In today’s Gospel (John 1:29-42), upon seeing Jesus, John the Baptist declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus was the Lamb slain as a sacrifice, and in doing so Jesus saved the whole world.
Pastor Eric asked if we are the people of the Lamb, then what does sacrifice mean to us today? The resounding answer is…LOVE! Members of the congregation were invited to suggest love songs for our musicians to play. Pastor Eric sang a song of Jesus’ love to the kids during the Children’s Sermon. And our PraisRing bell choir performed “Will You Come and Follow Me”, a hymn describing the sacrifices we face when we are called to reach out with love (ex: “leave yourself behind, to care for cruel and kind”; “use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around”).
Pastor Eric assured us that we will be someone’s sacrifice because that is how love works. Love requires sacrifice. We were asked to consider how we are doing with our loving sacrifices…with our families, with St. Mark, with our community and in the world.
To listen to the Gospel and sermon, click the link below.