One of the lessons we learn from Jesus about God, and from the whole Bible about God, is that relationship with him is more important than anything else. In our reading Jesus encourages us to pray for everything we need, to ask for our daily bread. We can trust in God to provide good gifts, in abundance, as long as we’re open in hand and heart to God. But we so often focus on money and possessions rather than on God. We sometimes give money more status than people in our lives, and so relationships are damaged.

God is generous. God wants us to be generous too. Rather than keeping it all for ourselves, God wants us to share with others all he gives us. Not to squander it, but to use it wisely in his service.

This doesn’t only apply to money - it’s our time, our energy, our talents, our love, our very selves that God wants us to share: our souls. God is rich towards us. God wants us to be rich towards him. Our spiritual welfare depends upon it. We wither spiritually if we’re greedy, or if we draw away from God in any way.

Today is planned giving Sunday, the time each year when we review our giving, and make whatever regular contribution we can toward the mission, ministry and maintenance of St Peter’s Church, the church we have inherited from those who have provided it for the last 125 years so that we are able to worship here. The deficit for the last two years due to the pandemic has wiped out our reserves. Our projected deficit this year is over £20,000. Costs are rising, and some banks have started to charge a fee for every transaction, and so the PCC have signed up to the Church of England’s Parish Giving scheme. If we contribute that way, we will reduce the costs to St Peter’s and administrative time. Please read the information and sign up to the scheme if you can.

We can’t know what will happen to St Peter’s in the future, or who will come here after us. But if we do our best to help it to keep going now by giving all we can, so that new generations of people find God in this place and grow in faith, we can hope and pray that those who inherit it from us will treasure it as we do.

The inheritance worth more than any is the one offered to us by Christ, eternal life in the kingdom of God. We can’t buy our way into it with money, or with possessions, or with anything but love: love of God and love of one another. The generosity of spirit this love produces means that as we are thankful, so we will share and inspire others to be thankful too.

Amen.

Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister