Prepare 

This Sunday, the gospel is once again focused on who is ultimately “in” with God and who is “out.” While it would be inaccurate to say that the master in our parable is Christ (Christ is much more than this parable can touch), we do learn about God through him. Three slaves were given very large sums of money (one talent would have been worth 16-20 years’ wages). Two out of the three slaves return a 100% profit to their master alongside the original sum. Those are great business people! And, as happens with parables, we are and are not talking about money here. Yes, we are to use our fiscal tools for the gospel. But, we’re also talking about our gifts, abilities, relationships, and social capital. These two slaves took a risk and were willing to try something, which was key to their return on investment. 

And then we have the slave who is ultimately cast out because he buried his money, refusing to take any risk at all. This slave was so afraid of making the master angry that playing it safe ended at least as badly as trying and failing would have. Importantly, the master is not a full representation of Christ. So, while in the parable the slave who refused to use their gift was left out, we know that, with Christ, that’s not the whole story. Perhaps they are left out of the experience of furthering God’s kingdom, which is a gift itself. On the one hand, God does have judgement for wasted gifts, according to this parable. On the other, we know, from Christ’s death and resurrection, that he also has immense grace.

Opening Exercise

Get into pairs and tell a story about how you learned you were really good at something. Consider the following questions:

• Did you intentionally learn this skill or happen upon it? Do you like other people to know about this skill or do you keep it secret?

Texts to Read Aloud

Matthew 25:14-30

A Holy ‘Use It or Lose It’

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it’? I had thought that phrase was about people taking something from you: use your seat in the cafeteria or, if you get up, someone might come take it. But, the more time I spend with people who are aging, the more I’ve come to see this phrase differently. My friends who are in their eighties, and still very able-bodied, all seem to have two things in common: they’re lucky and they never stopped moving. 

Those octogenarians who can lift more weight than most young people are doing so because they’ve been lifting some weight throughout their whole life. They continued doing so even when they were scared or saw others not moving as much anymore. In this parable, Jesus gives me yet a third perspective on this phrase, a holy “use it or lose it.”

The first two slaves were given a LOT of money to use to make their master more money. Both were successful! They were given different amounts and made different amounts. And yet, they received the same praise. Christ teaches us that it is not about being the best or the most successful. God simply wants us to use what God has given us to grow God’s kingdom on earth. 

A Holy ‘Use It or Lose It’

That is where the third slave goes wrong. He is afraid of failing and making the master angry. His plan, however, epically failed in that regard. He buries the money, not using what he’s been given at all. The result is not only anger, but ultimately being kicked out of the light, into the dark and scary place. That’s what happens when we let fear override God’s instructions; we can miss the joy of participating in what God is doing. 

Note that this is different from being abandoned by God. God is still with us and Christ still saved us. But by not stewarding the gifts given to us, we find ourselves outside of Christ’s party instead of getting to work alongside Christ to spread love in our world.

Whether it was fear of failure or something else (laziness, forgetfulness, indecisiveness, etc.) that stopped the third slave from using the gift he was given, Christ’s message is clear: God wants us to use our gifts for holy things! Sitting back and waiting for someone else to do God’s heavy lifting ultimately results in being left out of the community and the transformation God has invited us into.

Reflection Questions

• What does the master hope will happen with the talents given to the slaves?
• What do the talents represent in the story? 
• What talents have you been given?
• When have you stewarded your talents well like the first two? When have you been afraid to do so, like the third?
• How can you “use it” so you don’t “lose it” when it comes to God’s gifts?

Closing Activity

Affirmations: Go around the room (or in small groups) and affirm each member of the group. Everyone affirms everyone, sharing something they appreciate about the person being affirmed. Good affirmations are about how a person shows up and uses their talents, not about what they have materially or something that happened to them.

Closing prayer:

Pray the prayer of Good Courage to close your time:

Lord God,
you have called your servants
to ventures of which
we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out
with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand
is leading us
and your love
supporting us,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Biography

Lindsay Batesmith is the pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Erie, CO. She is consistently in awe of the power of vulnerability to connect us to each other and invite the Holy Spirit to transform lives. When not at church or her favorite coffee shop, Lindsay is usually playing with her dog, Echo, or watching The Great British Bakeoff with her wife, Tillie.

