Giving thanks

(Audio: Spanish, English) ->Original

SUMMARY: The pastor speaks about the tradition of bringing a special offering to the Lord during the Thanksgiving weekend, as a way of expressing gratitude for the abundance and provision that the harvest season represents. He highlights the importance of the Church's role in making an evangelistic, prophetic, and service-oriented presence in the community, and acknowledges the generosity of the members who continuously support the Church's social services and missions. He also emphasizes the spiritual and material dimensions of gratitude and generosity, as exemplified in the biblical pattern of offerings and sacrifices. The pastor identifies several things that the Church is grateful for, including the buildings and constructions, the development as an institution, the blessing to the city through spiritual and social ministries, the diversity and harmony of the congregation, the spiritual gifts, the families and children, the provision in the material sphere, and the anticipation of greater things to come. He concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving and prophetic faith for God's continued mercy and goodness.

We have come here on this day to do something that I believe will become a tradition in the best sense of the word and that is to take advantage of this Thanksgiving weekend to bring a special offering to the Lord, how beautiful it is when families Individuals come to the House of the Lord and kind of shake hands through centuries and centuries to bring an offering, a sacrifice of praise to the Lord as the ancient Hebrews did in Old Testament times.

In many countries of the world the harvest time is a time of gratitude as it was for example for the pilgrims when they came to this nation there in Plymouth, and through the years as generations, nations and even villages have celebrated for harvest time because that means provision and abundance, and hope for the future as well.