Object: An offering plate.

Good morning, boys and girls. If we were to list the most important parts of our worship service, we might begin with the sermon, the singing of hymns, the reading of the Scripture, or the time we spend in prayer. Probably we would not list the offering. There are lots of jokes told about taking up the offering in church. A lot of people look at the offering as a necessary evil. We need money to run our church, so we take up an offering.

Have you ever thought, though, that the offering may be the most important time in the worship service? The hymns allow us to sing our praise to God, that's true, but they also speak to us about God's l…