Prepare 

This week’s readings from Amos and Matthew are on the theme of the Lord’s coming. The former uses a dark and light metaphor while the latter returns to the image of the wedding banquet. What fascinating imagery to have right after a national election and the first week of standard time for many in the United States, making our evenings suddenly darker. Note that at the time of writing, the election has not yet happened; however, there are certain declarations that happen after every election. That of promises and, oftentimes, hatred made by politicians, whether they won or lost, that I trust will connect to our day’s readings for many of our students.

Amos is warning of the “Day of the Lord” or “judgement” that is coming. He does not think well of Israel’s chances of surviving God’s judgement because of their inauthentic worship and ways of living. His warning to Israel is that they have not been living as God commanded, or even in relationship with God. Therefore, things will go dark for them (and in some cases already have). If you do not associate with the light of the world, you have no light.

Gospel in God’s Judgement

In Matthew, we learn of different approaches to waiting for Christ. All of the bridesmaids are hoping to meet the bridegroom (Christ), but some expect this to happen much more quickly than others. Those who expect to meet Christ quickly are scrambling when they have to wait. Note that this is one of only a few stories in the gospels where the person who’s unprepared is in the wrong rather than the one who refuses to share. That’s because this text is not about how we are to approach our earthly resources, but rather about how we are approaching God. Those who expect God to come soon, and are not ready to be patient, are looking for a quick fix. In the end, they will not get to experience the glory of God’s justice in the world when it arrives.

Both of these scriptures meet us as we live into the promise of Jesus, the one “who was and is and is to come.” Yes, Jesus came, lived, died and was resurrected from the dead. We also continue to live in a broken world. So we read these texts assured of the promise of salvation from Christ who overcame death. We also recognize the reality that life can feel hard and cyclical, making it difficult to see what God is doing in the world. 

Opening Exercise

If you were to run for class president, what would your platform be? If you have extra time and want a sillier exercise, make campaign signs or slogans. Consider these questions:

• What would you promise people? How would you get people motivated to vote for you?
• Do you think people are more motivated by hope or by fear?

Texts to Read Aloud

Amos 5:18-24

Matthew 25:1-13

Where is the Gospel in God’s Judgement?

At some point, everyone sees the world for what it is—broken. It is only once we have seen our world as broken that we can work for change. Whether we like them or not, each political candidate who ran in this past week’s election did exactly that. They recognized something wrong in our society and decided that they are called to do something about it. And then, in our country, adults are able to vote for who they want to represent them. Ideally, this is the person whose vision for change best aligns with what they think God wants for our world. However, we all have seen that, sometimes, politicians can be tricky—dishonest even. That makes it difficult to know who is going to do what they say they’ll do or even if their vision for our future is as holy as it appears.

In our reading from Amos, the prophet warns against a similar disconnect between what people claim to believe and how they actually live. Amos is upset with how Israel claims to want God and yet they are not doing what God told them to do. Amos is distraught that their worship is insincere. So he is warning God’s people that when the “Day of the Lord,” or God’s judgement, comes, it will not be in their favor. They are acting dishonestly and not working towards justice for all people, which means when God works towards justice, God will not be on their side.

Gospel in God’s Judgement

In our gospel reading, Jesus uses the image of a wedding banquet to talk about God’s justice. Five bridesmaids don’t bring enough oil and do not get into the party. It isn’t that the bridesmaids are hypocrites like in Amos. Rather, they’re looking for a quick fix. They expect God to arrive on their timeline, without regard for how their impatience affects those who are prepared to take the more difficult road if it gets us closer to God’s hope for our world.

Christ is clear that God wants justice in our world, and he’s clear about what that looks like: the poor get what they need, the outcasts are welcomed back in, strangers become known, etc. And our texts today make it clear that if we aren’t on the side of Holy justice, then God is working against us. That is not the same as God not loving us. God loves all people. God’s grace is for all people. Yet, if we want to campaign for God in our world, then we must work for God’s justice, not our own.

In the aftermath of an election, the future of our communities can feel really intense— either really hopeful or really scary. Our faith reminds us that we are always waiting for God to do God’s work. In the meantime, it is our job to show up authentically with God and to God’s people. 

