Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Our stewardship campaign is ramping up, and I’m in the middle of a sermon series highlighting the theme for the campaign this year: “Make a Difference.” Last Sunday, I preached on how our financial gifts to the church enable us to make a difference through our mission and outreach. This Sunday (10/30), the focus will be on how our relationships make a difference, and the next Sunday (11/6) will be about how our learning and growing make a difference.
I explained in last week’s Mid-Week Meet-Up that Sunday 11/6 will also be our first Intergenerational Sunday. On Intergenerational Sunday, the children of the church will be staying in the sanctuary for the entire 10:00 am worship service. The service will follow a traditional liturgy, but it will also be more interactive and more accessible for our younger worshipers. At the beginning of worship, there will be prayer stations in the sanctuary that worshipers will be invited to go to and take something back with them to their seats (something to color or create). Then, after the sermon, when we take the offering, worshipers will be invited to come to the front of the sanctuary to bring whatever they’ve created during the service and present it as an offering to God.
I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the meaning and purpose of the offering in our worship service. Have you ever wondered why we take an offering during worship? We always take the offering after the sermon – toward the end of the service. Have you ever wondered why that is? Believe it or not there is actually a reason for both of those things I just mentioned. The reason the offering takes place after the sermon is because Reformed Christians believe that hearing the good news of God’s love demands a response from us. The offering is a way for us to respond to that good news by saying, “God, make me less attached to my worldly possessions, and help me to place my trust in you.” But the offering isn’t the only way we respond during worship. The prayers of the people happen after the sermon as a way to respond by saying, “God, you have loved me so much, so let me show my love for others by praying for them.” When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it is always after the sermon as a way to respond by saying, “God, help me to give thanks (which is what the word “eucharist” means) for what you’ve done for me through Christ’s death and resurrection.” And traditionally, Baptisms are “supposed” to happen after the sermon, too, as a way to respond by saying, “God, you have loved me so much, and I want to be adopted as your very own child.” (The reason we do baptisms before the sermon at FPC Pittsford is because – on a practical note –it is very hard for infants and young children to wait until after the sermon to receive Baptism!)
So, on Intergenerational Sunday, after the sermon, when it comes time for people to bring the creations they made during worship forward, I encourage you to think of them as a response to the good news of God’s love. I hope to see you then, and I hope to see you this Sunday, too.
Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron