Vision 9: Outcome #4—Open Hands
Notes
Transcript
Bookmarks & Needs:
Bookmarks & Needs:
B: Exo 35:4-36:7
N:
Welcome
Welcome
Bye, kids!
Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here today, whether you are here in the room or joining us online through the app, the website, Facebook, or YouTube.
If you’re a guest or a visitor this morning, we appreciate you as well! Thanks for being here today, whether you’re a believer or are just checking out the Jesus and the church, whether you’re in the room or online. We’d like to be able to send you a note of thanks for your visit this morning, so if you wouldn’t mind getting us a little information, it would mean a lot to us. If you’re online, you can jump over to our I’m New page on the website or the app and fill out the contact card at the bottom. If you’re in the room, you can just fill out the Welcome card that you’ll find in the back of the pew in front of you. At the close of service, you can either drop it in the offering boxes by the doors, or if you would, you can bring it down to me here at the front, so I can say hello if I haven’t had the chance already this morning, and so I can give you a small gift to thank you for your visit. Thanks in advance for taking the time.
I’d also like to take a moment and say thanks to all of our Kids Ministry Shepherds who do such a great job in our children’s ministry every week. Obviously, the ones serving in Kids’ Ministry right now won’t hear this: but shepherds, thank you so much for the way you invest in the little ones of Eastern Hills. We appreciate you!
Announcements
Announcements
AAEO ($23,165.20), VIDEO: Fred & Casey Weymouth, Richmond, VA #2 Let’s finish our goal today, and we will celebrate that next week!
Opening
Opening
We are closing in on the end of our Vision series here in Family Worship, where we are spending ten weeks examining our Mission, Values, and desired Outcomes as a church family. All of this flows out of some vision framing work that we started about a year-and-a-half ago. Our mission as a church defines what our purpose is as a church family. Our core values define the why: Why is this our mission, given who we are and who we want to be? And our desired outcomes help us think about what growth we would like to see in people’s lives because of God’s work through and in the Eastern Hills family—to help us evaluate and plan next steps as a church.
To this point in the series, we have looked at our Mission: People helping people live out the unexpected love of Jesus every day. We also looked through our Core Values: Authentic Family, Real Truth, Transformational Growth, and Practical Impact. We’ve also considered the first three of our five desired Outcomes questions: How am I drawing near to the unexpected love of Jesus today? How am I learning to see myself, others, and circumstances as God does? and last week: How am I growing Christian friends who are growing me? We considered Colossians 3:5-17 last Sunday, as we basically said that if you want to have godly friends, be a godly friend, through putting to death and putting away the things that don’t belong in the life of the Christian or the church, and by putting on and putting into practice the things that DO belong in our lives and the life of the church. We have only this week and next remaining in this series.
This morning, I have the privilege of preaching a passage that I have never preached before, and I’m pretty excited to get to preach it. So as you are able to do so, please open your Bibles or your Bible apps to Exodus 35, and stand in honor of the reading of the Word of the Lord as I read verse 5 through the 7th verse of chapter 36 (It’s pretty long: Feel free to remain seated, or to sit when you need to as I read):
4 Then Moses said to the entire Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 Take up an offering among you for the Lord. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; 8 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx with gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece. 10 “Let all the skilled artisans among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle—its tent and covering, its clasps and supports, its crossbars, its pillars and bases; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the curtain for the screen; 13 the table with its poles, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand for light with its utensils and lamps as well as the oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense with its poles; the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the entryway screen for the entrance to the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 17 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and bases, and the screen for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and the tent pegs for the courtyard, along with their ropes; 19 and the specially woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary—the holy garments for the priest Aaron and the garments for his sons to serve as priests.” 20 Then the entire Israelite community left Moses’s presence. 21 Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments. 22 Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry—everyone who presented a presentation offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who possessed blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or fine leather, brought them. 24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as a contribution to the Lord. Everyone who possessed acacia wood useful for any task in the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun yarn with her hands and brought it: blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of their skill. 27 The leaders brought onyx and gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece, 28 as well as the spice and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 So the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring something for all the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done. 30 Moses then said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every kind of craft 32 to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, 33 to cut gemstones for mounting, and to carve wood for work in every kind of artistic craft. 34 He has also given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all the work of a gem cutter; a designer; an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen; and a weaver. They can do every kind of craft and design artistic designs. 1 Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled people are to work based on everything the Lord has commanded. The Lord has given them wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of constructing the sanctuary.” 2 So Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person in whose heart the Lord had placed wisdom, all whose hearts moved them, to come to the work and do it. 3 They took from Moses’s presence all the contributions that the Israelites had brought for the task of making the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.
