Newspaper Article 2

The second of four articles being written for the local paper.

Week 2: Thanksgiving and a Tradition of Faith

   I know I said last week that Thanksgiving had to be about more than just Family and Turkey. However, Thanksgiving does tend to center around the family. So how can the family aspect of Thanksgiving lead us to worship? (Praying that your crazy uncle Herbert won’t be able to come to dinner this year doesn’t count.)

   What kind of traditions do you have at your house on Thanksgiving? At mine, we have several…my brother makes the pumpkin pie, I make the chocolate layered dessert, and my sister usually makes a chocolate meringue pie. Don’t ask me how these assignments were made, but they were and now when we all get together, that is the plan. One other tradition we have is that when we gather around the table to eat, we start the meal with a prayer and then go around the table and each person shares something that they are thankful for. I’m sure many of you have a similar tradition.

   My family has lots of traditions during the holidays, but there’s something that I appreciate more than our holiday traditions. My family has passed a tradition of faith in Jesus Christ down to me. My family lived these verses out in our home.  

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

   Like any other tradition, we can choose to not follow our parents lead when it comes to faith in God. I love and appreciate my parents for teaching me the ways of God and helping myself and my siblings come to a point where we chose to follow Christ. Because of the life of faith that they passed down to us, I know that the whole of my family will be in heaven when we die.

   What about you? Was your house like this growing up? Did your parents impress upon you the commandments of God? Did they lead you to love God? If so maybe the simplest act of worship you can offer this year is to thank God first for saving you, second for placing you in a family that loves Him, and third thank your family for being obedient to God’s word.

   Are you growing a house like this for yourself? If not, why not begin? This holiday season, if you love the Lord God, why not share that with your family? We have a day set aside within our year to spend with family and love each other. Why not point our families towards the One who loves unconditionally and who sent His Son to die for each of us? Why not start a tradition of faith for your family? You don’t have to be the oldest in the house to begin a tradition; you simply have to be willing to share the love of Christ with those whom you love. Imagine the blessings you could have to celebrate and be thankful for next year if you spent this year sharing with those closest to you about the One who will “never leave you, nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Newspaper Article

Sorry for the long absence. So...recently I was asked to write a series of articles for our local newspaper. The basic theme is Worship in relation to Thanksgiving. So I thought I'd post them here since I don't think many who might read this get the Liberal paper.

Hello. My name is Jeremy Harris, and I am relatively new here in Liberal. I am the Worship and Community Pastor at First Southern Baptist Church, and have been here for almost 7 months. I’m married and have two children (ages 3 and 1) who keep me on my toes.

When my Pastor asked me if I would be interested in writing a series of articles for the newspaper I said yes immediately. Not because I think I am an amazing writer (I’m not), but because I want to take any opportunity to share with others the love of Jesus, and what He means to me. So starting today I will be writing a four part series on “Thanksgiving and Worship.”

Week 1: More than Family and Turkey

            Why do we have a national holiday set aside for thankfulness? Why do we close our banks, businesses, and government offices for the day (or a couple of days?) Is it truly for the purpose of being thankful? Obviously we are glad for the paid time off and the chance to see family, but is there anything more to the day?

 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his love endures forever. 1 Chron. 16:34

He is good. He is right in all He does. We can trust that. His love endures forever. This love that caused God to send His Son to die is directed towards you and me. We have been offered a way to freedom rather than condemnation. Should this not cause us to thank Him each and every day?

 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

            Whether we remember God’s deeds as recorded in the Bible, or simply remember the way He has acted for our own good in our lives, it should lead us to give thanks.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:16-17

            Do you have anything good in your life? Do you have a place to live, food to eat, family around you? Do you have a job, a car, some money in the bank? Did you wake up this morning? Is the sun still giving light and warmth to the world? How could we not be thankful?

            This Thanksgiving, let us not forget that God had provided us with all we need and more. He has blessed us in so many ways. Not only that, but He has blessed my life in more ways than I have room to enumerate within this article. When I choose to thank Him for all he has blessed me with, I worship Him. It might sound simply, but look in the Psalms and see how many times Israel’s worship leaders used the words “Give thanks.” I pray that as we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday that each of us will examine our lives and look for the blessings we have been given. Then let’s worship together by thanking the Father of heavenly lights who has given us every good and perfect gift. God Bless.