Thanksgiving – Be Thankful

There are three main things Jesus did for us: 1) He wiped out our debt of sin; 2) He credited us with His righteousness; and 3) He intercedes for us. Scriptures on thankfulness: Deuteronomy 28:46, 47 (curses because you did not serve the Lord with joy and gladness of heart); Philippians 4:4-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 1 Chronicles 16:34 ; Colossians 3:17; 1 Timothy 4:4; Psalm 100:4; Psalm 95:2; 1 Corinthians 15:56, 57. Rejoicing in the Lord strengthens you. Pastor Syd told of the history of the Pilgrims and how we have come to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The Pilgrims wanted to separate from the state church, so they went to Holland, but their children were losing their English culture, so they decided to go to the new world. After much difficulty from both humans and nature, they arrived at Plymouth Rock. The ones who made the voyage signed a written agreement when they arrived. It was at Plymouth that they found houses and corn buried in sand, and since there was no one there to pay for it, they ate the corn and lived in the houses. Later they paid the Indians back. Their first completed building was a meetinghouse that was finished on December 25, 1620. It was a terrible winter, and many of the people died. In the spring Samoset, an Indian, walked in the settlement and spoke English to them, and they fed him. He came back the next day, which was a Sunday and wanted to trade with them, but they wouldn’t, because it was a Sunday. Squanto came with Samoset, and they showed the settlers how to plant and harvest food. It was a great harvest in 1621, so they wanted to thank God for His blessings and for the Indians. There were thirty Pilgrims, only four white women, and ninety Indians who gathered for a three day feast. They found out that the reason there were provisions there when they landed was because the tribe of Indians who had lived there had died from an epidemic. There had been a prophecy warning that tribe. Concerning Pennsylvania, when William Penn’s father died, the king could not pay back his debt to him, so he gave him the land of Penn’s Woods. Penn bought it from the Indians, but because multiple tribes said they owned the land, Penn paid for it multiple times. Pastor Syd told of the many proclamations for days of thanksgiving. In 1863 President Lincoln issued a thanksgiving proclamation at a time of great division and death. It was after he saw the 60,000 dead at Gettysburg that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Be grateful to God.