10 Sermons Tagged "Sacrifice"

This is the second sermon from the 2023 Lent series "Why Must the Servant of the LORD Suffer?" Using the next two verses of Isaiah's prophecy about the LORD's servant, Pastor Schurman explains how Jesus suffered all forms of suffering in order to save mankind and so that the good news of free salvation through him would be spread across the world.

The apostle John records in the book of Revelation that many angels were saying in a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing." Why were the angels saying this about the resurrected LORD?

When Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain, which was the barrier to the most sacred part of the temple, was torn apart. Through the tearing of the curtain we see that Jesus is the High Priest and we are priests, so we have direct access to God and Christ is our intercessor. Jesus' death also got rid of the Old Covenant and brought us into the New Covenant.

Jesus' words and actions from when he first cleansed the temple are often misunderstood. It may seem like he was being excessive, or that he was being elusive when answering those who questioned him. However, we should use this account to remind ourselves that God is serious about sin and will not have the church distracted from his saving purpose. We should also remember that the true temple is the invisible church of all believers.

When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, it was not for God's knowledge or benefit, but for Abraham's. While the tests and hardships we encounter may not be as intense as Abraham's, we know that God uses them for our good to strengthen our faith and demonstrate to us just how strong our faith is.

We know from scriptures that the sacrifices given in the times of the Old Testament did not live; the animals were killed either just before or during the sacrifice. So how can we offer our bodies and our lives as sacrifices to God and still remain alive?

Jesus explains to the disciples that he came to serve, not to be served. His death and resurrection set us free from our sinful nature. Because we have been set free, we serve others our of love and thankfulness, and we share with them the joy of salvation.

Christ's sacrifice abolishes all of the sin offerings established in the Old Testament, and His sacrifice has also sanctified you once for all time.