November 23, 2023

Dear Central Church, 

I hope you are having a great Thanksgiving Day! The call to give thanks runs throughout scripture. Here’s one that shows up several places in the Bible: 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34) 

Of all that we have to be thankful for today, God’s Word invites us to think about the goodness and love of God. God is good and his love is unending! 

You may be going through a difficult time. Perhaps it’s hard for you to give thanks today based on your circumstances. I want to remind you that the goodness of God remains true even when we don’t feel it. God is at work in our lives with a love that never quits. When everything around us is in question, one thing we know for sure is that God is good and that he loves us. 

The people of God have found great comfort and encouragement from these truths. I have seen people give thanks to God in the best of times and the worst of times. This kind of gratitude is only possible when we lean hard into the goodness and love of God. 

My family is giving thanks this week for many things, but one thing we have talked about repeatedly is how thankful we are to be at Central Church. It’s been one year since we were grafted into this family of faith. This past year has been filled with many challenges, but being able to share life with you has made the mountain tops much more memorable and enjoyable than the valleys. 

We are looking forward to a good and fruitful year of ministry together. Next week we will begin the Advent season. This marks a new liturgical year in which we tell again the story of Jesus. I know there are valleys ahead, but I am also trusting in the goodness and love of God to lead us to mountain tops where we can confess together, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Until He’s Finished,

Pastor Mark