Table of Contents
Introduction: A Proclamation for Thanksgiving
We enter into the holiday season—a time of reflection, celebration, emotion, jubilation, trepidation, happiness, loneliness, anticipation, anxiety.
The Sunday following Thanksgiving is always a Communion Sunday at GraceLife. I’d like to use this Communion Sunday as an opportunity for gratitude. It’s an opportunity to be thankful for the year that was as well as an opportunity to anticipate what might be in the coming year and what might be for the remainder of the year that exists.
It’s an opportunity for us to make sure we don’t rush past this season of thanks.
Hopefully you had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving this past week with friends or family. And I know we’ve ushered in the Christmas season—rightfully so—but let’s not rush past this season of thanks.
[As] we enter the holiday season … let’s not rush past this season of thanks.
Some may say, “But Thanksgiving isn’t specifically a Christian holiday.” True. It’s not outlined in the Scriptures. However, we are called to be Christians in the midst of a culture, and we should celebrate those things that point us as a culture to God.
Let’s read the first official Thanksgiving proclamation, stating that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on a Thursday in November. This is a proclamation from America’s 15th president, Abraham Lincoln, but it was actually written by William Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State. It is a very Christian document. Here’s how that proclamation begins:
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
Lincoln spoke that opening line of thanks in 1863, when the country was in the midst of a civil war. Even in the midst of hardship and strife, there was a reminder of the need to be thankful for the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.” A little later, the proclamation continues:
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. … I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens … to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged. …
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord, 1863.
As we have done on several occasions at GraceLife the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we’ll take some time to express gratitude and then have moments of guided prayer. This is a spiritual exercise. I invite you to join in this exercise wherever and whenever you’re reading or watching this.
How We Approach Holidays
The culture of Paul’s day had its own celebrations, activities, and acts of worship done in the name of the Lord. They couldn’t agree on observations of holidays just as there are disagreements among Christians today. I think this passage is applicable to how we approach our holiday seasons:
The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. (Romans 14:3–6)
The common theme in this passage—as in Lincoln’s proclamation and in all the passages we’re about to read—is thanks.
I’m going to lead you through instances of thanksgiving in the New Testament. In most if not all of these instances, someone is giving thanks or we’re given the directive to be thankful.
Guided Thanks & Prayer
Thank Him for Sustenance (Blessing for Meals)
Our attitude about the holidays should be one of, “Whatever you do, do as a service unto God.” We’ve seen this in our recent sermons on rewards—the idea that even the smallest things we do out of our love for and service to Him may count for eternity. Those things may include the simple planning of a meal.
Thinking through what gifts you might give, ask the Lord to prepare your heart for the holidays, for acts of service toward fellow believers, for the laying aside of pettiness—even if it’s just annoyance when your kid drops and breaks your favorite ornament.
Perhaps the most numerous instances of thanks that we see in the Scripture are the blessings before meals.
Take an opportunity to thank God for the sustenance that He gives you. Thank Him for daily bread.
Scriptures to accompany or weave in:
Thank Him for the Fruit of Hope
Thank God for the fruit of hope, for the fruit of faithfulness, for the fruit of longing.
Thank God when you see things come to fruition that you have been hoping for in the Lord. I’m thinking about Anna, who served faithfully in the temple and finally saw the Christ come into that temple. The Scripture says:
At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38)1See verses 36–38 for the full context.
Have you seen something this year that you’ve hoped or longed for come to fruition? If not, keep praying for that thing.
Thank Him for Healing
We also pray for—and thank God for—specific instances of healing: physical healing, spiritual healing, and relational healing.
I pray specifically now for the healing of a man [name removed for transcript] who’s in the middle of a liver transplant. This was a prayer request just shared with me this morning.
Jesus once healed 10 leprous individuals. And the Scripture says, “One of them,2Just 1 of 10! when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him” (Luke 17:15–16).
So pray for healing—and also, give thanks for healing that you’ve witnessed. Pray for the courage to glorify and be a person of gratitude and thanks, even if you’re the only one.
Thank Him for Hearing Our Prayers
When Jesus went to heal Lazarus and they removed the stone before his grave, the Scripture tells us that Jesus raised His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me” (John 11:41).
