PASSAGE GUIDE 

In the swirl of a holiday week, football scores, family logistics, and legendary menus, there’s a gentle corrective: keep the feast in perspective. The season’s humor and traditions are good gifts, but they sit on a deeper foundation. Thanksgiving isn’t a once-a-year checklist; it’s a posture that steadies the heart whether the table is overflowing or thin. Even our nation’s observance was framed in hard times, reminding us that gratitude shines brightest when the days are heavy.

A brief theology of gratitude starts with God Himself. He owns all things and delights to give; every good gift comes down from the Father of lights. We are receivers, “What do you have that you did not receive?” flows into “Give thanks in all circumstances” and “always…for everything.” This isn’t a denial of grief or evil; it is trust that God’s presence, promises, and providence hold when nothing else does. Above all, the cross and resurrection secure gifts that cannot be lost—mercy, adoption, and an imperishable inheritance—so thanksgiving has an anchor even when lesser blessings ebb.

Gratitude is learned. The apostle’s testimony from prison, “I have learned to be content… I can do all things through Chris,t” shows that contentment grows through both abundance and lack. Suffering becomes a classroom where self-reliance is stripped and Christ’s sufficiency is discovered. The Spirit trains us to reframe our question from “Why is this happening?” to “What will God form in me through this?” As trust deepens, thanksgiving becomes a steady undercurrent rather than sporadic sparks, a way of receiving each moment as grace.

Finally, thanksgiving is expressed. Ten lepers were cleansed; only one returned to praise. That “receive → recognize → return” pattern completes the circuit of gratitude: voiced thanks sends the glory to God, anchors our own hearts, and encourages others. Practically, bookend the day with “Thank You, Jesus,” name specific gifts from the monumental to the mundane—and tell people how God used them in your life. Let worship be audible, notes be written, texts be sent. In doing so, the atmosphere of home, church, and work changes, and the Giver is honored as the true center of the feast.

Let this week’s ordinary noise, games, ovens, parades, and travel become where learned contentment and expressed gratitude meet and are practiced. Before kickoff or carving, read a short thanks Psalm (Ps 92; Ps 136), then name one hard thing and thank God for His nearness in it (1 Thess 5:18; Phil 4:11-13). Around the table, complete the gratitude circuit from Luke 17: receive → recognize → return: share one gift received today, point to the Giver, and speak a specific thanks to a person present. In gathered worship, don’t spectate, sing, pray, and “return” audibly; in scattered moments, text or write one intentional thank-you each day. In doing these small practices, the holiday’s humor and traditions keep their place, while your life quietly directs attention past the gifts to the Giver.

“A Proclamation. The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States…to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” - Abraham Lincoln

*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.

SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS     

Remember, these are “suggested” questions. You do not have to go through every single one of them. You do not need to listen to both sermons at both campuses to participate in the discussion.  

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, thank You for all that You’ve graciously provided in my life. I know that You are the Giver of all good gifts and delight in showing me Your kindness. Show me how to walk in gratitude this week.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In what ways can gratitude function as a posture rather than a seasonal checklist?
2. How can expressing thanks aloud, to God and to others, transform the atmosphere of our homes, community groups, and workplaces?
3. What does it mean that God “owns all things and delights to give,” and how should this shape our view of daily gifts?
4. Why is biblical gratitude not a denial of grief or evil, but an expression of trust in God’s presence and providence?
5. How do you balance honest grief or struggle with the call to “give thanks in all circumstances”?
6. What does Paul’s learned contentment in prison teach us about how gratitude grows through both plenty and want?
7. Which is harder for you: receiving gifts from God, or remembering to recognize His hand in them? Why?
8. Paul said he “learned to be content.” In what area of your life do you feel God teaching you contentment, and how is it going?
9. In the story of the ten lepers, what kept the nine from returning? What keeps us from returning thanks today?

Life with Jesus: Starting this week, pursue a lifestyle that embraces gratitude in both abundance and lack, trusting His steadying presence. Allow the Spirit to train you toward Christ-shaped contentment, finding sufficiency in Him alone.

Life in Community: In your community group and among family and friends, cultivate rhythms of shared thanksgiving, letting worship be the atmosphere of your life together.

Life on Mission: Take moments of ordinary life and see them as opportunities to share about God’s goodness and provision. Show others what it looks like to be invited to His table, accepted and beloved. 

CLOSING PRAYER 

God, continue to teach me what it looks like to be content in all circumstances. I surrender to You all that I have and trust Your plan for my life. Thank You for Your grace and mercy.