1 Chronicles 29: 6-9, 17

6 Then the leaders … 7gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD ... 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD…

David said, "17All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you."

I praise You, O Lord
God my everlasting Father
Yours, O Lord is the greatness and power
and the glory and majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O Lord is the kingdom;
You are high and lifted up.
Riches and glory come from You;
You are the ruler of everything.
In Your hands are strength and power to build up.
Now O God, we give You thanks
and praise your glorious name.

Who are we that we should be able to give you anything? Everything comes from You, and we give only what comes from Your hand. You have given us all this abundance to build our church into a beautiful temple, full of ministers for Your Holy Name.

One stone does not make this ornate, palatial structure, or even a single wall. We are all living stones – valuable gems, precious treasures, each uniquely shaped for the sanctuary You will build. As we are intricately interconnected our efforts are multiplied and a holy and sacred palace will rise from the foundation of Jesus Christ. It all comes from Your hands and belongs to You.

Lord, may we freely, joyfully, wholeheartedly offer our private treasures to help build a glorious place to worship a consecrated and holy King. May every willing and skilled person go to work because every skill is needed. The job is enormous. We are young and inexperienced but You will not fail or forsake us until the temple is complete.

When people enter this holy place they will see Jesus as each of us ministers in our own unique way. They will see Him as we worship and serve You, our Father, with our whole hearts. We will be the bridges connecting people to You as we serve You and love others.

O Lord, keep this desire in our hearts forever, and make us loyal to You. Give Your children wholehearted devotion to keep Your commands and do everything to build a magnificently extravagant structure fit for a King, where people will want to come to praise You, and bow down before their Lord and King. Amen.

I would encourage you to read 1 Chronicles 28 & 29. I wonder what the church would be like if people responded the same way? What would happen if we ALL acknowledged God? What would be the result if EVERYONE served him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind? What would it be like if we desired to serve Him above all else? Envision the outcome if we came together, as strong living stones, to do the work we’ve been called to do? Imagine the temple we could build for our Holy God, if every believer in the church gave with heartfelt devotion all of their time, talent, and treasure to building for God’s Kingdom!

Your ministry is the spiritual sacrifice – the only living sacrifice acceptable to God. Offer yourself with wholehearted devotion, and a willing mind, and together we will build an ornate temple where people will meet the Living God and his precious Son, Jesus. If he can use young and inexperienced Solomon, he can use you and me!