This page gives you Scripture for marking an anniversary celebration, whether it is a wedding milestone, a work anniversary, a church anniversary, or the years of a friendship or family. The verses below are grouped by the feelings that tend to come with looking back: thankfulness, faithfulness, the hope of what comes next, and the wish to bless others. Each one points to the same steady truth, that God has been present through the years and still is.
Verses of Thanksgiving for the Years Behind You
Looking back over a span of time often starts with gratitude, and the Psalms are full of words for it. These verses help you name what you are thankful for before you move on to the celebration itself. Read them slowly and let each one turn your attention from the calendar to the Giver of every good year.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
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This verse opens with a simple call to give thanks because the Lord is good and his love lasts. On an anniversary, you can write down three specific things from the past year or years that you are grateful for, and read them aloud before the meal or toast.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
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Paul ties thankfulness to God’s will for believers, not to the circumstances of any single season. Try naming one ordinary blessing from the day, like a shared meal or a phone call, and thank God for it before the celebrations begin.
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
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The repeated refrain in this psalm reminds you that God’s steadfast love is the thread running through every year. Consider reading the refrain as a family or small group, adding a sentence after each line about a moment that proved it true.
Verses on Faithfulness Over Time
An anniversary is a measure of faithfulness, both God’s and our own. These passages speak to commitment that holds through difficult seasons and to the Lord who keeps his promises across generations. They work well for couples, friends, and congregations alike.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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Written in the middle of grief, these words insist that God’s compassions are new every morning. For an anniversary, you might say “great is your faithfulness” to someone who has stayed with you through a hard year, and let that person hear God’s faithfulness spoken through you.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.
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The Teacher observes that two are better than one, because if one falls, the other can help. Use this verse to thank the person or people who have helped you stand up over the years, and consider mentioning one specific time they did so.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, which means the God who walked with you in the first year is the same God who walks with you now. Reflect on how your relationship with him has changed over the years while his character has not.
Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…
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Moses reminds Israel that the Lord keeps covenant faithfully for a thousand generations. This verse can be read at a family anniversary to remind the younger generation that the promises made in one season are kept far beyond it.
Verses Looking Ahead With Hope
A celebration of past years also turns your face toward what is still ahead. These verses give you a way to bless the future without anxiety, trusting that the God who has been faithful will remain so. They suit toasts, cards, and quiet prayers at the close of the day.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
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God speaks to exiles about plans for welfare and hope, not calamity. Write this verse on a card for the anniversary couple or friend, and add one sentence about what you hope God will do in the coming year.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
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Paul expresses confidence that the God who began a good work will carry it on to completion. Name something God has started in your life or relationship that you are still waiting to see finished, and pray over it during the celebration.
Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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The prophet calls the people not to dwell on former things but to see the new thing God is doing. An anniversary can mark a fresh start as well as a long history, so consider naming one new thing you want to begin together this year.
Psalm 90:12
So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
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Moses asks God to teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. An anniversary is a natural moment to count the years honestly and ask for the wisdom to use the years still ahead well.
Verses for Blessing Others Through Your Celebration
Many anniversaries are celebrated with others present, and the strongest celebrations overflow into blessing. These passages encourage love, generosity, and joy shared with those who have shared the years with you.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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Paul’s description of love is often read at weddings, but it fits any long-standing relationship. Read it aloud and ask yourself which line describes the person you are celebrating, then tell them so in a sentence or two.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
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Paul calls believers to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be attentive to guests who may be grieving a loss, and make room for them within the celebration rather than around it.
Colossians 3:14
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
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Over all these virtues put on love, which binds everything together in perfect unity. Consider giving a small token that represents love binding your household or community together, such as a shared photo or a handwritten card.
Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.
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A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. Use this verse to thank a long-standing friend, and if you are able, offer to help them with something practical in the coming months.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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Bearing one another’s burdens fulfills the law of Christ. As the years have passed, someone has likely carried a load for you, so consider naming that person in your prayers and asking how you might share a burden of theirs this week.
How to Use These Verses
Choose two or three verses from different sections rather than trying to read all fifteen at once. Write them on cards, a chalkboard, or the back of a photograph, and place them where guests or the couple will see them during the day. Reading one verse aloud before a meal or toast gives the celebration a spiritual center without making it heavy.
For a more reflective time, read a single passage each morning of the anniversary week and note what the Lord brings to mind. Pray the verses back to God in your own words, naming the people and years they bring to your heart. Keeping a short written record of these reflections can become a keepsake for the next anniversary.
A Short Prayer for an Anniversary Celebration
Lord, thank you for the years you have given us and for every season we have walked through together. You have been faithful when we were not, and you have held us when we could not hold ourselves. Help us to see your hand in what has passed and to trust you with what is still ahead. Teach us to number our days with wisdom and to use them for love. Bless everyone gathered here to celebrate, and let our joy point back to your goodness. Amen.
