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Bible Verses about Thanksgiving

Bible Verses about Thanksgiving

• Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High…~Psalm 50:14
• “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
  to one who orders his way rightly
      I will show the salvation of God!” ~Psalm 50:23 (ESV)
• And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.~Colossians 3:15 (ESV)
• …give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.~1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
• Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe… ~Hebrews 12:28 (ESV)
• You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
  you have loosed my sackcloth
      and clothed me with gladness,
  that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
      O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! ~Psalm 30:11-12 (ESV)
• Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
  for his steadfast love endures forever! ~Psalm 107:1 (ESV)
• Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
  and his courts with praise!
      Give thanks to him; bless his name! ~Psalm 100:4 (ESV)
• Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.~Ephesians 5:4 (ESV)
• It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
  to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
  to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
      and your faithfulness by night… ~Psalm 92:1-2 (ESV)
• I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
  before the gods I sing your praise; ~Psalm 138:1 (ESV)
• Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him,“Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”~Luke 17:15-19 (ESV)
• May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.~Colossians 1:11 (ESV)
• We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for each other is increasing.~2 Thessalonians 1:2 (ESV)
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.~Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
• And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.~Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
• Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.~James 1:17 (ESV)
• You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!~Psalm 118:28-29 (ESV)
• Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!Psalm 105:1
• First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…~1 Timothy 2:1 (ESV)
• Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.~Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)
• I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.~Psalm 7:17 (ESV)
• …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…~Ephesians 5:20 (ESV)
• Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!~2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV)
• Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.~Colossians 4:2 (ESV)
• For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.~Romans 1:21 (ESV)
• “And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we give you.”~1 Chronicles 29:13 (ESV)

Brett + Basketball = Does Not Compute

Ten years ago, on July 18th, I fell in the Powell's Chapel Baptist Church parking lot while playing basketball with my VBS students. I broke my ankle initially and fractured both my elbows as I was protecting my face from the oncoming asphalt. While I was in pain, I never uttered any profanity – I sounded like Fred Flintstone, though, when a bowling ball would land on his foot. I was able to walk back, with the help of a few of my kids, to our classroom, but man, I was hurtin’ for certain.

Luckily my wife, Valerie, is a nurse and at our church when the incident occurred, thus she was able to take me to the old hospital off of Highland Avenue here in Murfreesboro. At that time, I have never experienced the pain that I was in, both physically and mentally.

You see, ten years ago, I felt I really didn’t matter to people – I felt I was just another face in the crowd, on the outside looking in, guest #14 when capacity was set at 10, that when it came to me, personally, well, “it doesn’t matter – it’s just Brett . . .” One disappointment followed another disappointment followed by another… and now, the cherry on top, three out of four appendages out of commission. Here I am, teaching God’s Word, and I get this?!?

The world had been dark, but then it seemed only to get darker… until, that is, the next day… During the following afternoon, I had three visitors – Jeff & Eyvonne Haynes and Jennifer Haynes Oliver – three people from my church, all of whom I had become friends with. When they entered my room, I felt so much love for them, I could never put into words - still do ten years later. Jen even took my “after” picture for the upcoming VBS PowerPoint presentation for that night at church, since they had plenty of “before” pictures when I was teaching. While they were there for the birth of Jeff & Eyvonne’s grandson, and Jennifer’s nephew, Eli, I was so very thankful they did stop in to say hi.

The next day, another person from our church stopped by, Tonjia Prewitt, one of the most Godly women I know, and one I have so much respect for. Two other people from my church also stopped by – Bruce and the late Mary Alice Short – but I had already been discharged. I was also visited by Val’s co-workers as well as members of Val’s family during my 48-hour stay. While most of the medical staff were great during my stay there, I was glad to be able to go home, and not have to have surgery on my left ankle.

Val took great care of me when I got home. She set out my meds, made me breakfast, lunch and dinner, checked on me constantly from work, even put up with me watching Star Wars twice in one night.

A few days after I had gotten home, Michelle Hartley, that year’s VBS director, and Jane Lisle, came over with the Youth (the class I was teaching during VBS) during their Wednesday church service to give me a basket full of Starburst candy. Michelle’s husband, Mike, mowed our grass, using the same electric lawnmower we still have today, which he hated. Jeff also stopped by on church business and told me to call him “even if you just want a Coke.” A few days later I got in the mail a get-well card signed by my BMI co-workers, which was a great and warming feeling. While at times we all want to ask and scream “Why me?,” there is a reason for everything, as it is God’s Plan. It took me breaking my body to see I’m not “just Brett” and that medicine ten years ago was the best medicine I could’ve had.

Brett Chafin and his wife Valerie are members of Powell's Chapel Baptist Church. He regularly volunteers as the "sound guy" for the church including during VBS. He has found that running sound is much safer than basketball.