PRAYER
Sometimes we can learn a lot from the biographies of people who have gone before us. While studying for my message this week, I was reminded of the story of Adoniram Judson, who was the pioneer Christian missionary to Burma (now Myanmar). Adoniram was born in 1788, and graduated from Brown University in 1807, but didn’t come to faith until after his graduation. However, sometime between then and May, 1809, Judson came to believe the Gospel, began attending Andover Theological Institution, and not long thereafter (February, 1810), he committed to the Lord that we would work in foreign missions. On the very day that Judson was commissioned to go overseas, he met Ann Hasseltine, soon fell in love with her, and wanted to propose. However, Adoniram knew how costly it would be for her to join him in missionary service. In that time, being sent overseas for missions meant that one likely never saw their family again in this life.
So Adoniram wrote to Ann’s father:
I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?
Ann’s father decided it best to let his daughter decide such things, and on February 5, 1812, Adoniram and Ann were wed. Two weeks later, on February 19, they boarded a ship from Salem, Massachusetts, spent four months in transit, and arrived in Calcutta on June 17. They relocated to Burma in July 1813, but didn’t baptize their first convert to Christianity until 1819. I do not have time to do justice to their story here, but Adoniram gave basically the rest of his life to serving the Lord among the people of Burma, even translating the Scriptures into the Burmese language (finished in 1834), and died on April 12, 1850, while on a ship traveling back from there after contracting a fever.
Today’s desired outcome question is: How are my hands open for God’s use today? By this, we are really focusing on stewardship—not simply of money, but of our very lives. Both Adoniram and Ann Judson are good illustrations of what this means—not that we’re all called to do what they did—but that our lives are at God’s disposal, however He may decide to use them for His glory and purposes.
Our five Outcome Expression statements for this desired Outcome are:
My answer is “Yes” even before I know what God may ask me to do.
I build enough margin into my day to respond to the people and opportunities God brings to me.
I can name specific ways I am using my skills and spiritual gifts to serve people inside and outside the church.
I cheerfully give a sacrificial amount of my income to the church to glorify God and invest in His kingdom work.
I believe the purpose of the church is not to provide activities I like, but to spur me to love and reach others.
In our focal passage this morning, we get to see a rare example of when Israel did things right: they were called upon by God to serve His purposes both individually and collectively with a right heart, and they actually did so. And really, the entire passage is one about giving: first, give your heart; then, give whatever you have and whatever you can do that is needed; and third, keep your priorities straight by giving for God’s purpose and glory.
1: Give your heart first
1: Give your heart first
Since our focal passage is more narrative this morning and is rather long, we won’t be re-reading the whole thing as we go through our points. We could use this passage as part of a study of the tabernacle, how it was designed and built, and the materials that went into each component, but that’s not our purpose today. Instead, what we are looking at are the call of God to the people, their response, and the result.
What our passage makes very plain here is that God wanted the people to give their hearts first, instead of their possessions. This was most important. Notice how many times it is repeated in this passage:
5 Take up an offering among you for the Lord. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze;
21 Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments. 22 Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry—everyone who presented a presentation offering of gold to the Lord.
26 And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of their skill.
29 So the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring something for all the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done.
