In January, we introduced a new resource to help you prepare for the time of giving and taking communion in your Hope Avenue. These are meaningful formational practices that we can plan with care and intentionality.
How to Use This Resource
An outline is provided for you to use as a guide, followed by a sample script. Both the offering moment and communion can be presented as a short reflection before the congregation participates. Here’s how to use it effectively:
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- Scripture Reflection: Include the relevant Scripture to root the offering and communion in biblical teaching.
- Key Point and Invitation: Briefly highlight the theme’s key point and offer an invitation that connects the theme to the practice.
- Prayer: Include a short prayer that aligns with the theme. Invite God to bless the gifts and the givers. Ask God to bless the bread and the wine and the partakers.
- Logistics: Explain the process; this helps everyone know how they can participate. For giving, indicate whether baskets will be passed, if there are designated offering boxes, or if digital options like text-to-give or web giving are available. Clearly explain how the communion elements will be shared and that participation is voluntary.
- Encouragement: For the giving moment, invite congregants to reflect on their role in supporting the church’s mission, reminding them that their gifts impact both local and global ministry. For communion, encourage congregants to express gratitude for Jesus’ love poured out for us and the unity present in the body of Christ.
For more information, see Church Hack: Offering and Church Hack: Communion
Offering
February Theme: Generosity as Our Reputation
Scripture Focus: Philippians 4:15-16
Key Point: This offering moment reflects on the Philippians’ reputation for generosity. Like them, we want to be known as a welcoming and generous church that supports both the local mission and those serving around the world. By giving, we participate in the gospel and bless those who labor faithfully.
Invitation: Today, let’s give with open hearts, inspired by the Philippians’ example. May our generosity reflect the love of Jesus and be a blessing to all who encounter His church.
Sample Script (time: 2 minutes, not including giving instructions)
Christian congregations have a variety of expressions, and each has its own distinctions. The first century church in Philippi had a reputation — they were known as being a generous church.
In Philippians 4:15-16, Paul writes:
You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. (NRSVA)
The Apostle Paul was deeply grateful for this community. They supported his gospel mission in ways no other church did. Though Paul, as an apostle, had the spiritual right to receive offerings from the church, he often chose to provide for himself by making tents. In our denomination, we are likewise blessed by bi-vocational ministers who, like Paul, work both in ministry and other occupations. Today, we extend a heartfelt “thank you” to them. But their example also prompts a question: how can we, as their church family, come alongside them and help carry their financial burdens?
So today, let’s consider: What kind of church do we want to be known as? Are we known as a welcoming place where those seeking Jesus can find a home? Are we known as a church where the love of Jesus is not only spoken but lived out?
Let’s also consider the reputation of generosity the Philippians had. What would it look like for our church to be known for generosity that reflects Christ’s generosity? How can your gift today be a part of that legacy of compassion and care? May we give with open hearts, supporting the mission of the gospel and one another.
Communion
February Theme: Reconciled through God’s Faithful Deliverance
Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Key Point: Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we are forgiven and reconciled to the Father. Jesus’ resurrection is our deliverance from death and the promise of new life. Paul reminds us that in Christ, all will be made alive, reconciled, and renewed.
Invitation: As we take the bread, remember the life we have in Jesus. As we take the cup, remember the reconciliation and deliverance He has given us. Let us partake in gratitude for the faithful deliverance of our Lord.
Sample Script (time: 1.5 minutes, not including giving instructions)
As we continue through this season of Epiphany, we are reminded that because of Jesus’ resurrection, we are reconciled to Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul calls this truth “of first importance.”
2 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve.”
Jesus’ death gave us forgiveness, which gave us reconciliation. His resurrection gave us deliverance from the last enemy — death itself. Paul continues in this letter to believers in Corinth by saying, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
When we take the bread, we are reminded we have life in Him because He is the Bread of Life. And when we take the cup, we are reminded that we are delivered because of Him — His death brought reconciliation to all. All we are and will be is because of Jesus.
