Thanksgiving usually involves families coming together to take part in a traditional meal which usually includes a cooked turkey. Thanksgiving commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621. What does thanksgiving actually mean? The dictionary defines thanksgiving as “the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God”. The bible is full of bible verses that talk about giving thanks to God.

1 Chronicles 16:34 – Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 69:30 – I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:2 – Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

Psalm 100:4 – Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Luke 22:19 – And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Romans 6:17 – But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.

1 Corinthians 10:16 – Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

1 Corinthians 15:57 – But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him

1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.