Just this past Thursday I attended the weekly chapel service where three of my grandkids go to Christian school. It’s St. Paul Lutheran School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. What a wonderful experience they are having for both academics and Christian environment.
The theme of this particular chapel was, of course, Thanksgiving, concentrating and focusing on our giving thanks to God. After all, giving thanks to God is what Thanksgiving should really be all about; not simply giving thanks out into the universe, and certainly not butchering it with the idea that it simply remembers that the Pilgrims thanked the Native Americans for helping them. Please.
The fifth graders were the leaders of the chapel service and its message. What they did, as has been done countless times before them, was to take each letter of Thanksgiving and present a word beginning with each letter as something for which they are thankful to God.
As common and juvenile as it may seem, I decided to do the same for myself here in this article. As I did it, I was glad I did. It stretched me a bit to be both thorough and a bit creative in the process. Also, I would be so bold as to challenge you and your family to do the same at some time during this holiday season.
Here we go. T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G.
T. Time. Thank You, God, for the time You give us to live our lives. Thank You for creating us. Our time is in Your Hands.
H. Heaven. Thank You, God, for the assurance You give us that because of our faith in Christ we shall live forever with You and all the saints in heaven.
A. All. Thank You, God, for all with which You provide us day after day, month after month, year after year in such abundance.
N. Nation. Thank You, God, for our nation, these United States of America, where we have the freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
K. Knowledge. Thank You, God, that you have gifted our human race with such a vast capacity for knowledge, which moves us ever forward in the advancement of the quality of our lives. And Thank You for teachers and all who transmit knowledge to others.
S. System, as in Family System. Thank You, God, for giving us Your plan for families, with the sacredness of marriage between husband and wife, with the gift of children and grandchildren, and with the joy of love and fellowship with our extended families.
G. Generosity. Thank You, God, for being most generous to us with Your love, and that in return we can be moved to be most generous with others.
I. Included, as in we are included in God’s Family. Thank You, God, that in our baptism You made us members of Your Family, the Church, and now You call us together with other Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ, to worship You, fellowship with each other, and serve the world in Your Name.
V. Vocations. Thank You, God, for our work and vocations, paid and unpaid, which provide our livelihoods and prove to be a source of fulfillment and satisfaction about who we are and what we do.
I. Invincible. Thank You, God, that You and Your Love are the strongest and most invincible forces in our universe. Thank You, God, that as we put on Your Whole Armor (Ephesians 6), we too are invincible against the devil and his evil in our world.
N. Notes, as in musical notes. Thank You, God, for the beautiful gift of music You have given us, which touches our emotions and gives us a marvelous way to worship You.
G. Good, as in God is good all the time. Thank You, God, that You are good all the time, and that all the time You are good.
O.K. Your turn. Or, if it works better for you, just click on this article as you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner and read it aloud and let these “Thank-You’s” to God be the “Thank-You’s” to God for you and your family.
Whatever works for you. Thank You, God. Amen!
P.S. Thank you, fifth grade class at St. Paul. Amen to that, too!
[Dr. Justin Kollmeyer, a thirty-eight year resident of Fayette County, is a retired Lutheran pastor. He offers his preaching and teaching ministry to any church or group seeking or needing a Christ centered, Biblically based, and traditionally grounded sermon or teaching. Reach him at justin.kollmeyer@gmail.com.]
