Thanksgiving—An Act Of Worship
Photo by Tatiana Rodriguez, from Unsplash.
What role does gratitude have in our worship? How is thanksgiving and worship connected?
You can tell a lot about the state of your relationship with Jesus by how thankful you are. Thanksgiving is an act of worship. Thanksgiving expresses our love to God.
The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, saying, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-21, ESV).
In the middle of Paul’s exhortation of the Ephesian church—to be filled with God’s Spirit and to worship—is thanksgiving.
Paul asked the church to “give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Thanksgiving is an integral part of our worship.
May we express our love of God in thanksgiving and worship as we give thanks always and for everything in Jesus’ name.
A Litany Of Thanksgiving: “Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us: For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea, We thank you, Lord. For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends, We thank you, Lord. For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve, We thank you, Lord. For health and strength to work, and time to rest and worship, We thank you, Lord. For all who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity, We thank you, Lord. For all who earnestly seek after truth, and all who labor for justice, We thank you, Lord. For all that is good and gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ, We thank you, Lord. For the communion of saints, in all times and places, We thank you, Lord. Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord; To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. (#116., Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Photo by Tatiana Rodriguez, from Unsplash.
