Sacrifice Hebrews9:27-28 07-05-09

Sermon 7-5-09 Sacrifice bb Hebrews 9:27-28
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Is your life a bit droll? Boring? Mediocre? Consider the concept of sacrifice

Sacrifice- who has done what for you?
My parents sacrificed to raise me, to send me to college
People sacrificed to build this church
Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac – Gen 22
Stephen served the widows, shared his faith, gave his life – Acts 6, 7
Moses- gave up what he wanted to do to give his life for God’s purpose
every great story has an element of sacrifice- that is what makes them great!

Whatever you want in life,
you must give up something to get it.
The greater the value,
the greater the sacrifice required of you.
Everything has a price.
There's a price to pay if you want to make things better,
and a price to pay for just leaving things as they are.
Nothing worthwhile ever comes easily.

The scripture says that man is destined to die. The word sacrifice asks us What do you do between the dates- the dash?

Joseph C. Rosenbaum tells the story of…..Mother is always there when you need her. She helps, protects, listens, advises and nurtures physically and morally. She makes sure that her family is loved 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. At least that's how I remember my mother, for the few precious years I was blessed to have her. But no words can describe the sacrifice she made out of love for me, her young son.
I was 19 years old, and I was being taken to a concentration camp with a large group of other Jews. It was clear that we were destined to die. Suddenly my mother stepped in and traded places with me. And although it was more than 50 years ago, I will never forget her last words to me and her good-bye look.
"I have lived long enough. You have to survive because you are so young," she said.
Most kids are born only once. I was given birth twice - by the same mother. - sacrifice

What is your life about? How do you measure it?

Sacrifice is an all too missing element in today’s world- today’s church
Convenience and entitlement are concepts have taken its place
Mantra of so many today is still, I want what I want when I want it.

[Life] Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.

I drove onto the beautiful 20 acre property, greeted by a pond, walking trails, flowers and trees. Bells chimes as I went into church and sat on the cushy pew.I sat in my normal spot. I watched as the sun came shining through the stained glass windows. The minister dressed in a shirt and tie opened the golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, "If any man will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow me."=Soren Kierkagaard, [edited]

David went to sacrifice at the threshing floor of Arauna: "I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing" (2 Sam.24:24).

Sacrifice is not a decision for only today. Great people live sacrificial lives

The scripture indicates that His sac was one for all
But in the world of humans, sac must be repeated
Unfortunate nature of keeping things on the right track
Hardwork, and yes wars.
There is no war to end all wars

Sacrifice is Exemplified in those who have made our nation great.
Pilgrims ½ - Revolution 25K - Civil war 625K- Antietam Sept 17 1862, 23K
Ww1 116K - Ww2- 407K

Last June 6th was the 65th anniversary of d-day – 4,391 allied soldiers died

Arthur Seltzer story,
on June 6, 1944, Arthur Seltzer was 19 years old. He still calls June 6th "the longest day of my life."

he was attached to the 29th Infantry. As they approached Omaha Beach at dawn the men on Arthur's landing craft signed a dollar bill — 36 signatures, a signal of their bond, a lucky dollar in Arthur’s pocket. Minutes later they were in the water.

"We were in the 3rd and 4th wave going in," says Arthur, "and we were told not to go out the front of the ship but to go over the side of the ship so I had 60 pounds of equipment on my back, soldiers had their stuff and so over the sides we went. I can't swim. I wasn't worried about getting shot, I was worried about not drowning. When we finally got to the beach there was no craters for us to hide in and naturally machine guns up there were firing. "each soldier was thinking, where can I go to be saved, where can I hide, where can I be that I won't get hit."

Units were scattered all over the beach. later on that day he saw the sergeant whose idea it had been to sign the dollar bill, Out of the 36 to sign the bill "He says, 'You and I are the only two that survived from that landing craft,'

Arthur went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge, and on April 29, 1945, Arthur, who is Jewish, was with the American troops who discovered the Dachau concentration camp.

Seeing the poor, starving people, everyone understood what the sacrifice was for.

Arthur says, "Every June 6 the first thing I do is put my flag out." I struggle with the memories. " you don't forget the friends you lost when you served over there you don't forget the people who gave their lives to make this country free."

transition to the video=-=-
in the movie saving private ryan, 8 soldiers are sent to locate pvt james ryan, the sole surviver of 4 brothers, 3 of whom died on d day. by the end of the movie, ryan is found and saved, but most of the original 8 have perished in the cause. The movie closes with the young ryan, becoming an old man, looking back on his life, he considers their sacrifice. Lets watch.

Video clip

We who are inspired by others must remember that they who went into battle with a cross in their pocket.
Our ultimate example of sacrifice is Jesus Christ.
His sacrifice not only teaches us – informs us, sets an example
but his sacrifice save us from our sins.
On the cross he did for us that which no one could do for themselves

Andrew Jackson: Quotes: Sacrifice
You must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing
Jesus paid the price to secure a blessing for you and me.

In the Christian faith, There is no earning it. Salvation is a gift.
We kneel at the cross in thanks for the amazing gift
Jesus died –
Once for all
To bring salvation
He sets the example for us
He makes a way for us to salvation in this life and eternity in the next

What do you wish to accomplish in your life?