THANKSGIVING Bulletin Online Church at Home Service – Why Christians Give Thanks

AS WE GATHER

A Day of National Thanksgiving is an honored tradition in this nation. But thankfulness to God is something that transcends national borders and the boundaries of time. God’s people are always thankful people, for they know what great things He has done and continues to do for them. In Martin Luther’s explanation of the First Article of the Creed, he states that in response to God’s great gifts, it is the Christian’s “duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.” Our worship is one way through which we carry out that joyful duty.

+ PREPARATION +

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 95:1–2; 100:4–5; 147:1, 7

Pastor: Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

People: Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!

Pastor: Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

People: Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!

Pastor: Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!

People: For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: I will go to the altar of God,

People: to God my exceeding joy.

Pastor: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

People: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Pastor: Let us then confess our sins to God, our gracious Father.

People: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things, we confess that we are indeed sinful. We have broken our fellowship with You and have turned away from one another in our thinking, speaking, and doing. We have done the evil You forbid and have not done the good You demand. We have not lived lives that are continuing expressions of gratitude. We do repent and are truly sorry for all of our sins. Have mercy on us because of Jesus, our Lord and the source of our salvation. Grant that, by the working of the Holy Spirit, we live faithfully and with full thankfulness until that time when we rejoice together in Your eternal presence.

Pastor: God has promised forgiveness to those who repent of their sins and turn to Him for grace. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Lord keep you steadfast in the Holy Spirit, lead you to greater faith and obedience, grant you a spirit of ongoing thankfulness, and finally bring you to live with Him forever, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People: Amen.

PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, we adore You as the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and with the whole Church on earth and all the hosts of heaven we ascribe to You honor and blessing, thanksgiving and praise. Grant that we with thankful hearts receive Your great mercies and express our gratitude, not only with our lips but also in our lives as we give ourselves to Your service and walk before You in holiness and righteousness all our days. Give us faith that works in love, hope that never disappoints, kindness that never fails, confidence in You that never wavers, patience that does not grow weary, and courage always ready to confess Christ, that we live in Your mercy and die in Your peace; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

CATECHISM

Pastor: Confessing faith and expressing thanks are completely linked together. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther underscored the theme of thankfulness in his explanation of the First Article of the Creed, which focuses on God the Creator. Together we say:

People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Reader: What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

People: For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

Reader: He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

People: For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

Reader: He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.

People: For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
This is most certainly true.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: Let us pray.

Almighty God, Your mercies are new every morning, and You graciously provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your goodness, give thanks for Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

OLD TESTAMENT READING Deuteronomy 8:1–10

(A call to remember the goodness of the Lord)

¹“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. ²And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. ⁵Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, ⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. ¹⁰And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

PSALM Psalm 67

¹May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,

²that your way may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations.

³Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.

⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

⁶The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

⁷God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

EPISTLE Philippians 4:6–20

(Doing everything with thanksgiving to God)

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. ¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. ¹⁸I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

EPISTLE 1 Timothy 2:1–4

(Prayers and supplications are to be made for all people.)

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ²for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL AND VERSE Psalm 145:15–16; 118:1

Pastor: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.

People: Alleluia. Alleluia.

Pastor: The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their food in due season.

People: You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Pastor: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.

People: Alleluia. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 17:11–19

(One leper of ten healed shows gratitude to Jesus.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the seventeenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

SERMON – “Thanksgiving!? What is there to be thankful for?”

Apostles Creed, Prayers, Benediction, & Dismissal

APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

People:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.

Almighty God, You crown the fields with Your blessing and permit us to gather in the fruits of the earth. As stewards of Your creation, move us to receive Your gifts in humble thankfulness and share Your bounty with those in need; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION

Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace. Numbers 6:24–26