"Joyfully Giving Thanks to the Father"

O.T. Psalm 46:1-11 & N.T. Col. 1:10-20

On the Sunday before we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, our lectionary reading drops this phrase on us, “…joyfully giving thanks to the Father.” This phrase comes to us as the scripture writer is speaking about  walking worthy of the Lord. Joyfully giving thanks to the Father is part of what it means to walk worthy of the Lord. But why is our thanksgiving to be joyfully given? The Scriptures give us lots of reasons, but this sermon will only focus on one. The reason we can joyfully give thanks is because the Father has qualified us "to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Col. 1:12) 

This qualification has come at a great price as the text tells us it is through the Son who made peace through his blood shed on the cross. (Col. 1:20) Christ is the refuge and help to which our Old Testament reading points. The price of our rescue and redemption is shown in the Thanksgiving meal of the Lord’s Supper, where we joyfully give thanks for the memorial of our redemption.