The Cost Of A Priceless Gift
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series II, Cycle C
Object:
Sacrifice is not valued very highly by society. Those who give the most are often frowned upon as though something was wrong with them. Most people can only think about the bottom line and what is in it for them. The cost of any action, or anything for that matter, will depend upon the prize.
With that in mind, I want to talk about our relationship with God and how we can make it better. Sandi Patti sings a song that captures a beautiful vision of God watching over us from our earliest days. The words go like this:
I watch beside your cradle. Your face touched by the moon.I watch beside your cradle. Your face touched by the moon.
My heart just aches and trembles with my love for you.My heart just aches and trembles with my love for you.
This is one of the mental images that I conjure up when I think of God, the loving father, looking down in love, reaching out with hope, encouragement, strength, and salvation.
I can only imagine what the child sees when he or she looks up at the parent. You know we catch a glimpse of it in our own families. Just look at children as they look at their mom or dad or grandparents. Instinctively, children know there is love there. That love is so great that the adults would do anything for the children, even change dirty diapers. As a child looks out of his crib at his sister or brother, he sees a bright smile and knows he is not alone and never will be alone. It is the same way when we catch a glimpse of God. Our hearts are moved to respond to him.
If you believe in God, the loving Father, then you can't help but respond and do something. Offering praise to God is one of the greatest gifts we can give, because it says we believe God is worthy of our love and admiration. God is so good. We are blessed when we praise him even if we are in the midst of difficult times.
I want to take this idea of praise a little further today. I want to tell you that God is truly pleased and glad when we praise him. Hebrews says it clearly in chapter 13, verse 16, "... for such sacrifices [sharing and praise] are pleasing to God." When we put God first, praise him and offer ourselves to him, God overflows with joy. There are dozens of scriptural passages that tell us that praise pleases God. Think about the joy of the prodigal father as he hears his son tell him how much he missed him and how good a father he was.
The thought that our praise pleases God is awesome. It means that we have something to give back to God that will powerfully express our love to him. I'll never forget the first time each of my children said "Dada." To hear a child say your name, even if it is only babble as some wise guy may point out, moves us to excitement. The same is true when we speak God's name, Abba, Father, Lord, and God. God does somersaults in heaven. That is what the scriptures say. It pleases him when we offer a gift of praise. And what greater joy can we have than knowing we have pleased God?
But you know talk is cheap. Praise can be much more than words. Hebrews says it clearly, "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers." The author lists several things that reflect a generous way of life. When we think of praising and honoring God, we often think of it in the context of a worship service. In this passage, we are encouraged to think of it in a broader context. Praise arises out of the way we live our lives. If we let our faith lead us to reach out to others in love, then our lives become a gift that praises God. It is witness, consolation, help, and generosity. Words and songs cannot do it alone. They are important, but not sufficient. Praise is works and deeds. Praise without action is easy. Praise with action is wholehearted worship, whole-life stewardship, and whole-gospel discipleship.
With that definition in mind, it becomes clear that sometimes praise may mean we have to make a sacrifice. Again, I have to say that sacrifice is not a popular word in our culture. In baseball there is a play called a sacrifice. The batter bunts and gives up his opportunity to get to first base so that the other runners can move ahead. That is the call of Christ. Giving yourself for the sake of the Lord. Have you ever read the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi? It goes like this:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is despair, hope;Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is sadness, joy;Where there is sadness, joy;
Where there is darkness, light.Where there is darkness, light.
O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled,O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;as to console;
Not so much to be loved, as to love.Not so much to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Could Mother Teresa have blessed the world the way she did without sacrifice? She literally gave up everything she had and lived with the poorest of poor. She had no life but their life.
Could Billy Graham have witnessed to the gospel over these many years without sacrifice? I have been reading his autobiography and I am stunned by how much he sacrificed for God. He was always on the road. He was preaching to thousands and bringing them hope and salvation. He offered himself to God and God used him. In order to do so, he had to leave Ruth and the children home most of the time.
Tim Kimmel tells the story of love. In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden of Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some twenty years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here's what he said: "I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls." She knew how to live a life pleasing to God.
Catherine Lawes was a young woman with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn't stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went ... walking into the gym with her three beautiful children, she sat in the stands with the inmates.
Her attitude was: "My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don't have to worry."
She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind, so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, "Do you read Braille?" "What's Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later, he would weep in love for her. Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921-1937.
Then she was killed in a car accident. The next morning, Lewis Lawes didn't come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, meanest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, "All right men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight." Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, three-quarters of a mile to stand in line and pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in that night. Every one.
