Background Story: Moses has led the people of Israel out of Egypt and now they are in the desert. Directed by God, Moses is working with the people to set up a tabernacle as a place for God’s presence to dwell.

Read Exodus 35:4-22

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ⁵ From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; ⁶ blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ⁷ ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; ⁸ olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁹ and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

¹⁰ “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded: ¹¹ the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; ¹² the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; ¹³ the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; ¹⁴ the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; ¹⁷ the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; ¹⁸ the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; ¹⁹ the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

²⁰ Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, ²¹ and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. ²² All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord.

Big Idea: God is calling us to regift our unique talents.

Have you ever regifted something? I do that a lot with gift bags. Someone gives me a birthday present in a gift bag and then I use that bag later in someone else’s gift.

In a similar way, God has gifted you with a unique set of talents, skills, and qualities. Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” We are not exact replicas of each other created to be vanilla… all the same. No, we were created to be unique… to be orange sherbet. God has placed a special spark, passion, ability, and purpose inside of you. You are a masterpiece made by God!

So what do we do with these unique gifts and talents God created us with? We regift them. We take our skills, talents and qualities that God entrusted us with, and we present them back to Him with an open hand for Him to use for His purpose and glory. Romans 12:5-8 says, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

God created YOU for Himself and will use your unique gifts, talents, and proximity to others for His purpose. Ask God today how He wants you to regift these talents for His glory.

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