Thanksgiving Prayer

Thanksgiving Day Collect:

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayer for General Thanksgiving:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Up for Discussion | Deuterocanonical Texts

Yesterday, there was a pretty good discussion on my facebook regarding the employment of deuterocanonical scripture in Christian edification. I thought, if anyone wanted to jump into this more now or in the future, I'd throw it up on here. The content, which you'll find in the Comments, was catalyzed by this status update of mine:

"Reminded of the seriousness of our faith through this morning's meditation. The 1 Maccabees reading hits you in the gut. http://bit.ly/IhHgY"