NOVEMBER 22, 2023
THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE

Prelude     Simple Gifts                                           setting by Wilbur Held

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,

 — Joseph Brackett

Call to Worship

Hymn     # 527     Come, You Thankful People, Come          (Gray Psalter Hymnal) 

Psalter     Psalm 136:1-5, 23-26     (NRSVUE)          Donna Lofgren

1O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for His mercy endures forever.
2O give thanks to the God of gods,
    for His mercy endures forever.
3O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for His mercy endures forever;

4who alone does great wonders,
    for His mercy endures forever;
5who by understanding made the heavens,
    for His mercy endures forever;

23It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for His mercy endures forever;
24and rescued us from our foes,
    for His mercy endures forever;
25who gives food to all flesh,
    for His mercy endures forever;

26O give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for His mercy endures forever.

Prayer for Illumination                                                      

Old Testament Reading 

Psalm 78:1-2, 6-7, 12-19, 20b, 22-24, 29

       1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

6that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, 7so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;

       12In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 13He divided the sea and let them pass through it and made the waters stand like a heap. 14In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all night long with a fiery light. 15He split rocks open in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 16He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

       17Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? … Can God also give bread or provide meat for his people?” … 22 because they had no faith in God and did not trust his saving power. 23Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven; 24he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

       29 And they ate and were well filled.

Lector:     “This is the Word of God.”

Congregation:     “Thanks be to God for His Word.”

Time of Sharing & Singing     # 556     Great is Thy Faithfulness          (Gray Psalter Hymnal)

~ Sharing of Thanksgiving between the stanzas ~

New Testament Reading     Mark 6:39, 41-42    

       39 Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass….

41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And all ate and were filled.

Meditation          Steve Varys