Reflection Questions

• What do the Israelites do in Amos that he is warning will cause God’s judgement?
• What do the bridesmaids do to get left out of the banquet?
• What does that judgement mean for those people?
• Have you heard political candidates (or people talking about them) promise or threaten justice? Do you think the promises/threats were aligned with God?
• How do we participate in the world to perpetuate God’s justice, rather than oppose it?

Closing Activity

Create God’s campaign poster.

Have your youth work together to make a campaign poster for God. Not as though God would be governor or a congressperson or even president—those jobs are far too small and earthly for the Lord. Make a poster promoting God’s agenda in our world as God.

What are God’s promises? Does God have a plan to get God’s plan completed? Does God have a campaign slogan? What does God need from God’s supporters?

Closing Prayer:

Do a squeeze prayer of gratitude. Circle up and grab hands. Open the prayer with “Thank you God for all the ways you’re working towards justice in our world.” Then have each person share one gratitude of where they’ve seen divine justice. Once everyone has shared, close with “Lead us to sow seeds of justice this week. Amen!”

Biography

Lindsay Batesmith is the pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Erie, CO. She is consistently in awe of the power of vulnerability to connect us to each other and invite the Holy Spirit to transform lives. When not at church or her favorite coffee shop, Lindsay is usually playing with her dog, Echo, or watching the Great British Bakeoff with her wife, Tillie.

Prepare

Today is All Saints Day, when many congregations remember and pray for those who have died, especially those who have died within the past year. Some congregations ring bells or light candles as they read names aloud. These traditions, along with recognizing certain people as saints after their deaths (Saint Peter or Saint Mary), can lead us to think of saints as individuals who have died.

However, Scripture uses the word saints to refer to Christians within a community. For example, Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with these words: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1). In other words, we are saints now because we are part of the Christian community. We do not earn the title of saint only after we die, nor does it depend on whether others consider us faithful or good enough.

We can mark the beginning of our lives as saints not on the All Saints Sunday after we die, or even on the day of our death. Instead, it is when we become part of a Christian community. For many, that might be their baptism, when we are marked with the cross of Christ and claimed as children of God. For others, the beginning of their lives as saints might be when they started to attend worship. Or, for others, it might be when they started to question how God is active in their lives. 

Blessed Are You, Saint

Be cautious of only using baptism as the marker of becoming a saint, as some of the people part of today’s discussion might not be baptized. And yet, by being part of the conversation, they are part of the saints. 

Today, as we remember those who have gone before us, we will also remember that we are part of the community of saints here and now.

Opening Exercise

In small groups, discuss: “What does the word ‘blessed’ mean? And when have you felt blessed?”

Text Read Aloud

Matthew 5:1-12 

1 John 3:1-3

Blessed Are You, Saint

A simple search for #blessed on any social media platform will bring up a wide variety of results, from sermons and baby pictures to AI-generated prayer memes and much more. Yet, all these posts have something in common. The person sharing them sees something positive in what they are posting and is often expressing gratitude for the people or things they are sharing.

In our reading from Matthew today, Jesus uses the word “blessed” nine times. The first eight times, Jesus names a group of people with a particular virtue and offers each group a unique reason or promise for their blessing. Many of these virtues are qualities we associate with saints, such as hungering and thirsting for righteousness, showing mercy, and being pure in heart.

Then comes the final blessing. In verses 11 and 12, Jesus shifts from speaking about groups of people who possess certain virtues to addressing “you,” the disciples he is speaking to directly. He calls them blessed when others mistreat them because they follow him. He also shifts the focus to the past, reminding them that the prophets who came before them were treated in the same way. In this blessing, Jesus warns the disciples that following him will not always be easy, while also reminding them that they stand in a long line of faithful people who have faced similar struggles.

Blessed Are You, Saint

Today, on All Saints Sunday, we tend to look back at those who have died, especially those in the past year. And we remember them as saints who have gone before us. This passage from Matthew was chosen for our Gospel reading today because it lifts up qualities often associated with saints, reminding us that generations of saints have struggled to follow Jesus.

However, our reading from 1 John tells us that we are children of God now. This means that we are part of the community of saints even as we live our lives today. 

