Sermon Idea: How to Thank God at Thanksgiving

We give thanks to God . . .

1.  By singing to him 

“Sing out your thanks to Him; sing praises to our God” Psalm 147:7 (TLB)

“Shout with joy to the Lord. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His . . . Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name . . . For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever!” Psalm 100 (NLT)

2.  By praying to him

“Give thanks to the Lord and pray to Him.” Psalms 105:1 (NCV)

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

3.  By giving to him

“Give an offering to show thanks to God. Give Him what you promised.” Psalm 50:14 (NCV)

“Your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)

“Celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the Lord your God by bringing Him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing He has given you. Be joyful in the Lord’s presence, together with your children.” Deuteronomy 16:10-11 (GNT)

“Now, our God, we thank You . . . These things did not really come from me and my people. Everything comes from You; we have only given You back what You gave us . . . Lord, we have gathered all this to build your Temple. But everything has come from You and everything belongs to You. You test people’s hearts and You are happy when people do what is right. I am happy to give all these things, and I gave with an honest heart. And Your people gathered here are happy to give to You too, and we rejoice to see their giving.” 1 Chronicles 29:13-16 (NCV)

4.  By sharing our testimony about him

“Thank the Lord! Praise His name! Tell the world about His wondrous love and how mighty He is!” Isaiah 12:4 (TLB)

“Be very careful to never forget what you’ve seen God doing for you. May His miracles have a deep and permanent effect upon your lives! Tell your children and your grandchildren about the glorious miracles He did.” Deuteronomy 4:9 (TLB)

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.” Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

The Power of Thanksgiving: Acts 16:22-34

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, we are very aware that at this moment we are standing on holy ground. You have brought us this far to this time and for this purpose. We sense that you are about to do something that is absolutely incredible in us and through us once again this next week end. We stand in awe of you.

Thank You for the love and faith and flexibility and the vision and the sacrifice that I have seen in the lives of these people over the years. Thank you for allowing me the sacred privilege of leading these people. I am not worthy of such a responsibility so I humbly submit myself to you, before you, and before these people.

And I beg you for wisdom. May this next weekend when we give our offerings and when we make our giving commitments be such a miraculous day that this entire community will take notice that you are on your throne and that your hand is upon this church family and that you are a great God and that you have found a group of people who put you first in time and money and the things that matter.

How great Thou art! Bring honor to yourselves, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let it be such a day of sacrifice and faith and love and generosity that we will not only remember it but that our children will remember it and so will our children’s children. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Check out Pastor Rick Warren’s Thanksgiving sermon collection.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash