognized God’s hand in surviving the long, dangerous ocean voyage, a terribly harsh winter, and the help provided by the natives.  And our Founding Fathers also acknowledged God’s intervention and intercession in our achieving military victory over and gaining independence from the strongest nation at the time.

Now, as Thanksgiving Day approaches, I pray that we later Pilgrims recognize God’s hand at work in our lives.  When we do, how often, and in what manner, do we thank Him?

The Apostle Paul certainly appreciated God working in his life, and through him, in the life of the early church.  Everywhere he went, in every letter he wrote, to everyone he spoke, Paul acknowledged God’s goodness and mercy, His kindness and faithfulness.  He knew how God, through the resurrected Jesus, had turned his life around and shown him the truth.  And he shared this truth unashamedly and without hesitation.

While our bible contains so many examples of this in his letters, I’d like to share one that I think fits nicely into our Thanksgiving tradition.  Please listen and follow along as Paul gives thanks and prays for the church in Colossae, in verses 11 through 20 of the opening chapter of his Letter to the Colossians, and I’ll be reading from the New Life Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

11 I pray that God’s great power will make you strong, and that you will have joy as you wait and do not give up. 12 I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. 13 God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. 14 We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.

15 Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. 16 Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. 17 Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. 18 Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. 19 God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. 20 Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace.

--Colossians 1:11-20 (NLV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for turning Paul from a persecutor of the early church into its greatest evangelist.  And thank You for all the many blessings You bestow upon us.  You give us so much that sometimes we take Your goodness for granted.  We forget what we were before Your Son came to us and changed us.  We struggle to truly show our appreciation for sending Your Son to redeem us, let alone for all the ways you bless us and bring joy into our lives.  Father, we know we disobey You at times, and we know it displeases You.  We need You to help us live more righteously.  Please forgive us those times we disappoint You and help us be more obedient to Your will, more loving, more caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

An old issue of the little Daily Bread tells of the Scottish minister Alexander Whyte who was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit.  He always found something for which to be grateful.  One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this."  Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."

We’ve had days like that, haven’t we.  But the thing is, we couldn’t really appreciate the beautiful days if we didn’t experience lousy weather every now and then.

I see this – the mix of good days and bad days – as just another blessing from God.  The bad gives us greater appreciation for the good.  The change, knowing that bad days will eventually be followed by good ones, gives us hope and something to look forward to.

It’s the same with the changing seasons, knowing that a blustery winter will give way to a renewing spring, a sweltering summer will surrender to a cooler, crisper fall.  The changes bring joy and keep us from getting bored.  And as we always say, here in North Carolina, if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute – it will change.

As we look at those early roots of our Thanksgiving tradition, we can see the blessings that Paul describes.  God’s great power made those early Pilgrims strong enough to survive against terrible odds, and made our forefathers strong enough to face off against and defeat the greatest army.  He gave the Pilgrims joy in their first successful harvest, and He still gives us joy in our freedom to worship – or not worship - as we wish.

The Native Americans shared their knowledge and their good things with those early colonists, and our forefathers shared the Gospel, as this nation was founded by Christian men and women on Christian principles.  And God took the Pilgrims and our nation’s founders out of a life of darkness under foreign rule and into the light of Christ Jesus, whose blood made us truly free.

Christ is as God is.  He made all things – seen and unseen - and all things are held together by Him.  He is the first to be raised from the dead, showing us our own future thanks to God’s mercy and our faith.  Christ’s blood has made peace for us with God.

How can we not be thankful?  How can we not be filled with joy?  Paul might have thought of asking those questions when he wrote to the church in Thessalonica.  In verses 16 through 18 of the 5th chapter of his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul encourages us to…

16 Be full of joy all the time. 17 Never stop praying. 18 In everything give thanks. This is what God wants you to do because of Christ Jesus.

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLV)

Be joyful for all that God has done for us.  Never stop praying, give thanks in everything, no matter what we’re going through.  This is what God wants of us, we who recognize all that He and Jesus have done.

You’ve heard me say before that we’re just not completely sure who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews.  For the longest time, it was firmly believed that Paul was the author.  But further scrutiny in later years seems to indicate that it just doesn’t sound like Paul, it doesn’t seem to fit neatly with all the letters we know he wrote or dictated.

Of course, there are many parts that do fit, that do sound like what Paul would have written.  For instance, in verses 15 and 16 of the 13th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, we are exhorted with the words…

15 Let us give thanks all the time to God through Jesus Christ. Our gift to Him is to give thanks. Our lips should always give thanks to His name. 16 Remember to do good and help each other. Gifts like this please God.

--Hebrews 13:15-16 (NLV)

Give thanks to God all the time!  Always give thanks, in all situations, in everything, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.  Now that doesn’t mean we should thank God for the bad stuff that happens, but that we find something good and thanks-worthy even in the bad times.

And here’s the kicker: this is our gift to God.  Did you ever wonder how you can give God something in return for all He’s given you?  Well, there it is:  simply thank Him.  Count your many blessings.  Name them one by one.  And thank Him for each and every one.

And remember that particular instruction to always give thanks.  Not just one day a year, but always!  And don’t just give thanks for the meal or the day off, if you’re fortunate enough to get one, but for all His many blessings over your life.  Give thanks, for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

In the beautiful name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for everything - for literally everything.  You created everything there is; we would have nothing without Your goodness and generosity.  We in this house acknowledge Your hand at work and we thank You.  We love You and trust You, Father.  But sometimes we just take everything You do for us for granted.  We know that it pleases You when we stop long enough to say “Thanks”, and now we know that You see our thanks giving as a gift.  Please help us give thanks in all things, dear God, and every day, not just once a year.  And Father, please help us reach out and share the Gospel message with everyone we come into contact with. 

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are God, and we owe You more than we can ever give thanks for.  Thank You, Lord, for coming to us when we were lost, to show us the way.  Thank You for leading us out of the darkness into the light.  Thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us.  May those simple words – Thank You – convey our love and our true appreciation.  Please forgive us when we struggle to do what we know is right, to not do what we know is wrong.  Help us give thanks in all things at all times.  And please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.