LEADER: How good it is to give thanks to God. PEOPLE: How great are God’s works! LEADER: It is good to give thanks for God’s
steadfast love and faithfulness. ALL: Let us, then, give thanks to God.
Let us worship God with thanksgiving!
A Child's Prayer of Thanks
On this day,
I thank God for my family and my sister.
I thank God for the rain and the sun.
I thank God for my Teddy Bear.
I thank God for my teachers and for my friends.
I thank you, God, for life and love.
On this day,
I pray to God for all the poor people
who are hungry today because
they have no food, no home, no family
and no friends. They are all alone.
Only God remembers the poor.
On this day,
I pray for the children who are hungry,
who have no parents, and no loving church.
Please God visit me and love me;
I am not poor, but I need you too.
Closing Prayer:
How good it is to join in prayers of thanksgiving and songs
of praise! You have been good to us, gracious God! For
sunshine and rain, for the labors of all who harvest the
grain, we pour out our gratitude. You have dealt wondrously
with us so that we have more than we need. Dwell with us now
that we may not only be inspired to share but also prompted
to work for a more just world in which all your children
have enough to eat and reasons for joy. Amen.
All Creatures of Our God
What Gift Can We Bring
We Gather Together
Come Ye Thankful People, Come
Now Thank We All Our God
For the Beauty of the Earth
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Praise And Thanksgiving
We praise You For the Sun
Thank You, Lord
We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator
Let All Things Now Living
For the Fruit of All Creation
When All Your Mercies O My God
Mountains Are All Aglow
Let Us With a Gladsome Mind
Now to Your Table Spread
All Who Hunger
Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart
This is the Day
Rejoice in the Lord Always
I'm Forever Grateful
Thanksgiving Cards for God
suggestion by a DPSer Props: Have available simple thank you cards
on colorful paper.
Ask: have you
ever sent a thank you card to someone? Has anyone in
your family? What were you given? Have you ever made
a card for God? Next, you may talk about the weekly
offering and its use for the church, missions, and
help for the community. (Be prepared: some children
think the minister gets to keep the money).
What other
ways can we show thanks? What can kids do? Invite
them to make thank-you cards for God, and suggest to
hang them up in the Sunday School room, church
lobby, etc.
Sermon
Excerpt:
Remember
the Goodness of God and Be Thankful!
a sermon based on Deuteronomy 8:7-18 by Rev. Frank Schaefer
As we prepare to celebrate Harvest Home we need to remember that
giving thanks should be more than a once-a-year celebration--giving
thanks to God is never out of season. God calls us to be thankful
people--people who have an attitude of gratitude.
When we read our scripture reading we realize what a promise of
blessing God gave his children: "For the LORD your God is bringing you
into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and
underground waters welling up in valleys and hills" (Verse 7)
The children of Israel, were instructed in this passage to . . .
a) remember where they came from (the hardship and oppression of
Egypt)
b) remember who delivered them, protected them and provided for
them
c) be thankful and bless God for those blessings.
Verse ten sums it up nicely:
"You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good
land that he has given you."
We are here in this sanctuary to bless God today; to praise God for
the provisions of another year and the many other blessings God has
bestowed on us. And we shall certainly fulfill the other part of
this verse: we shall eat our fill (You know me: I can't wait for that
part).
