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15meditation or singing ofliturgical responses, blessings or benedictions, and a fellowshipmeal. 27 Each ofthese features carries an inference ofgiving. Implications for Sundaymorning worship are evident in this propensity toward offering. Worship is a gift thatGod gives his children; we need to have a means ofresponding to him. Conversely, Goddesires our worship, which we give willingly, abundantly, and with excellence. In hischoice ofworship practices God allows for the giftedness ofhis people to be used for hisglory.A Place for God to DwellGod wanted a place to dwell among his people: "Then have them make asanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them" (Exod. 25:8). J. Carl Laney maintains,"This command made possible God's promise to restore Himselfto His people. SinceEden, humanity had wandered the world apart from the divine presence. Then at MountSinai, God returned His presence and reestablished the long lost relationship of a Creator-King to His subjects. The building ofa sanctuary as a place for His holy presence wouldenshrine His purpose to make His people a kingdom ofpriests.l''" For the Israelites thetabernacle "constitutes a change in the way God is present among them--ongoing ratherthan occasional; close, not distant; on-the-move, not fixed.,,29 Remarking that God'spresence in Israel is kingly, Dumbrell suggests that the presence ofthe tabernacle is a27 Andrew E. Hill, Enter His Courts With Praise: Old Testament Worship for the New TestamentChurch (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), 142.28 J. Carl Laney and John W. Schmitt, Messiah's Coming Temple (Grand Rapids: KregelPublications, 1997), 9.29 Birch, 133.