CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Gracious God we are taught by our teachers and our parents how rewarding it is to do work that we love. Perhaps those first disciples of Jesus were looking for a way of life, a path to follow, that promised to be more soul-rewarding than what they had been doing. We confess that our understanding of what you expect from us, as disciples of Jesus, is muddled by the demands of everyday. We tend to separate what we term “holy pursuits” from daily pursuits. Help us, loving Lord, to realize that we are called to intertwine the holy with the daily. Let us be dressed in Christ always as you make clear the path ahead. It is in his precious name that we pray. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
What gives money value? It isn’t the paper it’s printed on. The tree it came from had greater value. It isn’t the popularity of the deceased president on the face of the bill. It isn’t the color or the artwork or the catchy motto. Lots of countries have prettier more colorful bills, but their bills have no value in our “fiat” system of exchange. The value of money used to be measured by it’s weight in gold, until 1971 when President Nixon put an end to the gold standard. Today money only has value as a medium of exchange for goods and services, which are exchanged for paper bills. The demand for a good or service will govern how many paper bills will be needed to obtain it. God’s grace is poured out in abundance on humankind at no cost. Our contribution to the church of paper bills creates and sustains places where people can discover that grace.
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