There’s an interesting tension here that I don’t want us to miss. God commanded Moses to lead the people in taking up this offering. So the offering was, in fact, commanded. However, what each person gave was not commanded. God said that “everyone whose heart is willing” was to bring the supplies for the construction of the tabernacle. And over and over, we see that is what the people reflected: hearts that were moved to respond in faithful generosity.
In Exodus, it was not that long ago that Israel very nearly met its end at God’s own hand because of their sinfulness. Just a few chapters back, in chapter 32, we have the story of their idolatry with the gold calf. When Moses didn’t come down the mountain in the time they thought he should, they created their own “gods” out of gold, and bowed down to this idol in wild, sinful, idolatrous abandon. Their hearts had turned away from the Lord to a lie of their own making. Then the priestly tribe, the Levites, were called upon to quell the debauchery, and three thousand men died that day.
There’s no way the people had forgotten this event. They had given both their hearts and their gold to a false idol, and though there had been a very predictable consequence first, God had continued to walk with them through the wilderness, and had even provided Moses the plans for the tabernacle, where He would (representatively) make His home with them. This was an incredible mercy and an amazing grace.
What a difference we see in the people here in chapter 35! Everyone (at least for now) reflect their gratitude and trust in God by giving liberally for the purpose of constructing the tent that the Lord plans to “dwell” in among them. Between the references to their hearts and the term “freewill offering” (meaning completely by their choice), eight times in this passage we see the state of the hearts of the people—both men and women. They gave because they wanted to give.
We have a really good example of this same heart in the New Testament as well: The churches of Macedonia (likely in Philippi and perhaps Thessalonica). In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul said of them:
1 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia: 2 During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 I can testify that, according to their ability and even beyond their ability, of their own accord, 4 they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, 5 and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God’s will.
Notice what Paul says about these churches: they were in extreme poverty, and yet they still begged to be able to give to help support the church in Jerusalem because of God’s grace. Their hearts were given to God, and then to Paul and his team to join in their ministry.
Later in this same letter, Paul wrote:
7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.
I don’t often preach on giving. It’s not because I’m afraid to or uncomfortable doing so. It’s because I don’t need to go out of my way to do so. My place is to preach the Scriptures, and when a passage or a message in a necessary series (like this one) comes up that covers giving, we will talk about it. We know that God owns everything, and giving is a place where we get the privilege of joining with Him in the work that He’s doing in the church, through the church, and with the church, in the world. He has given immeasurably more than we could ever even begin to give back, and I believe that as we hear the Word, and consider what it says, and walk in obedience and faith to God through the work of His Spirit, giving will happen as a response of gratitude to God as we surrender ourselves to Him.
This is the point: God would rather have all of our hearts than any of our money. So first, before we write a check or tap a screen or drop a dollar in the box, we are to turn our hearts to the Lord.
And it starts with believing the Gospel. The Bible from beginning to end tells the story of the creation of humanity, the fall of humanity, the redemption of humanity, and the restoration of humanity. God made us to be with Him, but we decided to go our own way into sin. Our sins separate us from Him because sin is rebellion against Him. It’s doing what He tells us not to do, and not doing what He instructs us to do. We’re all guilty before Him. The punishment that our sins deserve is death. But in His love for us, God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place for our sins. He redeemed us—paid the price we owe so we can be freed from sin’s penalty. When we believe in what Jesus has done for us, trusting His sacrifice for our salvation, turning from going our own sinful way and following Him as Lord, then God restores us to a right relationship with Himself. And He is going to restore all things when the time comes for Him to do so in the future. Belief in Jesus is the only way to salvation.
If you’re already a believer, then you need to understand that God wants your heart first and foremost. Giving is great. It’s something that God wants us to do. But if our hearts are far from God, then we’ve missed the mark of what God is looking for. What God wants is for us to want to give back to Him because of just how much He has given to us. If you have to give through mental kicking and screaming, I don’t think that’s what God is looking for—and I think you need to do some examining of your heart.