Thank the Lord for hearing our prayers, including your prayers. What a blessing it is to be able to go to the throne of grace and to go boldly.3See Hebrews 4:16.
If this is your most concentrated effort of prayer this year:
- Give thanks for the moment;
- Give thanks for the reminder; and
- Give thanks that God will strengthen you to increase in prayer in the coming year.
Thank Him for the Testimony of Faith
Next to the thanksgiving given in association with meals, the most abundant example of thanks that we have in the Scriptures is thankfulness for the testimony of faith. Paul so often writes of it—in this manner: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8).
Thank the Lord for the examples of faith you have seen this past year: examples of faith in others, examples of faithful service to you, and examples of faithful service that you’ve seen to others.
Of the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers …” (Ephesians 1:15–16).
Father, I thank You for the faithful servants of GraceLife—and at churches everywhere. I thank You for those who have exhibited their faith so well, and for those who exhibit that faith in ways I am completely unaware of because it happens throughout these communities during the week. Thank You for the faithful service of those who serve in GraceLife’s Bible Fellowship meetings (after the service each week). You multiply faith by giving testimony to how You’ve been faithful in their lives. Thank You for the faith of those who serve our littlest ones in childcare. Thank you for the faithful testimony of those who serve in the kitchen each Sunday.
Thank Him for Opportunities for Joy
Next, thank God for the opportunities to be joyful—especially in seeing the instance of faithful disciples. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you. … For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account …? (1 Thessalonians 3:6, 9)
It’s easy to think of the so-called failures: I poured so much time into this person, Lord. So much energy, so much money. They don’t seem to be grateful. But don’t you fail to be grateful for the opportunity. Don’t you fail to be grateful for the successes, even just one.
Thank Him for His Attributes & Power, Divinely Revealed in Creation
Scripture teaches:
Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, [God’s] eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks … (Romans 1:20–21, emphasis mine)
Let us not be guilty of the same thing as the ungodly.
Take a moment to give thanks to God for His attributes, His power, and His divinity specifically revealed in what He has created.
Use every small opportunity to give thanks to and for Him. If you put up a Christmas tree in your home, use it as a chance to remind yourself and others of the idea that there’s a Creator who makes things grow. Take the opportunity in winter, a darker time, a colder time, to focus on the longing and hope that is found in the light and warmth of Christ.
For the trees that don’t keep their leaves, notice the awesome structure and architecture—the usually-hidden aspects of a tree that provide beauty for us.
Thank Him for Changed Life
The Bible commands us to be thankful and offers this praise:
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17–18)
Thank God for a changed life. Some have great testimonies from that turn from a former lifestyle—a testimony of changing your family forever for the better. Maybe you have children who will never know anything of you except you being a servant of righteousness. Thank God for that.
Thank Him for His Rescue from Sin
Sometimes the Scriptures remind us of a former way of living. If we wrestle still with our flesh, we can take comfort in this honest admission in the Bible—and heed the call to be thankful:
Wretched person that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24–25)
Take an opportunity to thank God for the rescue from sin.
Thank Him for Friends & Gospel Partners
Next, thank God for your friends and for your partners in gospel ministry.
When Paul closed out his great letter to the Romans, he said:
Greet … my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom … I give thanks. (Romans 16:3–4)
If you have a friend willing to risk their well-being for yours, it is a great gift. Thank God for it. If you do not have such a friend, ask God for the strength to be that friend to someone else. You see, even in loneliness, there’s an opportunity for gratitude.
Thank you, Lord, for this reminder that I need to be on the lookout for other lonely people.
Thank Him for His Grace
If you’re like me—indeed, if you’re like most people—when we say “be thankful for the grace of God,” you probably thought about the grace of God to you in your life, and that’s good. But I want you to be thankful, too, for the grace of God to others.
Paul opens his letter to the Corinthians saying, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4).
Thank God for the grace He gives to someone else. In your prayers, be specific, not just thanking Him for His grace in general to someone else, but for a specific instance, a specific name. Should you dare, thank God for the grace He gives to those who have wronged you.
