Thanksgiving Praise

The Thanksgiving Praise Service has been a tradition at Calvary as far back as I can remember. Each year we make a shift from our normal course of study and worship to express gratitude to the Lord for all that He has done. The focus this year is on the actions of a grateful heart. Pastor Paul’s message will be woven throughout the service and mingled with song and testimonies, culminating with celebration of the Lord’s Table.

We begin Sunday with the congregation singing God Is Good All The Time. This will be followed by a time for us to express our thanks to God through our tithes and offerings. The Worship Choir will sing Sweet Aroma Of Praise while the ushers collect the offering.

When the choir has finished, Pastor Paul will begin his message declaring that a grateful heart serves unselfishly. We are going to have the opportunity to hear from some members of our New Jersey mission team as they share their experiences with us. We may even hear about a future mission opportunity to serve the people of Tuckerton, New Jersey.

After the mission team has shared, Pastor Paul will continue with the declaration that a grateful heart gives unselfishly. We will have the opportunity to practice unselfish giving as we have our special Thanksgiving offering. This offering is designated to repairing the house of the Lord. There are several areas of our church facility that are in desperate need of repair and we are going to use this offering to meet those needs so that our general offering can continue to be focused on our mission to passionately pursue Christ and to lovingly pursue others for Christ. The best example we have of an unselfish giver is Jesus Christ. We will declare that as we sing the Sovereign Grace song Jesus, Thank You. This modern worship song is deeply meaningful and will help us declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the first verse:

                The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend

                The agonies of Calvary

                You the perfect holy One crushed Your Son

                Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Pastor Paul will then declare that a grateful heart praises unselfishly. We have prepared a special Thanksgiving video and after it plays we will hear from the congregation as we give thanks through testimonies. That portion of the service will close with the congregation singing Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

The final part of Pastor Paul’s message is that a grateful heart remembers. We will remember the death of Jesus Christ through the celebration of the Lord’s Table. The congregation will sing Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) and then we will take communion. Finally we will close the service singing the Doxology.

                Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

                Praise Him all creatures here below

                Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts

                Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

                Amen

Soli Deo Gloria