How do you make a playlist? More than one process has been used over the years to accomplish this task. Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, the songs we listen to were curated by radio station disc jockeys. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, we made our own “mix tapes” and listened to them on our boombox or Walkman. In the 2000s, we might purchase CDs and then load them into our computers via the CD-ROM drive. (I realize some of you are now lost.) Then we dragged the music files to playlists that we listened to on our iPods. These days, many people just use Spotify.
But choosing and building a playlist is still a fun part of any occasion that needs special music. If you are like my teenage daughter, you may have already created one or more Christmas playlists. But what about for Thanksgiving? Do people build playlists for Thanksgiving?
After serving as a worship pastor for nearly 30 years and as a professor of music and worship at Southwestern Seminary for more than four years, I can tell you that churches do. And if churches do, why not individual Christians?
I asked some of my friends in the School of Church Music and Worship to name some of their favorite hymns and worship songs fit for Thanksgiving. I asked them to think of songs that specifically express thanks to our Triune God for all that He is doing and all that He has done. I was amazed at their list! There are old hymns, Gospel songs, and contemporary songs. If you find that you need something to lift your eyes away from life’s struggles and point to gratitude in the One who made us and delivered us, check out these songs:
