November 2026

Family, food, and football! These three are often what comes to our mind when we think of Thanksgiving. As a child, I always remember the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions playing on Thanksgiving. Sometimes they would play each other, and sometimes they would play other teams; but, these two teams always played on that day. I would like to suggest that we add one more word to the list: faith.

As we approach Thanksgiving, let us never forget the wonderful news that Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, thus breaking the succession of original sin. He lived a sinless life upholding the righteous standard of God. He died a sacrificial, substitutionary death to bear the wrath of God against sin. He suffered the punishment and penalty of sin in place of His people. However, our Lord and Savior is not still in the grave because He rose to life again on the third day. In His resurrection He defeated sin, satan, and the grave. He gives His resurrection life to His people. He ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God at this moment, ruling over the Kingdom of God. Praise the Lord, He will return one day to gather His people to Himself and usher us into the enteral state. At His return, all the enemies of God will be defeated and cast away for eternity. This is our faith!

Read the words of the Psalmist slowly and deliberately. Psalm 100 1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His—His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.

The Psalmist could never imagine the intimacy and closeness that New Covenant believers could have with God. Nevertheless, the Psalmist still found great joy and strength in thinking about the presence of God. The ability to enter the presence of God in fullness has been made possible by the person and work of Jesus Christ. Believers can enter the presence of God with boldness to find help in our time of need now because of Christ. For that, we should always be thankful!

Pastor Clint Miller