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December 2025

December 02, 2025

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Some of you are probably still eating Thanksgiving leftovers (my favorite part of the Thanksgiving...

November 2025

November 27, 2025

Thanksgiving, Entitlement, & Grace

The opposite of gratitude is entitlement. But thanksgiving involves a sense of grace. That connection...

November 28, 2024

Thanksgiving from the Perspective of an Old Person

My thankfulness has changed over the years. Now that I have passed my allotted threescore...

November 28, 2024

A Thanksgiving Prayer from the First Century

This Thanksgiving, pray a prayer from the earliest days of the Christian church.

November 23, 2023

Thanksgiving and Vocation

We are right to thank God for our Thanksgiving feast and for all of our...

November 25, 2022

DISCUSS: What Are You Thankful For?

The aftermath of Thanksgiving and the advent of Advent are good times to reflect on...

November 24, 2022

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

The Bible connects thanksgiving with sacrifice. In the Levitical sacrificial system, gratitude to God was...

December 2021

December 01, 2021

“He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”

Moses was raised as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, but he repudiated his life of...

November 2021

November 30, 2021

When Evangelicals Were Considered Too Progressive

Evangelicals today are associated with right wing conservatives, but in the 19th century they were...

November 25, 2021

Giving Thanks and Saying Grace

Research has found that 50% of Americans "say grace" of some kind before meals, which...

November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving and the 1620 Project

It wasn't the Virginia slave ship in 1619 that defined American values, argues "The Federalist,"...

November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving and Vocation

On Thanksgiving we express gratitude for our material belongings, for our family, for our country. ...

November 23, 2018

Thanksgiving Leftovers

One of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving celebration is leftovers. I love returning to...

November 22, 2018

Thankfulness, Faith, & Vocation

Thanksgiving is the one national holiday that has an explicitly religious meaning. George Washington got...

November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving Days and Thanksgiving Feasts in the Bible

Thanksgiving is, of course, a national holiday. But devoting specific days for the purpose of...

November 23, 2017

How Turkeys Built America (and Why They Are Called “Turkeys”)

There is a reason why the turkey, the centerpiece of most Thanksgiving feasts, has such...

November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving in Australia

It's strange being in Australia for Thanksgiving. We're getting together with some other expatriate Americans,...

November 24, 2016

Happy Dependence Day

July 4 is Independence Day. Thanksgiving is Dependence Day, a time to remember how dependent...

November 26, 2015

Gratitude day

Happy Thanksgiving! Luther described gratitude as "the basic Christian attitude." One of the words for...

November 26, 2015

The psychology (and benefits) of gratitude

The field of psychology has usually concentrated on trying to understand aberrations and psychological problems. ...

November 27, 2014

A holiday for adults

Folklorist Jack Santino observes that Thanksgiving is pretty much the only national holiday that hasn't...

November 27, 2014

Why Ben Franklin preferred the Turkey to the Eagle

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative...

November 27, 2014

Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving Proclamation Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3,...

November 28, 2013

Have a grateful Thanksgiving

I hope you have a meaningful Thanksgiving, with the thankful part not overshadowed by shopping,...

November 28, 2013

The blessings of family

Someone has said (again, please help me source it if you can) that if you...

November 28, 2013

The blessings of prosperity

Right now, people who lack health insurance and need a government subsidy to pay for...

November 28, 2013

The blessings of liberty

We want to do things that we can't do, for one reason or another, and...

November 22, 2012

When to fast and when to feast

Walter Isaacson has written a fascinating column about Ben Franklin's view of America. He quotes...

November 22, 2012

The true meaning of Thanksgiving

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given...

November 22, 2012

Rules for Thanksgiving

Timothy R. Smith, a 26-year-old single guy, says that he is in the position this...