When you live a life of praise before God, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice -- it seems like a blessing. Ask Billy or Mother Teresa or Catherine Lawes, and they will tell you it wasn't a sacrifice at all. In fact, they were blessed by their choice. Think about your own relationship with your children or grandchildren. You make sacrifices for them, and you do it out of love. It is as though you were offering your life to God.
Have you thought about this as a way to worship and praise God? It is a special way to make an offering to him. The words, "Let us offer," in scripture are giving-talk. The words, "fruit of lips," recall the Old Testament teaching of firstfruits. "Sacrifice" and "sharing with others" also clearly refer to giving. This praise passage about offerings in Hebrews 13 connects the importance of spiritual giving and tangible praise. Praise and offering come together as gifts we give to God.
Firstfruits describe giving God the very best of our time, talent, energy, thoughts, witness, and money. Today, we have an opportunity to make a statement and to praise God by offering him our very best, the firstfruits of our labor. There is a cost involved but before you begin questioning that, I ask you, "What is the cost of the priceless gift God gave us?" We give not because we have to, but because we want to respond to what God has already given us.
You know we need to praise God.
As I think about God's best gift to us, I think of Jesus Christ. God so loved us that he gave us his only begotten Son. Every year during Advent, we sing carols that tell of his lowly birth. We picture that tiny babe of Bethlehem and remake how cute he is. We feel good, because babies always make us feel good. But we need to remember that with Advent comes a foreshadowing of Good Friday, a reminder that his purpose was all about sacrifice.
I want you to think about your relationship with Jesus Christ. How has he blessed you? Has he been there in your trials and in those moments when you have needed a rock to hold onto? Think about the story of Calvary. He told you that his body was given for you, broken for your sin as an offering to God. He told you his blood was poured out as an offering to seal the new covenant of eternal life. Jesus gave us his best gift and then he promised that it was just the beginning.
How are you going to respond to that? How will you offer your first gift of praise? Will you declare that you will come to worship him at church regularly for the next year? Will you declare that you will find a ministry that you can get involved with and take a lead so that your offering can bless others? Will you pick up your Bible and choose to read it regularly and even consider joining a Bible study so you can learn more about all of God's promises? Will you offer yourself to God and let him use you to bless your family, by promising to spend more time at home and with your children? Many of us have dedicated our homes to Christ and godly life. Will you find a way, a unique way that only you can find, to praise God in the coming months? Each of us was created in the image of God and yet we are each a unique individual with gifts given by God. Use your gifts to honor and praise God. Amen.
With that in mind, I want to talk about our relationship with God and how we can make it better. Sandi Patti sings a song that captures a beautiful vision of God watching over us from our earliest days. The words go like this:
I watch beside your cradle. Your face touched by the moon.I watch beside your cradle. Your face touched by the moon.
My heart just aches and trembles with my love for you.My heart just aches and trembles with my love for you.
This is one of the mental images that I conjure up when I think of God, the loving father, looking down in love, reaching out with hope, encouragement, strength, and salvation.
I can only imagine what the child sees when he or she looks up at the parent. You know we catch a glimpse of it in our own families. Just look at children as they look at their mom or dad or grandparents. Instinctively, children know there is love there. That love is so great that the adults would do anything for the children, even change dirty diapers. As a child looks out of his crib at his sister or brother, he sees a bright smile and knows he is not alone and never will be alone. It is the same way when we catch a glimpse of God. Our hearts are moved to respond to him.
If you believe in God, the loving Father, then you can't help but respond and do something. Offering praise to God is one of the greatest gifts we can give, because it says we believe God is worthy of our love and admiration. God is so good. We are blessed when we praise him even if we are in the midst of difficult times.
I want to take this idea of praise a little further today. I want to tell you that God is truly pleased and glad when we praise him. Hebrews says it clearly in chapter 13, verse 16, "... for such sacrifices [sharing and praise] are pleasing to God." When we put God first, praise him and offer ourselves to him, God overflows with joy. There are dozens of scriptural passages that tell us that praise pleases God. Think about the joy of the prodigal father as he hears his son tell him how much he missed him and how good a father he was.
The thought that our praise pleases God is awesome. It means that we have something to give back to God that will powerfully express our love to him. I'll never forget the first time each of my children said "Dada." To hear a child say your name, even if it is only babble as some wise guy may point out, moves us to excitement. The same is true when we speak God's name, Abba, Father, Lord, and God. God does somersaults in heaven. That is what the scriptures say. It pleases him when we offer a gift of praise. And what greater joy can we have than knowing we have pleased God?
