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Remembering and Being Grateful for God's Favor to Me

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Bible verse : Exodus 23:16 (NIV)

"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
"Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

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Most churches celebrate Thanksgiving once a year. It is observed as a special day of thanksgiving to remember the blessings God has given us over the past year.
There are two main origins for churches to observe Thanksgiving Day.

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The first comes from the feasts that God directly commanded the Israelites.
On Mount Sinai, God gave the laws and the Ten Commandments to the Israelites through Moses.

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Among them are commands regarding the feasts that the Israelites must observe. God gave the Israelites three feasts that they must observe every year.
The three feasts are the Passover, the Feast of Weeks(Pentecost), and the Feast of Ingathering (the Feast of Tabernacles).

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Among these, the Feast of Ingathering is a season related to Thanksgiving Day.
The Feast of Ingathering was celebrated at the end of the year when a year of farming came to an end. People celebrated this feast after finishing farming, collecting the harvest and putting it in the warehouse.

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The Feast of Ingathering was celebrated for 7 days after all the grain had been put into the warehouse. The Feast of Ingathering is a season to give thanks to God for his grace in making the year's crops successful and harvesting much fruit.
The first thing to do to observe the Feast of Ingathering is to build a booth (tent).

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Once the booth is completed, the entire family leaves the house and lives in this booth for 7 days. On the first and eighth days of their stay in the booth, they did nothing but gathered together, listened to the word of God, and shared the joy of being God's people. For the remaining six days, they burned sacrifices to God every day, thanking Him for the grace He had bestowed upon them.

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During the period of staying in the booth, the parents told their children about the grace that God had bestowed on their ancestors long ago when they built and lived in the wilderness.
When their ancestors were living in a booth in the wilderness, they talked about the amazing grace that guided them through a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. For 40 years, they talked about the manna God provided them every day and taught their children how accurately and thoroughly God guides them.

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The reason why God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Feast of Ingathering was so that they would remember and be thankful for the grace that God had given them. They celebrate the Feast of Ingathering as a season to remember and give thanks for all the past and present graces that God has given them.
They also give thanks to God, believing that He will continue to show them favor in the future.

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The second origin of observing Thanksgiving Day is to follow the traditions of the Puritans. There were believers in England who wanted to live righteously according to the Word of God. They argued to correct the mistakes within the Church of England at the time and to follow what is written in the Word of God.

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The arguments of those who say that we should live righteously according to the word of God were not accepted. Instead, great persecution was inflicted on them. The Puritans realized that they could no longer lead a proper religious life in England and dispersed to surrounding countries.

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Among the Puritans, there were 102 people who decided to leave for the New World to maintain their own correct faith. They worked hard for seven years and saved money to buy a ship for themselves.
They finally prepared a ship to set off in search of religious freedom.

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The land they arrived in on their ship, named ‘Mayflower,’ was the present-day United States. When they arrived in America, they first worshiped God there.
And they were the first to build a church where they could offer true worship to God.

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They experienced many trials in an unfamiliar land. However, no matter how difficult and dangerous they faced, their faith did not waver.
They overcame all of this, thankful that they were able to properly worship God. Fortunately, with the help of the Indians who lived on the land before them, they learned how to grow corn and began farming.

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In the fall of 1621, they began harvesting the corn they had grown themselves.
The Puritans who harvested their first grain were the first to offer a worship service of thanks to God. They also invited the Indians who helped them and had a meal with them to express their gratitude.
This became the beginning of Thanksgiving Day, which churches celebrate today.

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Through the origins of Thanksgiving Sunday that we just looked at, we learned that Thanksgiving Sunday is a day to give thanks to God for allowing us to eat and giving us grace.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday, I hope that today will be a time to look back on the grace that God has bestowed on us over the past year.
I am thankful that God made me healthy and did well in school. I am also thankful that God gave me a good family and allowed me to live happily.
I also hope that we can take time to thank God for helping us overcome difficulties when we are in trouble.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)