As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
In my previous article, I introduced the importance of the Pilgrims, and shared a little bit of my own heart for my Thanksgiving, and my interest in studying and teaching on the Pilgrims.
This time, we will consider the first three of five essential lessons that we can learn from the Thanksgiving Pilgrims.
The Pilgrims vividly portray the pilgrim-like nature of the Christian life (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11, 12).
There is no question about it—Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, bar none.
The mere word warms my heart and causes my mind to click through the memories of Novembers long past. It conjures up images of family and dear friends—some now departed—gathered around a bountiful table; of special services at church and shortened weeks of school; of singing grand old hymns which we re-learn usually just once every year; and, most importantly, of giving thanks to God for bringing us safely through another season of life.
“Pop culture has given us a distorted picture of the religious separatists who founded Plymouth Colony. Historian John Turner sets the record straight.” - CToday
“A Quest for Godliness, while perhaps not as well-known as Dr. Packer’s most famous works such as Knowing God or Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, absolutely deserves to be….This book is a collection of essays and writings by Dr.
“One Puritan said, ‘A Christian should be able to give a good account, not only what is his occupation, but also what he is in his occupation. It is not enough that a Christian have an occupation; but he must mind his occupation as it becomes a Christan.’” - P&D
Podcast: “Richard Baxter, the English Puritan churchman and theologian, was perhaps one of most prolific English language author in the seventeenth century. … Baxter’s worldly aestheticism was focused on service to others across sectarian divides.
“No doubt, the more Scripture we directly infuse into our hymn texts, the better. But it is also possible to have excellently crafted, theologically rich songs to sing in church without falling into the Puritan dilemma of text versus art. We can be faithful to the text and pursue artistic beauty.” - Cameron Pollock
On Thomas Brooks (d.1680): “Brooks characterized this strategy as ‘making the soul bold to venture upon the occasions of sin.’ Like many of the devil’s lies, it distorts a truth, namely that temptation is not sin. The Christian who is tempted only sins when he surrenders to the temptation; being outwardly tempted is not a sin.
“In both arenas—that of England and New England—their political experiments collapsed, but they left behind a legacy of personal piety, pastoral purity, and theological rigor that many Christians today rightly find both challenging and inspiring.” - Christianity Today
In a previous blog post, I surveyed the highlights of statements made by presidents of the United States regarding America’s efforts to be a blessing to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.
Our nation has a rich legacy of support for Israel, for which we should be very thankful. Many have conjectured that this may ultimately be the reason that God has blessed the United States so abundantly over the course of so many years.
Discussion