Happy Thanksgiving!

Jubilee Fam,

Every year our country offers this rhythm of rest and thanksgiving that allows us to reflect gratefully. Please set apart some time this Thanksgiving holiday to consider the many blessings we can be thankful for, even amid circumstances that rightfully call for godly lament. I found this among my recent travels across the vast landscape called the internet: Wherever you find yourself this year, we invite you to remember with us that ’nothing good and true and right will be lost forever. All good things will be restored’” Recollect all that calls for thanks in your life and once you see how massive that list is, open your mouth with a heart full of gratitude and give thanks to our good Father, who is the giver of good gifts. Let me give you some texts for the encouragement of robust thanksgiving this season:

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:1).

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30).

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds (Psalm 75:1).

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High (Psalm 92:1);

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever (Ps 118:1)!

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col 3:17).

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:16-18).

There are so many other verses that encourage us to be a thankful community of Jesus’ people. On behalf of the elders, know that we are exceedingly grateful to our good Father for you, Jubilee! We are thankful for the ways the Spirit is at work crafting and modeling you into the image of Jesus. We are grateful for the love you show one another. We are thankful for the unwavering support you give us. We are thankful for your prayers, sacrificial living, public witness, and love for God’s glory! This holiday, know that we have many reasons to open our mouths with a heart full of gratitude and say alongside Psalm 126:3, "The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.” 

We love you, Jubilee.

Pastor Lew