Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are able to take time today to spend time with loved ones, think back over the past year and forward to the next, and thank God for the many blessings you have been given.

The following song is We Gather Together, an old Dutch hymn of thanksgiving, written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius to celebrate a Dutch victory over the Spanish in their war for independence. It's sung here by "Tennessee Ernie" Ford and the San Quentin Prison Choir in 1963. It's a fitting piece for this special holiday.


Lyrics:

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving with your family!

Almost everyone likes to think they're headed to to Heaven when they die. Odds are, you do as well. Do you think your good works will get you there? Are you counting on being a good church member, your family heritage, your baptism, or something else being sufficient? Do you think you're a good person?

Click here to find out the truth. The answer may surprise you.