A Message from Pastor Dianne

To the People of God at Harwich United Methodist Church,

November is National Gratitude Month. One of my favorite songs from The Faith We Sing is Give Thanks #2036:

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,
give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now let the weak say, “I am strong”; let the poor say, “I am rich
because of what the Lord has done for us.”
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,
give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.

Jesus gave thanks at times of eating: for example at the feeding of the 5000 [Mark 8:6] and the Last Supper [Matthew 26:26]. Each day we have this opportunity and on Thanksgiving Day it is somewhat of a national custom to Give Thanks.

Biblical thanks means acknowledging the giver, not just the gift. It is God-focused, rather than self-focused.  In the song above, Henry Smith, who wrote the lyrics, is quoting the Magnificat, found at Luke 1:49-53.  It is Mary’s powerful faith statement about what God did in selecting her to be the “Theotokos” – the Christ bearer – the mother of Jesus.

Gratitude can enhance our moods, decrease stress and drastically improve our overall level of health and well-being. November is truly a time of giving thanks in which we want to reflect on the gratitude we can express towards those involved in our lives.

I am deeply grateful for God’s call to service in my life.
I am deeply grateful for the bishop’s appointment to Harwich United Methodist Church.
I am deeply grateful for the goodly heritage in which I stand as the daughter of Christian parents.
I am deeply grateful for the love of my family.
I am deeply grateful for the ways in which God has redeemed me from times when I believed I was not equal to the challenges of the day – when I was weak and God made me strong, when I was poor in spirit and God made me rich.

My riches are due in large part this day to the wonderful people among whom I minister – each of you having been called to a ministry of your own for God’s work in the World, this place known as Cape Cod and beyond.

May your list be longer than mine and may you know God’s presence in your daily life.

In the Love of the Lord, I am Yours,
Pastor Dianne

I have included passages for your contemplation. Please note that all Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise indicated.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 103:1-4 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.

Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV) As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Isaiah 12:4-5 (NASB) And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Psalm 95:1-5 (NKJV) Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth’ the heights of

the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 118:24 (ESV) This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Colossians 3:15-17 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

1 Chronicles 29:13 (NKJV) “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.”

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NASB)… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.

Psalm 107:1-3 (ESV) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.

Psalm 119:1-8

2 Corinthians 9:15   Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!