Renewing Worship | Offering

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? – Matthew 6:24-25

Money is a source of great worry for all of us. Whether you have too much or not enough – or think you do – you probably worry about money. Money has enormous power over our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Jesus knew that, which is exactly why he taught his followers about the rightful place for money. Since we serve God, not money, we won’t let ourselves worry about our money. We will use our money in service of our faith. 

In worship on Sunday, we talked about offering as part of a worship service. In our sermon series “Renewing Worship”, we get to talk about pieces of our worship and what they mean for us. When we talk about offering, we have to talk about money. When we talk about money, we have to talk about worry. But more than that, we get to talk about all these things because Jesus talked about them, too. He knew how money could take over a person’s life, so he wants to give his followers guidance on how to think about money. 

Jesus encourages generosity, trust, and gratitude. He reminds us constantly that God is the only god in our lives. When we trust that God gives us what we need, we realize that we can use what God has given us for the good of the church and the world. Jesus talked about money so we will also talk about money when we talk about faith. 

We take an offering in the middle of church because we recognize the power money can have over our lives. We know how much it can make us worried and scared or prideful and self-satisfied. When we share what God has given us while gathered in a worshiping community, we make the bold statement that money serves God. We express trust that God gives us what we need and that we are often the way God gives others what they need. 

In these acts of giving, these acts of trust and gratitude, we move further from worry and closer to a centered, dynamic faith. Jesus’ encouragement to us is truly good news.

Let us pray:

God, I am so often worried about having enough and driven by needs and wants. Open my eyes to your abundance at work in my life. Open my heart to a generosity towards others rooted in my faith. Open my hands to share in your name, recognizing that what I have is a gift from you. Amen.