Paul Baloche has a great worship song entitled, Offering. It reminds us that worship itself is an
offering to God. The chorus
declares: “I bring an offering of
worship to my King. No one on earth
deserves the praises that I sing. Jesus
may You receive the honor that You’re due.
O Lord I bring an offering to You.”
Psalm 100 is sometimes called “The Call to Worship for the
Great Day of Thanksgiving.” Long before
we Americans established Thanksgiving Day, the Hebrew people had their Great
Day of Thanksgiving. On the day they
came together to bring an offering of worship.
The Psalm encouraged worshippers to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him, bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4;
NRSV)
Singing and prayer are two ways we offer praise and
thanksgiving. But the Psalmist also
referred to another form of thanksgiving that took place in worship – the
offering. “Give an offering to show thanks
to God. Give God Most High what you have
promised.” (Psalm 50:14; NCV) This is
one reason I believe the offering time is a vital part of worship. It is not simply about collecting money for
the church. It is an act of worship in
which we declare our thanks and praise to God.
Notice also, that the offering is something “you have promised.”
This Sunday, you and I have the opportunity to make a
promise to God concerning our offerings for 2012. In making that promise, we are saying that we
trust God to supply our needs. And we
are giving Him thanks believing that God will be faithful so we can bring an
offering to God. It’s like Paul wrote to
the Corinthians; “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in
abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work.” (2
Corinthians 9:8; NRSV)
Be in prayer about your Offerings for 2012. And bring your Commitment Card with you on
Sunday to make that promise of thanksgiving to God. If you cannot be present, you can mail you
card to the Church.
This Sunday night, we are hosting a Community Thanksgiving Service, at 6:30 PM. Mayor Othell Phillips will bring the message
and the Gardendale High School Chamber Choir will share some special
music. Invite your neighbors to join you
in this special evening of worship.
If you picked up a Box for Operation Christmas Child,
don’t forget to bring it Sunday. That is
another offering we bring to God. We
will pray over the boxes during worship and then on Sunday afternoon they will
begin their journey to the children.
Be in prayer for our wonderful custodians. This time of the year is very busy for
them. Yesterday, our Child Enrichment
Center had its Thanksgiving Celebration.
They had over 420 children, parents and grand-parents at the feast.
Now preparations are being made for tonight’s Night
in Bethlehem. The gym is being
transformed from a Thanksgiving Feast to the little town of Bethlehem. This will be a fun night for all ages. We are expecting guests from all over the area;
one church is bringing a group of their members to experience the night.
Then on Thursday night, we host a Boy Scout Banquet in the
gym. At the same time, our Junior Girl
Scouts have a special program going on in another part of the building.
With all the traffic, not to mention the set up and take
down, our custodians are busy. When you
see Lee, Joseph, Beverly and Betty, let them know how much you appreciate them.
Speaking of appreciation, the first phrase of the Playground
renovation has almost been completed.
There were numbers of volunteers who worked last Wednesday night and
Saturday pouring the new sidewalks that will also be a bike track. The main purpose was to provide wheelchair
access to the playground and also a better way to take wheelchair persons out
of the building in case of an emergency.
Thanks to all who gave time to this project.
This Sunday is the youth/UMW bake sale in the fellowship
hall. You can shop in between any of the
services. All money raised from this bake sale will go to buy gifts for the
CASA kids. Come with your sweet tooth
and a little money to go to a good cause!
As always, your responses to these
Reflections are welcome. You can
email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.
offering to God. The chorus
declares: “I bring an offering of
worship to my King. No one on earth
deserves the praises that I sing. Jesus
may You receive the honor that You’re due.
O Lord I bring an offering to You.”
Psalm 100 is sometimes called “The Call to Worship for the
Great Day of Thanksgiving.” Long before
we Americans established Thanksgiving Day, the Hebrew people had their Great
Day of Thanksgiving. On the day they
came together to bring an offering of worship.
The Psalm encouraged worshippers to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him, bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4;
NRSV)
Singing and prayer are two ways we offer praise and
thanksgiving. But the Psalmist also
referred to another form of thanksgiving that took place in worship – the
offering. “Give an offering to show thanks
to God. Give God Most High what you have
promised.” (Psalm 50:14; NCV) This is
one reason I believe the offering time is a vital part of worship. It is not simply about collecting money for
the church. It is an act of worship in
which we declare our thanks and praise to God.
Notice also, that the offering is something “you have promised.”
This Sunday, you and I have the opportunity to make a
promise to God concerning our offerings for 2012. In making that promise, we are saying that we
trust God to supply our needs. And we
are giving Him thanks believing that God will be faithful so we can bring an
offering to God. It’s like Paul wrote to
the Corinthians; “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in
abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work.” (2
Corinthians 9:8; NRSV)
Be in prayer about your Offerings for 2012. And bring your Commitment Card with you on
Sunday to make that promise of thanksgiving to God. If you cannot be present, you can mail you
card to the Church.
This Sunday night, we are hosting a Community Thanksgiving Service, at 6:30 PM. Mayor Othell Phillips will bring the message
and the Gardendale High School Chamber Choir will share some special
music. Invite your neighbors to join you
in this special evening of worship.
If you picked up a Box for Operation Christmas Child,
don’t forget to bring it Sunday. That is
another offering we bring to God. We
will pray over the boxes during worship and then on Sunday afternoon they will
begin their journey to the children.
Be in prayer for our wonderful custodians. This time of the year is very busy for
them. Yesterday, our Child Enrichment
Center had its Thanksgiving Celebration.
They had over 420 children, parents and grand-parents at the feast.
Now preparations are being made for tonight’s Night
in Bethlehem. The gym is being
transformed from a Thanksgiving Feast to the little town of Bethlehem. This will be a fun night for all ages. We are expecting guests from all over the area;
one church is bringing a group of their members to experience the night.
Then on Thursday night, we host a Boy Scout Banquet in the
gym. At the same time, our Junior Girl
Scouts have a special program going on in another part of the building.
With all the traffic, not to mention the set up and take
down, our custodians are busy. When you
see Lee, Joseph, Beverly and Betty, let them know how much you appreciate them.
Speaking of appreciation, the first phrase of the Playground
renovation has almost been completed.
There were numbers of volunteers who worked last Wednesday night and
Saturday pouring the new sidewalks that will also be a bike track. The main purpose was to provide wheelchair
access to the playground and also a better way to take wheelchair persons out
of the building in case of an emergency.
Thanks to all who gave time to this project.
This Sunday is the youth/UMW bake sale in the fellowship
hall. You can shop in between any of the
services. All money raised from this bake sale will go to buy gifts for the
CASA kids. Come with your sweet tooth
and a little money to go to a good cause!
As always, your responses to these
Reflections are welcome. You can
email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.
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