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Baptist Church

Be Thankful

Be Thankful.

It is very easy to take things for granted — to assume that all that we have and experience, especially the good things, are simply a fact of life. However, as followers of Christ, we know that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). They are graciously given to us by our loving Heavenly Father.

The suggestions and resources provided below are just a few ways to help you focus on cultivating a heart of gratitude in November. Whether using these or your own ideas, be intentional about expressing thanks — to God or to others. Leading up to the Thanksgiving Day holiday, develop a discipline of thanksgiving to last throughout the year!

Suggested Actions • Your Ideas • Pastor Gregg's Message
Children & Students • Music Video

Suggested Actions

Here are a few specific things you can do throughout the month that are designed to turn your heart toward gratitude and to help you express thanks along the way.

#HFBCThanks

On social media, share what you're grateful for using the hashtag #HFBCThanks. It could be your family, your job, your neighbor, your Life Bible Study — anything you're thankful for! If you're thanking a person or group who is also on social media, be sure to tag them so they can see it, too.

Gratitude Journal

Keep a “gratitude journal” and write down three things you’re grateful for every morning to start your day focused on giving thanks. When things don't go your way during the day, having started the morning focusing on your blessings will help keep the right perspective.

Thank You Notes (or Texts)

Thank you notes almost seem like a lost art — especially hand-written ones! Keep a stack of blank notecards handy (maybe at the kitchen table) and write note to people to thank them for something they've done or simply for the role they play in your life. A quick text message in the middle of the day could provide the same encouragement — to you and to them!

"Thank It Forward"

Spend time with family or friends talking about the material blessings you enjoy or take for granted on a regular basis, or for events/provisions over the past year where God has clearly “shown up and shown off.” Pray together and thank God for those things. Then, identify ONE or TWO of those blessings (food, shelter, clothing, health, etc.) and come up with a creative way to share or gift that blessing to someone in need. Examples:

  • Food: Collect canned goods for the homeless. Sharing a meal/table (at a restaurant or at your home) with someone in need/homeless.
  • Health: Prepare homeless bags of hygiene items to keep in your car and distribute them to the homeless at stoplights or underpasses.
  • Relationships/Care: Volunteer to serve a meal at a homeless shelter and spend time talking with the people there. Volunteer at a VA or retirement community and just sit and talk, hear their stories, or play board games with them, too.

Memorize related Bible verses

There are several verses that talk about thankfulness. Here are a few to memorize. What other ones can you find?

    • "I am obligated by vows to You, God; I will make my thank offerings to You." — Psalm 56:12
    • "Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song." — Psalm 95:2
    • "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever." — Psalm 107:1
    • "You are my God, and I will give You thanks. You are my God; I will exalt You." — Psalm 118:28
    • "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place." — 2 Corinthians 2:14
    • "Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." — Philippians 4:6
    • "Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." — Colossians 4:2

Read related Bible passages

Beyond short verses, there are longer passages in the Bible that focus on giving thanks. As you read these, ask God what truths you can apply in your life.

Other Resources

What ideas do YOU have?

We want to hear your suggestions for how to develop and maintain a grateful heart this month (and beyond). Share your ideas with us using the short form below.

YOUR INNERCHANGE IDEAS

Pastor Gregg's Message

Below, Pastor Gregg takes a deeper look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 — "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

Children and Students

Our NextGen Ministries offer these suggestions for preschoolers, children, and students as you guide them in the discipline of being grateful.

All Ages

  • Once a day either at breakfast, dinner, or any time when the family is together, have everyone name one thing they are thankful for and why.

Preschoolers

  • Write “I am thankful for …” on a poster board and fill it with words or pictures of things that you are thankful for.

Children

  • With a parent, bake some treats (such as cookies or brownies) for the fire station or police station in your neighborhood and make a big "thank you" card out of poster board folded in half. Then, take your gift and card to the station and present it to them and thank them face-to-face.

Students

  • Send thank you notes to adults who have had a positive impact on your life (teachers, volunteers, relatives, coaches, etc.).
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