And once you have that straightened out, then you have the opportunity to give in a way that pleases God—not out of compulsion. But what we are called to give, and what the people of Israel gave in the wilderness, is more than just money. We can give to God both what we have and what we do:
2: Give what you have and do
2: Give what you have and do
When we talk about a passage such as Exodus 35, we have a tendency to focus on the wealth that they gave. And I think that we can all agree that they certainly did this in abundance:
22 Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry—everyone who presented a presentation offering of gold to the Lord.
24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as a contribution to the Lord. Everyone who possessed acacia wood useful for any task in the work brought it.
But did you catch that it was more than just material possessions that they gave willingly? They also gave the much more precious commodity of time in the form of their talents, skills, and giftedness.
10 “Let all the skilled artisans among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded:
25 Every skilled woman spun yarn with her hands and brought it: blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of their skill.
And I won’t re-read everything about Bezalel and Oholiab—though I will just say that those two guys sound pretty impressive, and I’m not just talking about their names.
Everybody contributed in some way. People brought the materials that were needed. But, wait a second: Where did a nation of former slaves, wandering in the wilderness, get all of this valuable material (about a ton of gold alone: Exo 38:24)? They had been given much of it by God from the hands of the Egyptians, before they left Egypt. In Exodus 12:36, it says:
35 The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing. 36 And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
God had already provided all that they had. They were simply giving back to Him what He had given to them. We have to keep this in mind. God is the one who provides for our material needs. We may think that we do (and we do to some extent partner with God in doing so through our obedience), but ultimately, it’s from His hand, not ours.
1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord;
17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ 18 but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm his covenant he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
But in some ways, giving material resources is the easier thing to give. Sometimes what is much harder is to give the time that we have. I confess to you that I often don’t do a particularly good job of having the “margins” that I should have in order to respond to the opportunities that come my way during the day. This is important, because we all have the same amount of time to spend: 86,400 seconds; 1,440 minutes; 24 hours every day. We need to have wisdom in how we spend that time, as the Psalmist said:
12 Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
We might have God-given talents and abilities that can be used for His kingdom. We may have a special giftedness from Him that would be useful in a particular way. We are called to give what we have, and to give what we do. Where are you skilled? What’s a talent that you have? How can you give of those things to benefit the body of Christ and the kingdom of God?
One thing that we see in this passage is that everyone did what they had been gifted to do. Did everyone work on the construction of the tabernacle? No. Only those who were gifted to do so. Did everyone work on preparing the yarn and the goat hair tarps? No. Only the women who had that skill did so. Each one used their particular giftedness for the good of the whole project. Peter tells us something similar in his first epistle:
10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
Now, you might be thinking, “Bill, I don’t have any special talent or giftedness,” Or, “I used to be able to do things, but now I can’t because of this or that limitation.” There are still many things you can do for the purposes of the kingdom. You can pray. You can give financially. You’re here (unless you’re online). You can help both members and visitors feel welcome and like family, and you can worship the Lord, adding your praise to the praise that the church family gives to God.
3: Give for God’s purpose and glory
3: Give for God’s purpose and glory
Our last point this morning isn’t overtly declared in the passage like our first two points. Instead, it is a thread that is woven throughout the tabernacle narrative passages. Remember that the Lord had given the instructions on the tabernacle to Moses, and then He instructed that everyone who had the heart to do so should give materially and skillfully to the requirements of the project.
What was the point? The point was that the tabernacle—unlike anything that had ever been made—would be constructed in skill, in beauty, and in divine wisdom to point to the presence of God with His people. The tabernacle set Israel apart among the people of the world, and the people of the world could see that there was something unique about Israel. The culmination of this isn’t found in our passage today. Instead, we find it at the end of chapters 39 and 40:
43 Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.
They had done just as the LORD commanded. It was for His purpose. And according to Exodus 40:34, it was for His glory:
34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Brothers and sisters: all that we have, all that we do, all that we are… all of it is to be available for God’s use for His own purpose and glory, not our own. We must remember that we exist for His glory, not He for ours. We are but His unworthy servants, simply doing the duty that He has called us to and empowered and gifted us for. All of it should be for Him and about Him and to Him.
