Thanksgiving Communion Service

8Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 11Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 12Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

23Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. 24Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 25For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 26For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

27Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. 28Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

31Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 32Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! 33Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

34Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. (1 Chronicles 16:8-36)

Hymn: “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” (v 1,3,4) 559

Congregation:

1Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)

Hymn: “We Gather Together” (All) 561

Leader:

1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Psalm 95:1-7a)

Hymn: “Count Your Blessings” (v 1,3) 563

Leader: Testimony of God’s blessings

I watched a video recently about happiness. The video purported to have the answer to making people happier, more generous, more honest, more kind, and more everything good without even trying to do those things. Those things would simply be the byproduct if we could help people become more grateful.

You can’t be a happy person if you aren’t grateful, and you can’t be a good person if you aren’t grateful. Almost everything good flows from gratitude, and almost everything bad flows from ingratitude. Do you want to want to increase your happiness? Learn to be grateful. Do you want to increase the happiness of your children? Teach them to be grateful.

Have you ever heard the phrase:

A thankful heart is a happy heart.

David wrote:

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)

For what are you thankful this year?

Congregation: Testimonies (impromptu and brief)

Leader and Congregation: Responsive Reading

1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

2Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

3Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

4to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

5who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

6who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

7who made the great lights—

His love endures forever.

8the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

9the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

23He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

24and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

25He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

26Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

(Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26)

Guided Prayer

Adoration: Take time to offer prayers of praise and worship.

Confession: Ask God to search your heart and reveal any unconfessed sin. Silently acknowledge these to the Lord and ask for his forgiveness.

Renewal: Ask God to renew and strengthen your love for him as you grow in your faith.

Intercession: Take a few moments to intercede for concerns you know about.

Petition: Offer prayers for needs you have.

Thanksgiving: Offer thanks to God for all he has done in your life.

Communion Hymn: “There Is a Redeemer” (v 1,3) 206

Leader:

In 1 Corinthians 10 we read:

16Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

The “cup of thanksgiving” or “cup of blessing” was a technical phrase for the cup drunk at the end of the Jewish Passover meal. Over it was said the thanksgiving,

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, who gives us the fruit of the vine.

As we come to the table, we come first of all in an attitude of thanksgiving – thankful to God as our Creator, Sustainer, and Provider. Second, we come in humble thankfulness to the Father. Third, we rejoice in the blessing of communion with God’s people, sharing in common our love, encouragement, and hope with one another.

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)