by Lito Roldan
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, God, for choosing us to be your children,” thus humbly concluded Pastor Danny Castillo his message to the GSCC assembly as they observed Thanksgiving Day. Encouraging everyone to live a life of thanksgiving as the key to God’s presence, he said that when we were utterly helpless, Christ came just at the right time and died for us sinners. God chose us even before the creation of the world and it was His love that predestined our adoption as God’s children. In Romans 8:5, he underscored the implication of our adoption to God’s family : “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry ‘Abba Father’ “
Pastor Jun Caruz, in his message a week earlier, gave the benefits of thanksgiving, namely: Thanksgiving strengthens our faith for when we begin to thank God for what he has done in our life: it doesn’t take very long to get excited about what He is about to do for us. Thanksgiving teaches us to appreciate sacrifice in offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Thanksgiving changes our attitude for when we offer thanksgiving to God we see things differently; we become aware of the beauty in His creation and His power in our lives.
The celebration of “Everybody’s Birthday,” as thanksgiving is referred to among GSCC believers, included the traditional love offerings as well as personal testimonies of selected members focused on the question “What am I most thankful to God for?.” Each personal sharing had a common recurring theme-that of God’s unfailing love for His children. Considered a first, four small groups spiced up the program with special numbers expressing their deep gratitude for God’s incomparable love: a skit from San Jose Small Group, a short play performed by Milpitas 1 Small Group, a hand mime presented by the Milpitas 2 Small Group and a song rendered by the J-YA/J-Youth Small Group.
Held a week before on Nov. 21 to give church members a chance to enjoy the long weekend, the thanksgiving program culminated in a sumptuous lunch prepared by the small groups.