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
This is why our last Outcome Expression is: “I believe the purpose of the church is not to provide activities I like, but to spur me to love and reach others.” We exist for God’s glory and purpose, not our own. If we see the church as a club that we join and pay our dues to, expecting to get some kind of service, then we have it wrong. We give to the church so that the church—US—can together do the work that He calls us to collectively. That may be through paying salaries to pastors and staff (Thanks, by the way). It may be through keeping the lights on and the water running (we just used a bunch of it for baptism). It may be through ministries to particular groups (like women, men, students, children, senior adults), of having a Christian school (which we do), or through missions initiatives here and around the world (both in going and supporting).
But while we may be recipients of the blessings of some of these ministries, that’s not why the church exists. All of these things have behind them the glory of God and the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel: us being people helping people live out the unexpected love of Jesus every day.
Instead, we give ourselves for His glory through participation in the body of the church, the family of God. Paul says that we’re each an important part of growing up the rest of the church:
16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
But this isn’t to say that the only way we can give for His purpose and glory is to be here at the church building all the time. No, the church exists wherever each of us goes, whether that is here at this address or somewhere else. And wherever that is: that’s where we serve others. That’s where we are the hands and feet of Jesus every day. That’s where we help people experience and live out the unexpected love of Jesus. That’s were we ourselves live it out. It’s in doing this that we invest in God’s eternal kingdom, not in our temporary ones. Jesus said it this way in the Sermon on the Mount:
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Closing
Closing
This is what we are doing when we live with our hands open for God’s use. We’re ready and willing to join God in whatever He is doing around us that He wants us to be a part of. And when it all comes down to it, God Himself brings about the results. In our focal passage, did you notice how it ended?
Bill: 3b-7
3b Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 Then all the artisans who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done.” 6 After Moses gave an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: “Let no man or woman make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people stopped. 7 The materials were sufficient for them to do all the work. There was more than enough.
The faithful people just kept bringing what God laid on their hearts to bring. And it was enough. In fact, it was more than enough. I thank the Lord that our church family is so faithful to give financially to support the work of ministry. Let’s continue to be faithful, and see what God plans for us to do in the future as He provides the means to do it through the voluntary, heartfelt gifts that we give to and as the church.
But as I said earlier, it starts with us giving our very hearts. I shared the Gospel message earlier, and I call on you, if you have never believed the message of the hope of the Gospel, that even right now in this moment, you surrender in faith to Jesus as Savior and Lord, believing that He died for your sins according to the Scriptures, and that He rose from the grave so that you could have eternal life. Let us know if that is you this morning.
Giving: You can give online through the app or the website. You can even set it up as an automatic recurring gift. You can give to special ministry initiatives that way as well. One that I want to mention is called the Endeavor campaign. In a way, that campaign was the catalyst that prompted our look into our mission, values, and outcomes. Back in 2023, we made major repairs on this part of the building, upgraded to HVAC here in the sanctuary, offices, and foyer; redid all the lighting in the sanctuary, and upgraded our display. The total cost of that was just under $1.7M. In just that amount of time, we’ve paid it down to just under $290K through the faithful giving of folks in the church. That campaign is not in the annual church budget: all of the payments are offerings above and beyond budget giving. It’s just one way that you might consider giving in a special way financially to the church.
Baptism
Church membership
Prayer
PRAYER
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks
Neighboring Moments:
Took food to a sick neighbor
We live next door to a 91-year-old man and his daughter. His daughter went on vacation, leaving him home alone. In her absence, we make it a point to check on him every day. Tomorrow we are taking a meal over to him.
Bible reading (Lev 23, Ps 30, Ecc 6, 2 Tim 2)
Pastor’s Study tonight: Starting Jesus’s words about loving our enemies in Matt 5:43-48.
Churchwide Dinner/Prayer Meeting: Prayer meeting finishing third week on three related Jehovah compounds as we consider the Divine names.
Instructions for guests
Benediction
Benediction
Also a little long, but such a great way to end today’s service.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all. 12 Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand.