But you know talk is cheap. Praise can be much more than words. Hebrews says it clearly, "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers." The author lists several things that reflect a generous way of life. When we think of praising and honoring God, we often think of it in the context of a worship service. In this passage, we are encouraged to think of it in a broader context. Praise arises out of the way we live our lives. If we let our faith lead us to reach out to others in love, then our lives become a gift that praises God. It is witness, consolation, help, and generosity. Words and songs cannot do it alone. They are important, but not sufficient. Praise is works and deeds. Praise without action is easy. Praise with action is wholehearted worship, whole-life stewardship, and whole-gospel discipleship.
With that definition in mind, it becomes clear that sometimes praise may mean we have to make a sacrifice. Again, I have to say that sacrifice is not a popular word in our culture. In baseball there is a play called a sacrifice. The batter bunts and gives up his opportunity to get to first base so that the other runners can move ahead. That is the call of Christ. Giving yourself for the sake of the Lord. Have you ever read the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi? It goes like this:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is despair, hope;Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is sadness, joy;Where there is sadness, joy;
Where there is darkness, light.Where there is darkness, light.
O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled,O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;as to console;
Not so much to be loved, as to love.Not so much to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Could Mother Teresa have blessed the world the way she did without sacrifice? She literally gave up everything she had and lived with the poorest of poor. She had no life but their life.
Could Billy Graham have witnessed to the gospel over these many years without sacrifice? I have been reading his autobiography and I am stunned by how much he sacrificed for God. He was always on the road. He was preaching to thousands and bringing them hope and salvation. He offered himself to God and God used him. In order to do so, he had to leave Ruth and the children home most of the time.
Tim Kimmel tells the story of love. In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden of Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some twenty years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here's what he said: "I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls." She knew how to live a life pleasing to God.
Catherine Lawes was a young woman with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn't stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went ... walking into the gym with her three beautiful children, she sat in the stands with the inmates.
Her attitude was: "My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don't have to worry."
She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind, so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, "Do you read Braille?" "What's Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later, he would weep in love for her. Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921-1937.
Then she was killed in a car accident. The next morning, Lewis Lawes didn't come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, meanest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, "All right men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight." Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, three-quarters of a mile to stand in line and pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in that night. Every one.
When you live a life of praise before God, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice -- it seems like a blessing. Ask Billy or Mother Teresa or Catherine Lawes, and they will tell you it wasn't a sacrifice at all. In fact, they were blessed by their choice. Think about your own relationship with your children or grandchildren. You make sacrifices for them, and you do it out of love. It is as though you were offering your life to God.
Have you thought about this as a way to worship and praise God? It is a special way to make an offering to him. The words, "Let us offer," in scripture are giving-talk. The words, "fruit of lips," recall the Old Testament teaching of firstfruits. "Sacrifice" and "sharing with others" also clearly refer to giving. This praise passage about offerings in Hebrews 13 connects the importance of spiritual giving and tangible praise. Praise and offering come together as gifts we give to God.
Firstfruits describe giving God the very best of our time, talent, energy, thoughts, witness, and money. Today, we have an opportunity to make a statement and to praise God by offering him our very best, the firstfruits of our labor. There is a cost involved but before you begin questioning that, I ask you, "What is the cost of the priceless gift God gave us?" We give not because we have to, but because we want to respond to what God has already given us.
You know we need to praise God.
As I think about God's best gift to us, I think of Jesus Christ. God so loved us that he gave us his only begotten Son. Every year during Advent, we sing carols that tell of his lowly birth. We picture that tiny babe of Bethlehem and remake how cute he is. We feel good, because babies always make us feel good. But we need to remember that with Advent comes a foreshadowing of Good Friday, a reminder that his purpose was all about sacrifice.
I want you to think about your relationship with Jesus Christ. How has he blessed you? Has he been there in your trials and in those moments when you have needed a rock to hold onto? Think about the story of Calvary. He told you that his body was given for you, broken for your sin as an offering to God. He told you his blood was poured out as an offering to seal the new covenant of eternal life. Jesus gave us his best gift and then he promised that it was just the beginning.
How are you going to respond to that? How will you offer your first gift of praise? Will you declare that you will come to worship him at church regularly for the next year? Will you declare that you will find a ministry that you can get involved with and take a lead so that your offering can bless others? Will you pick up your Bible and choose to read it regularly and even consider joining a Bible study so you can learn more about all of God's promises? Will you offer yourself to God and let him use you to bless your family, by promising to spend more time at home and with your children? Many of us have dedicated our homes to Christ and godly life. Will you find a way, a unique way that only you can find, to praise God in the coming months? Each of us was created in the image of God and yet we are each a unique individual with gifts given by God. Use your gifts to honor and praise God. Amen.
