28 results for tag: Thanksgiving

It All Comes From God – by Greg Albrecht

Here in the United States this is the time after Thanksgiving. It's a time of the year when it can be so easy to forget that what we are eating and enjoying is what God has given us, for every good and perfect gift is from above…(James 1:17). Here in the U.S. we just experienced Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving, a day when many people are off work and flood the shopping malls, trying to get a head start on Christmas shopping. Another year of Christmas hype is in full swing. It's a time when Christmas decorations, advertisements, and promotions urge us to buy and spend, and during such a time it's so easy to forget that anything and ...

The Peace of Thanksgiving – by Ed Dunn

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful – Colossians 3:15 Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside - Willard Scott There is something magical about a Thanksgiving Day morning. Maybe it’s the fact that Thanksgiving Day is a guaranteed holiday (and the next day too) for most people from the rigors and routine of normal workplace demands. Maybe it’s the sense that if you wake up early enough, life as we experience it in the day-to-day seems to quiet for a while. Maybe it’s the crispness of the autumn air outside, cup of ...

Generosity Without Expectations – Greg Albrecht

A youth group from a prosperous North American suburb volunteered to help a pastor serve meals in an inner-city soup kitchen. Before this experience, most of these young people had only seen homeless people through their car windows as they and their family happened to drive through a poor part of town. It was just before Thanksgiving, and the young people served a hot meal of beans, turkey, mashed potatoes and yams to a long line of people. As they filed past these young people filling empty plates with generous servings, few of the homeless people made any eye contact with the young people who were serving the free meal, and only a few ...

Meals on Wheels – by Greg Albrecht

Earlier this year my wife and I attended memorial services for the wife of an older gentleman who frequents the same gym where my wife and I exercise. Jerrat is one of a number of seniors who arrive early at the gym, virtually every day. We have joined this group about three times a week over the last 6-8 years. A group of about 20 of us from the gym (we call ourselves gym rats) joined Jerrat, his family, loved ones and friends, supporting them during this time of loss. A week or so after the funeral my wife Karen decided to make some dinner for Jerrat. We called him and asked him if we could come to his house and bring him dinner. He was so ...

November 2024

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Politics and Religion as Usual – pg. 1 Hope, Comfort, Encouragement & Healing to be Found in Christ – pg. 2 The World's Story Told Well – pg. 4 Friday Mornings with the Rabbi – pg. 5 Rehearsals – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

The Love of Thanksgiving – by Ed Dunn

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever – 1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV) O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness – William Shakespeare Why do we love the Thanksgiving season so much here in North America? Why do so many say that Thanksgiving Day is one of their favorite holidays of the year? Along with our friends in Canada, Thanksgiving Day, although celebrated on different dates, remains a highlight of the Fall season, and an important beginning to the spiritual richness of the holiday season to come. Along with a deep joy and a quiet peace we delight in during this season, there is a ...

Thanksgiving – Getting Our Bearings

When we give thanks, we must obviously remember to whom we give thanks. Thanksgiving is a time to pause on our spiritual journey and ask directions - and get our bearings. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR145.mp3

Thankful For What?

The biblical nation of Israel entered into the Promised Land in spite of 40 years of rebellion and disobedience. Their Promised Land was not their reward for religious performance anymore than God's heaven is ours. May we never forget that it is God's grace that allows us to receive physical and spiritual blessings. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR092.mp3

Always Giving Thanks

In his Thanksgiving message Greg talks about a heart of gratitude. Being thankful is one of God's gifts that separates us from neurotic, self-centered, spiritually unhealthful lives. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR040.mp3

November 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: 60 Years Later... If JFK Could Talk – pg. 1 The Love of Thanksgiving – pg. 2 Should We Fear God? – pg. 5 A Sickness Unto Death – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

May 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Stretch Marks of a Mother's Love – pg. 1 One Day in May – pg. 2 The Kingdom in a Person – pg. 5 Grieving Nels – pg. 6 Prodigal Sons – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Thanksgiving – More Than Just a Day

The act of giving thanks is not natural - on the physical level it must be taught and learned, while on the spiritual level it is a divine gift, an expression of the evidence of the gift of God, granted by his grace.

Thankful For Life In Christ

When we give thanks to God we recognize we are not entitled to anything from him, for he owes us nothing. Yet, while we do not deserve his grace, he lavishes his grace and mercy on us.

Thankful For What? – by Greg Albrecht

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, ...

The Grace of Gratitude

Grace produces Thanksgiving! The more we realize how undeserving we are of God’s amazing grace the more his grace produces profound gratitude in our lives.

Giving Thanks to the Master – Greg Albrecht

...real thanksgiving is not determined by food or specific traditions or by travel...the absolute necessary ingredient is the Master—Jesus Christ—the One toward whom our thanksgiving is directed. Some people think they can’t experience a time of Thanksgiving without turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. Some think that they can’t experience a time of Thanksgiving (in Canada the second Monday in October and in the United States the last Thursday of November) unless they travel to a specific place and visit with specific people. Some summarize a perfect time of Thanksgiving as including the four F’s—food, family, friends and ...

Giving Thanks to the Master

In the final analysis, we are thankful not for things or a "what"-but a Who. In the ultimate and final sense, our thanksgiving is for the immeasurable grace of our Master.

The Gift of Giving

As we approach Thanksgiving, our sermon shows that God's grace working in and through us will lead us to give generously and cheerfully without compulsion. You might say that God's grace gives us an incredible insider trading tip -- enabling us to invest in the eternal kingdom of God!

Thanks-Giving or Self-Absorption? – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from November 2015: The day and season of Thanksgiving, already celebrated in Canada on October 12, and yet to be celebrated here in these United States on November 26, is much more than turkey and pumpkin pie!  From a Christ-centered perspective Thanks-Giving is aptly named, for giving thanks is one of the most inevitable characteristics evident in those in whom the Master lives and works.  Sadly, it seems giving thanks and being grateful is increasingly becoming extinct in our world. The plight of many today, particularly the younger generation, is that their spiritual senses have been overwhelmed by ...

Thankful For What?

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, ...