Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

Menu for This Section

• Pastor's Pulse
• View from the Loft

Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Praise and Thanksgiving

November 2007

“For in the days of David and Asaph long ago there was a leader of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” – Nehemiah 12:46

The practice of offering “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” is an ancient one.  It is a key theme of the Scriptures.  As we come into the season of Thanksgiving we need both to remember and honor this tradition for two reasons.  One, it is right and appropriate to offer thanksgiving to God for “the wonderful works he has done” (Psalm 105:5).  Secondly, the act of offering thanksgiving benefits us.  We are made whole and spiritually strong through the discipline of offering thanks to God (Ephesians 5:18-20).  In our increasingly irreligious society a national day of Thanksgiving still reminds us that “In God we trust” is our national motto.  A day of Thanksgiving, in spite of all the parades, football games, overeating, etc., reminds us that there is value and importance in giving thanks.  The day’s name itself prevents us from avoiding the question, “to whom are we giving thanks?”  As Christians we need to remember that of all national holidays this is one with an explicit spiritual theme.  We need to lift up that theme as we observe this day spiritually and joyfully.

This Thanksgiving my family and I are especially thankful for the life of my father-in-law Ferd Petrie. Ferd, or “Bepa” as he was known by his grandchildren, went home to be with the Lord on October 10. Ferd was an incredibly talented artist who used his talent to the glory of God. He was remarkably humble about his many achievements and awards.  Yet he was probably most gratified by the work he did for the Salvation Army since that gave him repeated opportunities to portray his Lord in various Scriptural settings.  The cover of our bulletin, as well as the portraits of the missionaries in the Fellowship Room, were all done by him. He was very special to his family — and to all who knew him.

I’m also especially thankful this year for my father who celebrates his ninetieth birthday on November 2. As my daughter Elisabeth said when we were all together, “Papa” has been a model and an inspiration for all of us.  He joined Grace Church in 1940 and spent more time singing in the Grace Choir than any other single thing he ever did in his life.

This month we are very excited to have with us on the weekend of November 3-4 the outstanding Biblical scholar, Plutarco Bonilla.  Plutarco is an expert on the Greek New Testament text and serves with the United Bible Society.  He has lectured and taught throughout Latin America and North America.  It was my privilege to serve under Plutarco when he was President of the Latin American Biblical Seminary in San Jose, Costa Rica.  He will be giving a special conference on “How do we read in the Bible” at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 3 and teaching Sunday School and preaching on November 4. He is a very special person. Plan to be with us for this important weekend, November 3-4.

We live in a world that has changed rapidly even in the past decade.  We all live on 24/7 schedules.  Sunday is no longer a special day in our world.  Yet “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  We have all been given a special mission in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We need to discover new ways to prepare people to serve as disciples in a changed world.  Service to our Lord is not only a responsibility.  It is a special joy.  For that we should be supremely thankful.