I was a nerdy kid. When cool kids ask for presents, they ask for soccer goals, fancy bikes, really cool blue jeans and trips to football camp. They get cool stuff for stocking stuffers at Christmas...I got model rockets and science experiment kits. When I was 8 I asked for a set of Encyclopedias. Like I said, I was a nerdy kid.
Here is the funny thing. Encyclopedias used to be big business. They were expensive. They were also heavy. But you had to have them. When you had to write a report or show any type of knowledge, that was the first place you went. In 1993, Microsoft decided to fix part of the problem. They released Encarta, a CD-ROM based Encyclopedia. It quickly destroyed the competition, but at great cost. Microsoft hired an ARMY of folks with specialized degrees to write and maintain it’s content.
But when was the last time you used a traditional encyclopedia? When wikipedia burst on the scene the whole encyclopedia business changed. Why pay 1100 dollars or even 2000 dollars on a paper encyclopedia? Wikipedia is even more accurate than the Britannica. It does so because it leverages the skills of tens of thousands. Everybody can accomplish more than somebody. Any organization who success and mission revolves around volunteer knows this.
When Moses and the Israelites were called by God to build the tabernacle, the place of His holy dwelling, they were faced with a specific task. And God provided. The hearts of the people were stirred in order to fulfill the mission God gave them.
All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle, for the performance of its rituals, and for the sacred garments. Exodus 35:21
As our church grows, we are called to fulfill a specific mission. Tomorrow we will be thinking about one part of that and how each of us giving an hour a month can provide TREMENDOUS power towards what God calls us to do.
See you in church!
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