And as part of that community, we are called to embody many of the virtues Jesus describes in Matthew; to recognize and celebrate these qualities in the living as well as in those who have died; and to follow Jesus even when others do not understand our faith. 

Thankfully, we do not do this alone. We are part of a community of saints. This community includes those who have nurtured us in our faith and those with whom we continue to grow in our understanding of God. And it includes you.

As part of this community you are prayed for, uplifted, and supported in your faith. And as part of the community, you also pray for, uplift, and support others in their faith. 

You, dear readers, are children of God and part of the community of saints. I am grateful to be part of this community with you. I and others need you to be part of our community of saints who share faith together. Blessed All Saints Sunday to you! #blessed

Reflection Questions

1. Who are some people that are part of your community of saints that have blessed you? 
2. Why do you think Jesus offers blessings to these virtues?
3. Which virtue are you most drawn to? Do you think the blessing/promise fits that virtue? 
4. What does it mean to be called children of God?

Closing Activity

Write your own blessing following Jesus’ pattern: “Blessed are the ____, for they will/theirs is ____”

Blessing

The blessing below can be said once to the group or can be done individually. If the latter, have the blesser, with permission, trace a cross on the forehead or hand of the one they are blessing. 

Blessed are you, child of God, for you shall be called saint. 

Bio of Author

Becca Middeke-Conlin serves as the bishop of the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod. She loves being able to interact with young people and looks forward to watching and participating in how they and the Holy Spirit will reform our church. She can be found on Sunday mornings wearing fun liturgically appropriate earrings (today’s most likely are angel wings) and many Sunday afternoons enjoying ice cream with church members. 

Prepare

Today is Reformation Sunday, a day when the Lutheran church tends to celebrate Martin Luther and us not being part of the Catholic Church. For many congregations, this becomes “Lutheran Pride” day. But Martin Luther was a sinner as much as he was a saint, and in recent years, as much as our church wants to celebrate the Reformation, we also need to be aware that a lot of Luther’s writings were problematic. Plus, while many new denominations were created in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, Luther actually wanted to remain Catholic and reform the church that he grew up in.

Today’s conversation will be focused on how the church has and will continue to change. At the same time, we must be aware of our past in order to continue to listen to the Holy Spirit and discern where She is guiding us as we continue to be a reforming church.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Our reading from Jeremiah reminds us that God will make a new covenant with God’s people inviting us to imagine our relationship with God to be something greater than it currently is. Meanwhile we also do not want to end up like the Jewish people in the reading from John who forget their past. This revisionist history keeps them from understanding Jesus focusing on being made free instead of knowing the truth. If we forget our past, reformation cannot happen as the root is reforming – changing into an improved form or condition. Jesus was not asking the people with whom he was talking to become new people entirely, or even to create a new church, but to hear scripture they have heard all their lives in a new way. 

Note: You will need two sets of post-it notes in different colors for today’s lesson.

Opening Exercise

In groups of two or three, talk about how you have seen the church (be that your individual congregation, the ELCA or the church universal) change in your lifetime or how you have heard it has changed in your parents’ lifetime. That could be different leaders including pastors, different styles of music, how worship practices changed during and after the pandemic, new or no longer existing activities or groups, etc. Write each of these changes on one color of post-it notes and post these on the door or a wall of your learning space.

Text to Read Aloud

Jeremiah 31:31-34 

John 8:31-36

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Today we are celebrating Reformation Sunday as the church. This is to commemorate the day in 1517 when Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, nailed 95 theses, or ideas, on how the church should change to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He did this on October 31, knowing most people would be attending church the next day for All Saints’ Day services. He did this not as an act of rebellion or wanting to split from the Catholic Church, but as a way of sparking academic debate (Wittenberg was home to a large university) in the hopes of reforming the church. These were 95 ways he thought the church could and should improve in order to be better aligned with Jesus’ gospel and better serve the people. 

Instead, this event sparked the Protestant Reformation, and four years later Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Afterwards many of his followers left to form what is now called the Lutheran Church, even though this was not Martin Luther’s intent. The Lutheran Church’s theology is mainly influenced by Martin Luther’s writings on faith, including these ideas, which were considered breakthroughs: 

• We are simultaneously sinners and saints. 
• All believers are part of the priesthood of sharing the gospel of Jesus.
• We are saved by grace through our faith and not works.
• God is with us in our tragedies and sorrows (aka Theology of the Cross). 

