As Christians, we are to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). Though this is to be a continual work in our lives, Thanksgiving is a particular opportunity for us to stop and devote ourselves to this work. 

We have so much to be thankful for, from our families to our church to our community to our country. But above all, we have reason to be thankful that God has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus Christ and that in Christ we have the sure and steadfast hope of everlasting life with God. If any people have a reason to be thankful, we do. 

We hope you are able to spend time with family and other loved ones this Thanksgiving and that you use it as an opportunity to reflect on God’s great gifts in your life. May such reflection renew your thankfulness and encourage you to live always for Christ. Happy Thanksgiving and may God continue to shower you with His grace!

One of the great things about the first question and answer of our Shorter and Larger Catechisms is that they get straight to the heart of what we were made for. One of the questions that has plagued many throughout the ages and plagued me as a young man is, "why are we here?" "What is the meaning of life?" 

The Catechisms' answer is to the point: "Man's chief (and highest) end is to glorify God, and (fully) to enjoy Him forever." We were made for God. He is the one we are to serve, and He is the one in whom we are to find our true satisfaction. This makes sense. If God is greater than all and is the one who brought all things into existence, then all these things must be for Him. When we see the goodness of the world that He has made and reflect on the good gifts in our lives, it becomes all the more apparent that, with all that we are, we should be devoted to God.

A couple of us are headed to our presbytery's quarterly meeting today and tomorrow. Meetings such as this are always a reminder to me of the fact that we belong to a larger body of the church. We are Presbyterians and that means that our church government is connected to more than just our local congregation. This provides both accountability and conformity to a Biblical standard and, we believe, is true to the way Scripture calls for the church to be governed.

But more than just the fact that we are connected to other PCA churches by our government, I am thankful that we are part of the universal church, throughout the world. It is my hope and desire that we will see greater unity around the truth between different branches of the church as the gospel spreads. Whether God is pleased to grant that in the near future, let us pray for the universal church and God's work throughout the world.