Your turn is coming. You’ll want the grace. To inject a little levity in the moment, but also seriousness, thank God that it wasn’t worse (it could have been!).
Thank Him for Further Avoidance of Conflict & Confusion
Thank God for further avoidance of conflict. Paul did. The Corinthians weren’t always the easiest to deal with. Paul thanked God that he baptized only a couple of them (Crispus and Gaius), because otherwise, there would have been even more conflict and confusion (see 1 Corinthians 1:14–15). We, likewise, don’t know all the instances in which God has protected us from further conflict and confusion. But we can thank Him even for what we don’t know—because He does.
Miscellaneous Thanks
Thank Him for spiritual gifts. Thank God for indwelling you with the Holy Spirit, and that He is faithful to exercise gifts in His time as He sees fit for the purposes that He ordains.
Thank God for answered prayers. We have gladness in those moments. Don’t forget to couple gladness with gratitude. Scripture says, “You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11).
One way in which God answers our prayers is to move in the hearts of others to serve. “But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus,” Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:16. Thank God for His movement in the hearts of others to serve, in which the will of God is revealed.
Thank Him in and for Everything
The will of God for your life is this: “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
This is echoed in Ephesians: “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is … always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (5:17, 20, emphasis mine).
With that phrase “all things” in mind, think for a moment on these questions:
- What was the best thing that happened to you this year of 2025? Give thanks for that.
- What was the worst thing that happened to you in 2025? I’m not going to say give thanks for the thing in and of itself, but thank God for the opportunity to grow in faithfulness. Thank Him for the opportunity to persevere under trial. Thank Him that you’re one step closer to completeness, to maturity in faith. You can thank God for the things that we’ve looked at on eternal judgment,4See introduction to that sermon series here. knowing that the worst will one day end.
- What was the hardest thing you had to do this year? Thank God for that opportunity for building, for growing in character.
- What was the easiest thing you had to do in 2025? Thank God for that moment of rest, respite, and grace.
Conclusion: 3 More Things to Thank Him For
Here are three more things I want you to give thanks for.
First, give thanks for those who hold dear the nature of God’s Word. Whether they’re teachers, leaders, or fellow members of your church, these are individuals who, week after week, are faithful to the Scriptures and share from them the faithfulness of God. What a mess God’s church would be if we gathered unmoored, untethered, from the Scriptures! If we base whatever we do on how we feel in the moment and not on the bedrock foundation of Christ and His Word, we would be in trouble.
Paul was thankful for those who held on to the Scriptures:
For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you receive the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Second, thank God for the strengthening that comes through Christ.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. (1 Timothy 1:12)
Those are the words of Paul as he reminds Timothy that he was perhaps not the best candidate according to the world’s eyes to be in the service of the Lord. He was an enemy.
Thank God for the strengthening in your own life!
Finally, be thankful for an unshakable kingdom. This directive, this phrase, comes from the book of Hebrews—the book that gives us the elementary principles of the oracles of God (our long-running sermon series that we’re currently taking a short break from). I hope you’ve come to understand a little more about this kingdom through our Oracles of God study (if you’ve been following my sermons for the past two-plus years). I hope that, at the very least, you’ve grown to hope and long for God’s kingdom more. Scripture teaches that “we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken,” and that it’s because of this fact that we should show gratitude (Hebrews 12:27–28). It’s by this gratitude that we “may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (v. 28).
God, thank you for this instruction that we are able to worship in reverence and awe, in an acceptable fashion that is pleasing to You, by being people of gratitude. So, Lord, I thank You and acknowledge that all good things come from You. I thank You that our trials can be turned into opportunities for perseverance, for completion in the faith. Thank You for friends, family, and the opportunity at the end of the year to reflect upon all these things. Thank You for the coming of Christ at Christmas—a reminder that You are faithful to Your promises. We anticipate, Lord, the day in which You send to us Christ once again. Amen.
For Reflection & Thanksgiving:
(contains in full all the passages of Scripture in this guided exercise)
How to use the handout:
- Gather with other believers (or your own family), if you can, and reflect on why the Bible mentions these instances of thanksgiving.
- Which ones are the hardest to share with others?
- How can you excel still more—to be or become a grateful people?