May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon the earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, 0 God; let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, 0 God; let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
All the nations of the earth are called to praise God at all times, but at this season of the year we can't help but praise God for all our blessings. With the holiday of Thanksgiving right around the corner, we want to make a point of thanking God for all with which we have been blessed. We have a country where leaders are elected from the ranks of citizenry. We have family and friends who are like family to us. We have plenty of food, clothing and adequate housing. We can thank God for the health that we DO have and for the opportunity to worship openly and without fear.
But, to me, Christianity is a verb! James tells us that faith without works is dead. This year I challenge all of us to give thanks to God "from whom all blessings flow" and then DO something to show your thanks. Bring in food for the Thanksgiving boxes, help put those boxes together, visit one of our members who are homebound or in assisted living, participate in the Christmas Choir or attend the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Worship service November 21st.
Happy Thanksgiving and let us all remember to give thanks!
Serving in Thankfulness with You,
Pastor Kären