Welcome

 

Invest Thankfully

God’s Design for Growth

Thanksgiving 2021

 

Introduction

Welcome to our “Thanksgiving” season. Even with all the additional chaos 2021 has presented us with, there is still so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. One of the greatest gifts this challenging year has given us was a new perspective on the things we’ve been taking for granted all this time! That’s just how grateful we are for the simplest of things; while many are still struggling this Thanksgiving, we hope you are able to take a moment and practice some gratitude for all the lessons 2021 has brought us all.

In this Thanksgiving with entitled series, “Invest Thankfully” - taken from the selected studies from the Book of Ecclesiastes, - we will be challenged to think about investing our time, talents and treasures for  God’s glory and for His kingdom, as well as to grow in our discipleship and stewardship journey.  Likewise, we will be challenged to examine our faith, our trust in God, to take risks and make a harvest of what we have invested in during this Thanksgiving Celebration,

Background

Our Thanksgiving text is penned by Solomon, a king who was given by God heavenly wisdom like no other man before him. When he became king, he prayed and asked God for wisdom to rule God’s people and be a godly man, and God granted him his request. He did well in the early stages of his life. Just read the book of Proverbs - you can see how God is moving in his heart and how he knew the ways of the Lord. But when Solomon became an older man, he married many women and made many political alliances which brought their gods and slowly turned his heart away from the true living God. The book of Ecclesiastes is unique. It is the only book which openly speaks of a practical standpoint or belief based on the personal observation and experiences of the author and not on strained, mysterious ideas.

Solomon is encouraging action with regard to sending bread, grain or other produce to other destinations via the waters (such as the sea or rivers), and then waiting for a return of money or other goods upon the return of the vessels. And so to “find it after many days” is to receive the reward that comes with taking the risk of a wise investment.  Like our given passage, most commentaries refer to this passage as  engaging in trade, investment, risk and faith. This is where we will base our 2021 Thanksgiving Stewardship campaign  “Invest Thankfully” - God’s Design for Growth.

As we always say,

“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.”