The Greater Sacrifice

This sermon explores the concept of ‘sacrifice’ from a biblical perspective. It begins by defining ‘greater’ and ‘sacrifice’, and then delves into the biblical meaning of sacrifice as an act of offering to God.

The sermon traces the practice of sacrifice in the Bible, starting with God’s act of clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins in Genesis 3:21, which implies the first sacrifice. This practice is seen to continue with biblical figures like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job.

Sacrifices were categorized into voluntary offerings (burnt, peace, meat, cereal) and obligatory offerings (sin offering, trespass offering). The animals used for sacrifice had to meet certain criteria, such as being clean, domesticated, and without physical blemish.

The sermon also discusses how sacrifices are misused in the world and cults for selfish desires and evil purposes, with a biblical example of the Moabite king sacrificing his son on the wall (2 Kings 3:27).

The sermon concludes with the concept of Jesus Christ as the ‘greater sacrifice’. The mandatory sacrifices in the Old Testament were precursors to this greater sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all, putting away sin and restoring fellowship with God (Hebrews 9:25-27, 10:19-31, 7:26-27).