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Our readings today were picked for this festival Sunday to lift up core Lutheran teachings. But they also have us looking forward and looking back. In our reading from John, we see the Jewish people forgetting their history – that their ancestors were slaves in Egypt. This reading, on top of reminding us that Jesus is the focal point of scripture, also reminds us to not forget our past, even the painful parts of our history, because that history has helped make us who we are.

And in Jeremiah we look to the future, to this new covenant that God is bringing to us. This reminds us that we cannot remain the same in the future; we must change and reform. As we grow with God in our faith, we will be changed and reformed as we gain new insights about Scripture, God, our community and our own selves.

On Reformation Day, in our congregations, many people want to remember how the church was changed over 500 years ago by Martin Luther and his contemporaries, so they are not making the same mistakes found in John 8. But often those same people don’t want to look forward to how the church will continue to change in the future. However, our readings today remind us that we must do both – remember the past while looking forward to the future – in order to be the church. We cannot and should not do one without the other. 

Reflection Questions

• Jeremiah writes about God creating a new covenant with God’s people. What do you think Jeremiah means? What is this new covenant? 
• The ELCA often uses the phrase “always being made new.” How is God making a new covenant with you and with your church?
• In John, the people Jesus is talking to forget their past – that their ancestors were once slaves. What are parts of our history that you would like to forget? What are parts that are really hard to forget?

Closing Activity

On the different color set of post-it notes, write at least one way you hope the church will reform or change in the future. How can the church improve in order to better be aligned with Jesus or in order to better serve the people? 

Post these alongside your other post-its as your theses on how the church is a constantly reforming church. Spend some time reading each other’s answers to both sets of questions and write new theses if ideas are sparked. 

Final Prayer

God of our past, our present, and our future,
Help us to remember who we are and who we have come from.
And help us continue to grow and change as individuals and as the church
in order to better serve you and your people.
Amen. 

Bio

Becca Middeke-Conlin serves as the bishop of the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod. She loves being able to interact with young people and looks forward to watching and participating in how they and the Holy Spirit will reform our church. She can be found on Sunday mornings wearing liturgically appropriate earrings (today’s most likely are red) and many Sunday afternoons enjoying ice cream with church members.

Prepare

Today’s text has us thinking about money, currency, values, and the cultural and economic systems in which we swim. It opens with the leaders again trying to ensnare Jesus with a question about paying taxes to the emperor. While this may seem straightforward on the surface, there are many underlying factors that complicate the story.

First, remember that Israel at this time is a conquered people. They are controlled by Rome. Taxes help fund the very system in which they live, including the soldiers and others who control their lives. Refusing to pay taxes would support the Israelites’ cause for freedom, but it would put Jesus in hot water with the authorities. Such a response could be considered treasonous.

Second, consider the coin itself that they use in this world. Each coin is inscribed with the phrase “Son of the Divinized Augustus,” which can be interpreted as “Son of a god.” This inscription is blasphemous, and according to Jewish law, even possessing or using these coins is unlawful because they represent an idol to a false god.

Costly Love

It would be easy to make this simply about money, but the question is much more complex. The people are part of an earthly kingdom, the Roman Empire, and they could no more escape this reality than they could escape breathing. It is simply the reality of being there: They must use these coins to pay their oppressors, and there is no escaping this reality.

But Jesus is pointing us toward a different reign, the reign of God, which eclipses the culture in which we are immersed. This reign extends beyond the physical reality of where we live and points us toward another reality that trades in a very different kind of currency. Jesus reminds us that while we are part of the life and circumstances of our current situation, we are also part of another story, one that belongs to God. This is what Jesus is asking: What belongs to God, and what are we to give to God?

Opening Activity: What Would This Buy?

Before the group meets, collect several different kinds of currency from your country. For example, if you are in the United States, find a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar bill, and so on. For added fun, you may also collect banknotes from different countries if they are available to you.

Start by talking about the different kinds of coins and bills you have collected. Pass these around and ask the students to take a close look at each item.

• What is something new they notice about the money that they have never seen before?
• Are there any features they have questions about? Do they wonder why they appear on the currency?
• Whose face or what images appear on the different denominations?
• Why do you think these people are represented on your currency?

