Gospel.com Blog

Those of us in the United States will celebrate Thanksgiving in just a few days. Unlike Christmas or Easter, Thanksgiving isn’t a commemoration of a specific Biblical event—but it’s a holiday with an obvious link to the Christian call to give thanks in all things.

We’ve got a number of Thanksgiving resources to share this week, but it makes sense to start with the very basics of the Thanksgiving holiday: when was it started? Why do we celebrate it today?

• The Christian History Institute explains the history of Thanksgiving. If you thought the idea of a Thanksgiving holiday started with the Pilgrims in New England, you might be surprised to learn that the famous Pilgrims-and-Indians feast was not technically the first Thanksgiving holiday!
• That covers the historical fact of Thanksgiving—but why do we still celebrate this holiday today, hundreds of years after the events of the first Thanksgiving? Max Frazier’s essay Why Celebrate Thanksgiving? A Study in Psalm 100 explores the importance of gratitude, and the value of the Thanksgiving holiday.

So even as you plan out your Thanksgiving get-togethers and short vacation from work, take a few moments to read up on the “when” and “why” of Thanksgiving.

[image by Ben Franske under a Creative Commons license]

As those of us living in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving today (our friends in Canada celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October), we here at Gospel.com would like to encourage all of us—no matter where we live—to take time this week to reflect on the many things for which we should be thankful.

It might be easy to call these days “uncertain times,” especially when we focus on the temporal events and concerns that bombard us each day. But God is at work in our world, and if we take the time to “be still” and look for Him, we can see that handiwork.

Our prayer this Thanksgiving is that each of us might know the reality of a living Savior, that we might have the eyes to see where He is at work in our world, and that we might have the courage to get involved where we see Him working.

May you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving.

The day of Thanksgiving can mean a number of things for those of us in the United States. For some it’s the food. For others it’s centered on family. And still for others it’s all about football. Sports are everywhere in the United States and many Christians will find themselves huddled both around the table and television with equal earnest this Thursday.

So, if this thanksgiving weekend you or a loved one will be catching the kick-off in between bites of various meats and vegetables, we’d like to point you towards The Sports Spectrum. It’s a site that “seeks to highlight Christian athletes of all sports and levels to help motivate, encourage and inspire people in their faith through the exciting and challenging world of sports. You can read parts of their articles on coaches Lovie Smith and Steve Kragthorpe, as well as one about David Pollack. Sports Spectrum also publishes a half-time evangelism alternative called Power To Win!. Over the past decade, Power To Win! has:

• Attracted over 2 million viewers
• Been viewed at more than 40,000 outreach parties
• Resulted in over 50,000 decisions for Christ

Also, if you’re looking for a way to share the Good News with a sports lover, Good News & Crossway has sports themed tracts available here.

Perhaps your local sports team is interested in ministry. Word of Life Fellowship sends whole teams overseas to use their talents to reach youth with the Gospel.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we hope your team wins!

Back to the Bible has a brand new website!

All of Back to the Bible’s classic content—including the Bible Minute daily devotional and the Back to the Bible radio broadcast—are still there, but are now easier to find and use. You can take a tour of the new site (PDF) to get a quick look at their many different devotionals, radio programs, Bible studies, and more.

If you’re not familiar with the broadcast ministry of Back to the Bible, now’s a great time to get to know them! Start with their website tour, or for a bit of holiday spirit, check out their special Thanksgiving message.

Need some help getting into the Thanksgiving spirit this year? With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here are some holiday-themed resources from ministries in the Gospel.com community.

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Thanksgiving is coming. Do you feel thankful?

The Bible tells us to “always give thanks to God the Father for everything” (Ephesian 5:20). But what does that really mean—are we expected to literally say prayers of thanks to God as we go through the day? Prayer is a wonderful way to thank God… but what if there was a more tangible way to express our gratitude?

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Want to make a different in somebody’s life this holiday season? This Thanksgiving and Christmas, consider giving a gift that will make a real impact: volunteer!

If you thought that Christian service meant committing to years of overseas mission work, think again! ChristianVolunteering.org is a new site that can put you in touch with over 1,000 ministries and more than 2,000 volunteer and short-term missions opportunities. With so many opportunities, there’s almost certainly a niche that matches your skills and interests. Here’s just a few of the ways you can serve this holiday season:

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Thanksgiving is coming (to the U.S., at least)! The Christian History Institute has a good overview of the history of Thanksgiving and the story of how it became a national holiday.