Exodus 31:1-11 (NIV)

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— ⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. ⁶ Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: ⁷ the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— ⁸ the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— ¹⁰ and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

Creativity 

I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship. -Exodus 31:3

God breathes through us so completely...

so gently we hardly feel it... yet,

it is our everything.

Thank you God.

ELATION—ELEGANCE—EXALTATION

All from God.

Thank you God. Amen.

 -John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, 1964

Craft 

1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 

“Effective stewardship leads to generative work and a generative culture. We turn wheat into bread and bread into community. We turn grapes into wine and wine into occasions for joyful camaraderie, conviviality, conversation, and creativity. We turn minerals into paints and paints into works that lift the heart or stir the spirit.”-Makoto Fujimura

Beauty 

“We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer.” -St. Francis of Assisi

May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity.

May the wonders of the earth call you forth from all your small, secret prisons and set your feet free in the pastures of possibilities.

May the light of dawn anoint your eyes that you may behold what a miracle a day is.

May the liturgy of twilight shelter all your fears and darkness within the circle of ease.

May the angel of memory surprise you in bleak times with new gifts from the harvest of your vanished days.

May you allow no dark hand to quench the candle of hope in your heart.

May you discover a new generosity towards yourself, and encourage yourself to engage your life as a great adventure.

May the outside voices of fear and despair find no echo in you.

May you always trust the urgency and wisdom of your own spirit.

May the shelter and nourishment of all the good you have done, the love you have shown, the suffering you have carried, awaken around you to bless your life a thousand times.

And when love finds the path to your door may you open like the earth to the dawn, and trust your every hidden color towards its nourishment of light.

May you find enough stillness and silence to savor the kiss of God on your soul and delight in the eternity that shaped you, that holds you and calls you.

And may you know that despite confusion, anxiety and emptiness, your name is written in Heaven.

And may you come to see your life as a quiet sacrament of service, which awakens around you a rhythm where doubt gives way to the grace of wonder, where what is awkward and strained can find elegance, and where crippled hope can find wings, and torment enter at last unto the grace of serenity.

May Divine Beauty bless you.

John O’Donohue, from Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

CONNECT WITH GOD (Use the below practice or choose a practice from a different week.)

A Liturgy for Paying Attention

Spend some time in stillness, posturing yourself to receive the gifts before you in the present moment. Use this prayer as a way to enter into your alone time with God. With a posture of openness, receive the gift of paying attention.

Oh Christ who lingered,

who listened, who welcomed interruption,

let us be generous with attention. 

Busyness tricks us into scarcity,

into clutching on to time as if we could lose it. 

Distracted by yesterday’s failures and tomorrow’s fears,

we forget the gift of today.

We long to stand attentive,

to be startled by creation again,

to be astounded by what has faded to familiarity. 

May we take notice of the lives we have been given. 

May we tune our ears when a friend speaks,

make eye contact with strangers,

touch fields of flowers,

become students of trees. 

May our focus be always on You, looking for Your finger-

prints in the world,

for to stay curious is to stay present. 

May awe be the filter through which we experience the ordinary.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Before beginning your time in the message and scripture passage, consider sharing together: How does creativity show up in your life? Do you consider yourself a creative person? 

TIME FOR PERSONAL AND SHARED REFLECTION 

Alone and Together: Read Exodus 31:1-11. Take time to reflect broadly on the passage, jotting down any questions or curiosities you have about the context and the story. Then, reflect and journal with the following prompts as guides:

• How does beauty help us feel closer to God?
• What does it mean that our work can be part of God’s creative work?

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read the passage again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.  

• Review the main points from the sermon outline. 
• What are you noticing about the themes in this message series so far? 
• Take time to understand the context of Exodus 31 and what’s happening during this period for the Hebrew people. 
• Why do you think God chose to name specific people for this work?
• How does this passage challenge any preconceived notions or assumptions you have about valuable gifts in the church? 
• What do we learn about God’s character from the way God cares about craftsmanship and beauty in the construction of the tabernacle?
• What does creativity and craftsmanship have to do with "unleashing ministry”? 
• What are some ways SBPC can use people’s different gifts to serve God’s purposes?

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: explore the below quote, in connection with the passage and message.

“When I pray I speak to God; when I study the Scriptures, God speaks to me. But when I create, I participate in the divine act of creation.” -Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man

PRAYER 

Close your time together by praying alongside the final words of the liturgy you began with during time alone with God. The below excerpt from A Liturgy for Paying Attention (Liturgies for Wholeness by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore).  

Lay claim to our lives again

so we can 

attend fully to this moment. 

Slow our pace and settle

our spirits

so we may bear witness

 to beauty,

to details in the myriad of stories around us. 

May our attention feel more like a prayer that never ceases,

like a rope that tethers us to You. 

We lay down our need to perform and produce,

and choose to dawdle in nature,

to lengthen conversations,

to linger with neighbors,

to stroll instead of sprint,

to believe time is oil we can pour out on You. 

Amen.