If you collect money from other countries, do a little research before the group meets so you can share who or what appears on the different kinds of currency. You can find this information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofpeopleonbanknotes. Share your findings with the class.

Now, using your own currency, ask the students what they could buy with each denomination. For example, in the United States, ask what they could buy for a penny, a nickel, and so on.

Bonus: The Bazooka Bubblegum Song

Here is a fun song you can chant with the students. It is just a little silly, but it gets us thinking about what we use money for.

Examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcGWd28LxPQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q6WAM6bERQ

Reflection Questions

1. Think about the money you looked at. What do you think these coins and banknotes say about the countries that use them and what those countries value?
2. Do you think you could live where you do without any money? Why or why not?

Text to Read Aloud

Matthew 22:15–22

Costly Love

Once again, a group of leaders, the Herodians and Pharisees, is trying to trap Jesus with a no-win proposition: do we pay taxes to the emperor or not? If Jesus says that they should pay taxes, the Pharisees would object because the coins are considered idolatrous and blasphemous. Every Roman coin bears an inscription identifying Caesar as the son of the Divine Augustus. Furthermore, these taxes go to the very empire, Rome, that is oppressing the Jewish people. The people would turn on Jesus.

If Jesus says that paying taxes is against Jewish law and identity, he could be arrested for sedition by the Herodians, who work closely with Rome to rule and control the people of Israel. There is nowhere to turn! It is a trap!

But Jesus answers by pointing to a very different reality. He asks them for a coin and then asks who is pictured on it. They acknowledge the inscription identifying Caesar. Rather than staking a claim one way or the other, Jesus acknowledges that their circumstances under Rome are not the only reality to which they are accountable. Jesus says, “Give (back) to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give (back) to God what is God’s.”

The verb in the Greek is about returning what does not belong to us, whether that means returning Caesar’s coin to Caesar or returning to God what belongs to God. By replying this way, Jesus acknowledges that one cannot avoid living within the Roman Empire; or for us, in our own towns, cities, and countries. Simply living where we do means living within that culture as best we can, just like the people of Israel, even if we are not crazy about paying taxes.

Costly Love

But we also live in the reign of God. In this reign, we owe a very different kind of currency. Jesus has taught the people that we do not trade in money but in love for others, giving it freely to care for those around us, even our enemies. We trade in justice, giving up our time, energy, and voice so that others may experience the freeing power of God’s grace. We pay in forgiveness, forgiving seventy times seven, as Jesus said. That way, we do not continue to carry hurt toward others, but can release them and us from our resentment.

And yes, we also give money, but these resources are not ultimately our own. They belong to God and are tools we can use to feed, support, nurture, and free others. We give up what we have so that others may have life.

Caesar’s currency, coins and taxes, is very different from God’s currency of love, justice, and mercy. God’s love is freely given, but it is also a costly love because it is not a love we can keep to ourselves. As children of God, we are called to give as God gives: freely, radically, and generously, so that all may have life. That is what it means to give back to God what is God’s.

Reflection Questions

1. What are some cultural realities we wish we could avoid but cannot because of where, when, and how we live? For example, do we feel pressure to succeed or to appear perfect?
2. What are some things we can give to help God’s reign expand? For example, our time, our hearts, and our energy?
3. How do you think people would be different if they invested as much time and energy in God’s economy as they do in accumulating wealth?

Closing Activity

Design a “banknote” representing God’s currency by writing a message (a note) to a friend, family member, or someone else who needs to hear about God’s love for them. Encourage everyone gathered to share their note with that person in the hope that they may feel and know God’s amazing love.

Closing Prayer

In the Lutheran Book of Worship, the Offertory Prayer is shared after the offerings have been collected. Read this prayer again as a reminder of what we have and to whom it belongs:

“Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us, our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Biography

Jay Gamelin is Lead Servant for Family Life at Abiding Hope Church in Littleton, Colorado. His passion is seeing the transformative work of the gospel at work in families and students. He loves going to hot yoga, eating fresh basil on pizza, watching sea otter videos, putting barbecue sauce on his mac and cheese (very controversial in this household), and admiring his amazing wife and four kids.