Yesterday morning’s service for Hathern Baptist was held in a large marquee on the Rec, as part of the Hathern Big Week that is running at the moment. I was invited to lead the offering portion of the worship and this was the short message I used:

As part of the worship in our weekly meeting, we give an opportunity for people to give an offering of money. I’ll tell you about how we will do that this morning but, first, let me remind you of a story about Jesus that helps explain something of the why.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell of a time when the enemies of Jesus tried to catch him out. They came up with wheedling words, pretending to be his admirers: “Good teacher, we know you are full of truth and integrity. Tell us, should we pay tax to the Roman emperor, Caesar?”

Jesus knew this was a trap. If he said yes, it would turn many people against him because the Romans were occupying the land and oppressing the people. And, if he said no, the Romans would have to arrest him and deal with him harshly for stirring up rebellion.

His enemies weren’t wrong when they said Jesus had truth and integrity but they underestimated his wisdom! “Show me one of the coins used to pay the Roman taxes,” was his reply. With a coin in his hand, he held it up and asked, “whose image is on the coin?” Of course, it was a Roman coin with a picture of Caesar. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” said Jesus. Now his enemies saw they were caught in a trap themselves and retreated, both frustrated and amazed.

As a church, we pay our bills and taxes and try to make good use of what is left to support our work in this community. That is the practical reason we make an opportunity to collect money each week. However, just like a coin has two sides, there is more to what Jesus said. We bear the image of God and the offering is also a time to think about how we can give ourselves to him with time and worship and care of others. It also means that each one of us is precious to God which is why, later on, we will be offering an opportunity to be prayed for.

Practically, we will have helpers come round with bowls you can put money in and we also have a card machine where you can just type in an amount and tap your card. Don’t feel pressured to give though – there’s no amount of money that will make God love you more and, whatever you give, you are precious in his sight.