A SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING

We Are GratefulPsalm 103:1 – Praise the Lord O my soul and forget NOT all His benefits.

To help you celebrate God’s goodness, to thank him, not just for what He has done, but for who He is, Randy Vader, Jay Rouse and Rose Aspinall have created these resources to assist you in planning your Thanksgiving service.

OPENING WORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir & Congregation We Give You Thanks (A08377) - Randy Vader/Jay Rouse

WELCOME – OPENING SCRIPTURE

Narrator: In Psalm 108, David has determined in his heart that he will always sing God’s praises! His heart is fixed! It is steadfast! He determines that he will rise before the dawn and sing of God’s love. The deep desire of his heart—is to be thankful. He says:

1 My heart is confident, O God. I want to sing and make music even with my soul.2 Wake up, harp and lyre! I want to wake up at dawn.3 I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Lord. I want to make music to praise you among the nations4 because your mercy is higher than the heavens. Your truth reaches the skies.5 May you be honored above the heavens, O God. Let your glory extend over the whole earth.

WORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir & Congregation Your Grace is Enough (TR8134) - Matt Maher Mighty to Save (TR8119) - Ben Fielding/Reuben Morgan

DRAMATIC READING/TESTIMONY:

Thanksgiving is more than a season to count our blessings. It’s a time to take a personal inventory on those things that are temporal and those that are eternal, a time to balance our perspective between our sometimes misplaced sense of entitlement and His amazing grace.

A Service for Thanksgiving

The evidence of entitlement’s insidious movement in our lives is manifest when the depth of our Thanksgiving is solely measured by the abundance of our harvest, by the posses-sions we accumulate, or the recognition we receive, but God isn’t required to meet a quota to deserve our adulation.

We do not celebrate accumulation, we acknowledge and give thanks for Emmanuel, God with us, God in us. And we bring life to our Thanksgiving as we reach out and bless others by God working through us.

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Suggestion: If you know of someone in your congregation that has a specific personal tes-timony of God’s love and faithfulness, ask them to encourage others with a short testimony of thankfulness.

RESPONSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir & Congregation My Heart Your Home (TR8147) - Nathan & Christy Nockels

A TIME OF PRAYER: A Prayer for Thanksgiving based on Psalm 23*

SCRIPTURE:Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

The Story Behind “Great is thy Faithfulness”*

SPECIAL MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Choir Great Is Thy Faithfulness (A08309) - Thomas O. Chisholm/William M. Runyan

SERMON

End of Service

The Story Behind

Great Is Thy FaithfulnessThe story behind Great is Thy Faithfulness is an encouragement to anyone who may be tempted to think of their life as ordinary. There is no tragic story behind this hymn. It simply speaks to the life a faithful man with great faith in a faithful God.

Thomas Chisholm, sometimes described himself as “just an old shoe,” He was born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1866 and became a Christian at age 27. He became a pastor at 36, but had to retire one year later due to poor health. He endured periods of illness confined to his bed, unable to work.

He spent the majority of the rest of his life as a life insurance agent in New Jersey, dying in 1960 at the age of 93. During his life he wrote over 1200 poems, most of which no one will ever hear.

In 1923, Chisholm wrote a poem based on Lamentations 3:22-23. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

He was 57 years old. He sent it and a few other poems to his friend, William Runyan, a musician who was associated with Moody Bible Institute and Hope Publishing Company. Runyan was moved by Great is Thy Faithfulness and decided to set it to a melody that he felt would reflect gratitude for God’s faithfulness.

In 1945 when George Beverly Shea began to sing it at Billy Graham crusades it became internationally known. Now it has been used to encourage millions around the world to trust in a faithful God.

At the end of his life, Chisholm explained, “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

© Copyright 2014 PraiseGathering Music Group.

Dear Father in heaven ~Thank You for the promise that in You I shall not want.When I am overwhelmed, You calm my restless heart.

In trials that overpower me as mighty torrents in a raging river,

You call me to rest beside still waters.

In a world that only knows what it means to take,You bring the peace that restores to me even those things

I did not know I had lost.

So many voices call to me, beckoning me to walk another road, But You—You invite me to walk in paths of Your righteousness

in the name of Your Son.

In the inevitability of the shadow of death, I thank you Father that I need not fear the unknown. I need only look to You for comfort and protection.

Even in the midst of those things that bring fear— that make me feel

alone, You prepare a banquet and Your sure love overwhelms my enemies. The things that burden me are washed away in Your presence and

I am overcome with Your grace.

Abba, I could never ask for that which You offer to me as gift. My heart overflows. Your goodness and mercy are always with me and

I rejoice in the invitation to dwell in Your house forever.

Praise You Loving Father. Praise You Son of God.Praise You Holy Spirit.

May my life be a never ending psalm of Thanksgiving.

A Prayer for Thanksgiving