Seminarian Charles Terpstra

(Rom. 15:26; II Cor. 8:9; I Cor. 16:1-3). Furthermore, our Heidelberg Catechism, in its treatment of the Fourth Commandment, enumerates the giving of alms as one of the basic elements of worship (along with the hearing of the Word, the use of the sacraments, and prayer). True offering is a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the gifts God has entrusted to us, and therefore belongs as part of the service of thanksgiving. It is proper to introduce the offering, either by referring to it as an act of...