Pastor’s Message for November 2023

One of my favorite holidays of the year is Thanksgiving Day. It brings to mind memories of visits to my grandmother’s house, enjoying turkey and stuffing, feeling the chill in the air outside and the warmth of family and home inside. Is there anything better than a slice of warm apple or pumpkin pie, coated with a generous helping of whipped cream on top? Then there is the Thanksgiving parade on television in the morning, and lots of football games to watch in the afternoon and evening. It’s just the perfect holiday to enjoy family and food.

Of course, we have much to be thankful for in our society. We live in a wonderful land, beautiful and free. We have opportunities available to us our grandparents couldn’t even have dreamed about. We live in safety and security. We want for nothing. Every desire of our hearts is available to us. Even the worst off among us lives like royalty compared to life in other areas or in other times. Think about it, we take our food and stuff it with more food! The danger of an event like Thanksgiving is that it becomes a celebration of decadence and extravagant living, rather than a reminder that every single gift we have comes to us as a gift from God.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

-Psalm 95:1-2

My challenge to you and to myself this year is that our Thanksgiving Day becomes an opportunity to be reminded of God’s goodness in every area of our lives. May God’s gracious presence be felt extravagantly around every one of our tables. May we be truly thankful, so that we express our appreciation for all God has done not just in a quick prayer before stuffing ourselves. Thanksgiving can become an opportunity to begin living everyday with a spirit of joy and appreciation for all God has given us. It is also my prayer that we will give thanks not only for the physical blessings available to us, but for the gift of God’s grace, especially displayed through our Lord Jesus Christ.

May Christ be present with you as you give thanks to God for everything.

God loves you, and so do I,
Pastor Jim