Key Scriptures: Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
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Lesson One: My sacrifice is me and mine—becoming You and Yours.
• The sacrifice God is looking for is not simply something I possess—it is my whole life.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”
Teaching Truths
• The cross changes the way I understand ownership. What I thought was me and mine begins to become You and Yours.
• Jesus did not simply die to give me a ticket to heaven. He died to make me holy and to change the direction of my life.
• Hebrews says that Jesus suffered outside the city gate “to make the people holy through His own blood.”
• Because Jesus died for me, I no longer belong at the center of my own story.
• The question is not simply whether I believe Jesus died for me. The question is whether I am convinced enough by His sacrifice to stop living for myself.
• My plans, preferences, relationships, possessions, reputation, future, and desires all come under the lordship of Jesus.
• This is a whole-life sacrifice. I am saying, “God, my life is not mine—it is Yours.”
Application: Search your heart for the places where me and mine still dominate. Ask: What am I unwilling to surrender to Jesus? What part of my life am I still trying to control? Bring it to the altar and pray, “God, I want my life to be about You. All of this is Yours.”
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Lesson Two: My sacrifice is my gifts and my time.
• God has given me gifts, abilities, opportunities, and time—and worship means offering those things back to Him for His purposes.
Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Teaching Truths
• God has gifted every one of us differently.
• Some of us are good with our minds. Some with our hearts. Some with our hands. Some with people. Some with organization, finances, teaching, hospitality, technology, music, cooking, fixing things, listening, or encouraging.
• These abilities are not simply things I possess—they are opportunities to worship God.
• Paul describes our worship as latreia—serving into the worship and purposes of God.
• My work, my family, my church, my gifts, and my time can all become acts of worship.
• I don’t simply ask—what am I good at?…I ask—how can I use what God has given me for his glory?
• Time is also a gift. God gave me breath, days, opportunities, and relationships. I can bring those things back to him.
• Serving God is not supposed to be an optional addition to Christianity. In light of God’s mercy, it is our reasonable response.
Application: Ask yourself—what has God put in my hands that I can place on the altar? Maybe it is teaching a class, serving children, helping with an event, visiting someone, praying with people, using a practical skill, welcoming someone, encouraging someone, or simply giving God more of your time.
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Lesson Three: My sacrifice is my prayer and discipleship.
• Discipleship is the process of becoming more like Jesus by learning from him, following him, obeying him, and helping others follow him and become like him.
Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Teaching Truths
• At its most basic level, a disciple is a learner, student, or pupil—someone who attaches himself to a teacher in order to learn from that teacher.
• A disciple doesn’t simply want to know what the teacher knows. A disciple orders his life around the teacher’s instruction in order to become like the teacher.
• Discipleship requires a willingness to be taught.
• I am not simply bringing Jesus my goals, thoughts, desires, and opinions and asking Him to bless them. I am bringing myself to Jesus and saying—teach me to become like You.
• Prayer is part of discipleship because prayer is about knowing God, surrendering to God, listening to God, and aligning my life with God’s will.
• Prayer requires time, attention, quiet, and a willingness to stop long enough to say—God, I need You. Lead me, change me, and guide me.
• Prayer changes my posture from God, bless what I’m doing—to God, show me what You are doing. I want to be part of it.
• Discipleship also means coming alongside other people and helping them become more like Jesus.
• Jesus did not tell us simply to make church attenders—he called us to make disciples.
Application: Sacrifice some comfort for prayer and discipleship. Join the prayer gathering, come to a Bible study or Sunday class, sit down with someone and open scripture together, invite someone into your home and pray together. Ask God—who are you teaching me to become, and who are you asking me to help become like Jesus?
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Lesson Four: My sacrifice is my goods and my goals.
• The cross changes the way I see what I have—and it changes what I want to do with the future God has given me.
Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money.”
Teaching Truths
• Our goods reveal what we value.
• When I follow the trail of my treasure, eventually it leads to a throne.
• Giving is not simply about money—it is about what has captured my heart.
• The reasonable response to the sacrifice of Jesus is to gladly invest in his kingdom.
• The altar is not only for my possessions—it is also for my goals. I have things I am aiming for, working for, dreaming about, and hoping for…worship means being willing to put those things on the altar.
• I don’t surrender my goals because I don’t care about them—I surrender them because I trust God more than I trust my own plans.
Application: Follow the trail of your money, time, affections, thoughts, passion, energy, and pursuit. Where does that trail lead? Who/what sits on the throne? Then bring your hopes, dreams, desires, and goals to God and pray—your way, not mine. I want my life to count for you.
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Conclusion: What are you bringing to the altar?
Hebrews 10:14, “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Hebrews 10:19-25, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds—not giving up meeting together…but encouraging one another…”
Teaching Truths
• Our sacrifice does not earn God’s mercy—our sacrifice responds to his mercy.
• Jesus made the first and greatest sacrifice. He gave himself to make us holy. Because of his sacrifice, we now have the privilege of bringing our lives to the altar.
• The question is not whether Jesus is worthy. The question is whether my life reflects that I believe he is worthy.
• What is my gift today? What do I want to put on the altar before the King?
• I don’t want to offer God worship that costs me nothing.
Final Application: Take inventory of your life. What is God asking you to place on the altar?
