David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-14
“Weekly celebrate the offering during worship and always be mindful that giving is an act of worship and an extension of ourselves. The invitation to give creates a sacred, teachable, worshipful moment connecting our faith and money as means of honoring God. Consider reading scripture and offering invitations, showing video clips of [giving] in action, and including ministry moments, skits, and sermonettes before the offering. The offertory time is one of the best opportunities to share how a congregation lives courageously through its generosity and mission support. The offering still deserves to be celebrated even in the midst of a growing trend of electronic giving in which ministry support is given at times other than the traditional offertory time in worship.”
Melvin Amerson in “Give Courageously Through Year-Round Generosity” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewardship in Your Congregation, volume 20 (Richmond: EMS, 2018) 15.
Growing up in the church, one of my first memories was celebrating the offering each Sunday by singing the doxology together after it was collected. Perhaps you sang it too. “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Sadly, I don’t hear it sung very often these days. Many churches have abandoned rich church traditions that go back for centuries, and sometimes I think they have thrown the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Today Scripture gives us a picture of how King David honored God in an offering celebration.
Too many churches today don’t celebrate the offering. One of my graduate students did a project on “Offering Messages” and found that that Scripture and short moments of instruction weekly caused church giving to go up, and more importantly, helped the members of the congregation build a theology of giving.
Weekly celebrate the offering! Don’t do it to bring in more money. Do it to remind those you serve that God supplied everything we have and all that we give. Do it because theologies are built like the Great Pyramids, one brick at a time, or one Bible passage at a time.
Speaking of celebrating, Sophie and I arrive home this afternoon, and I can’t wait to hug my wife, Jenni!