Thanksgiving Blogging Break

My Thanksgiving blogging break officially begins today. Hope you all have a great time of eating, fellowshipping, football watching, and most importantly, remembering The Giver to whom we all should give thanks.

Here is the conclusion to a sermon by John Piper that can guide your reflection on Thanksgiving:

Three Truths for the Sake of Your Thanksgiving

...But proud people don't say thanks. And so I have laid before you three very humbling truths for the sake of your thankfulness.

The first truth: nature teaches us that an infinitely marvelous, eternally powerful Being created us and all we have. Therefore we are his creatures. He owns us. Our life, our breath, and everything we have is a gift. Our duty is simply to be thankful to him from our heart and to cherish his glory.

The second humbling truth is that all of us have fallen short of this duty. We have not consistently prized the diamond of God's glory with an affection anywhere near its value but have exchanged it again and again for the cracked marbles that in our great "wisdom" we have determined are more valuable.

The third humbling truth is that God, in his great mercy, sent his Son to suffer the judgment of people who are broken and contrite in spirit and who trust in him.

Proud people don't say thanks. But people who believe these three truths do, from the bottom of their heart. The truth that we are utterly dependent creatures. The truth that we are depraved sinners. And the truth that we are redeemed and utterly forgiven through contrite faith. If these three truths penetrate to your heart this morning, they will empty your heart of pride and fill it with thankfulness to God.