Gratitude, Giving, and the Glory of God
"Oh, Give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the peoples!"
1 Chronicles 16:8, ESV
I am mindful as we enter the seasons of Thanksgiving and Advent of the greatest gift ever given to us – “the Father gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This gift should bring with it the overwhelming response of thanksgiving.
In fact, it is precisely because of the unfathomable generosity of God, and the resulting thanksgiving, that we are moved to give to others. We are made in the image of the Great Giver, so we give. We have received from God in abundance, so we give thanks. So it is during this season that we will as a church pray and make our pledge toward the work of God here at Christ Church.
In addition to the gift we have in Christ Jesus, the Father showers us with many other good gifts day by day. These include life, love, health, family, friendships, home, food, beauty, and so many more. I would encourage that we all set aside some time in the coming weeks to reflect upon what the Lord has done in our lives, our families, and our church over the last year. I would ask that you start a list of things for which you want to give thanks. I would ask that you share those with me and deacons Kim and Debra, as we would like to have stories of thanksgiving and praise to celebrate together in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
You will be hearing stories of what God has been doing through the ministries of Christ Church too, so that we can give thanks to the Lord together.
As we reflect on the many ways God has blessed us I hope we will be encouraged to know that our tithes and offerings are being used to enable us to worship the Lord, grow in our faith, and reach our neighbors and the nations with the good news of God’s grace, truth, and beauty. I trust that the Lord will move on our hearts to continue to give to the work of seeing the Kingdom come here through the ministries and mission of Christ Church. I pray that as we reflect on the blessings of the past year, give ourselves and our resources afresh to the work of the Kingdom, that God will be glorified in and through each of us.
