Historical records make it clear that even before America was a nation, the people who settled here took their Christian faith very seriously. They understood that God was their provider, and they knew their Bibles well enough to know that giving thanks was essential.
Here’s a quick teaching from Pastor Allen about the importance of thankfulness:
When we think of America’s Thanksgiving holiday, we think of Pilgrims and Native Americans giving thanks with food and fellowship in New England. But would it surprise you to know that the Pilgrims weren’t the first American settlers to set aside a day of thanks to God? Check out this brief history of early American days of thanks:
- 1565: The Spanish settlers who founded St. Augustine held what many consider the first Thanksgiving in a permanent European colony in North America. (Learn more here.)
- 1607: The English settlers at Fort St. George, Maine, gave thanks to God with prayer and a feast, joined by the area’s native Abenaki Indians. (Learn more here.)
- 1619: English settlers in Virginia at Berkeley Hundred established a yearly holy day of thanksgiving. Had they not abandoned their settlement in 1622 after an attack by natives, the Berkeley settlers might have been associated with the holiday instead of the Pilgrims. (Learn more here and here.)
- 1621: The Plymouth, Massachusetts, Pilgrims who came to America seeking religious freedom gathered to thank God for a successful fall harvest. This is the celebration associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. (Learn more here.)
- 1623: During a devastating drought, the Plymouth colony governor called for a day of fasting and repentance, asking God for rain. That summer, when a gentle but drenching rain fell and saved their crops, the pilgrims responded with “another solemn day…set apart and appointed…wherein we returned glory, honor, and praise, with all thankfulness, to our good God.” (Learn more here.)
As we approach Thanksgiving, let’s follow the example of giving thanks established by the generations before us, so our generation—and those who come after us—will have access to the blessings of God.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of thankfulness in Your Word and in the lives of those who went before us. Help us to be more aware of Your blessings and goodness than we are of the challenges around us, and help us to express our gratitude in ways that will allow us continued access to Your blessings, grace, and mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
—Allen Jackson Ministries