Sacrifice

Blood is life.

Without it we die, bodily.

Sin will also cause us to die, not bodily, but spiritually.

For our souls to live eternally they must be clean of our sins.  

Only life giving blood can do this. 

 Blood gives our body life on earth, 

Blood gives our soul life in eternity.

In ancient days to cleanse ourselves from our sins we would sacrifice something to God.  

A dove, a lamb, a calf. 

 The offering should be pure and your best.  

Just as you would never bathe in mud and expect to be clean, 

you can't sacrifice an unhealthy or blemished animal 

and expect your soul to be clean.

But when the right time in history came to be, 

God offered a sacrifice on our behalf.  

And it was the purest of anything that existed.  

It was Himself, His word becoming flesh in the form of His Son, to die for us.  

His blood to cleanse our souls from our sins.

Because God sacrificed His pure and sinless Son, 

nothing can match the cleansing of His innocent blood. 

 We are saved.

However, we are still expected to sacrifice.   

We are to die to self and put others first.  

We are to give up our pride, 

pursuit of popularity, 

money,   power, 

beauty

pursuit of things that are harmful to us 

(such as drugs, immoral sex)

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What do you bring to the alter in sacrifice to God?  

What do you give up?  

What part of you dies so you can follow Christ? 

 Pride? Pursuit of Popularity?  Immoral behavior?

Take up His Cross

Be a Blessing to Others

And Live