Christ Memorial was a church plant of Salem Lutheran in Affton in 1948. Our history is God “sowing seeds” and “bearing fruit.” What will he grow in the next 75 years? Martin Luther once said, “Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.” We continue to plant seeds for coming generations of gospel multiplication. More people loved in Christ, more people sent into the world.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) O Lord, you see all things. Purify my heart that I may see you clearly. Amen.
Word: Hebrews 13:15
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
Meditation
What Shall I Sacrifice? by Susan Senechal
I’m going to be the first to admit it—I don’t really understand the concept of sacrifice. When I hear about how the Christian life is a life of sacrifice, I don’t, personally, know what that means. I don’t even like to share my chocolate chip cookies; what do I know about giving things up for God? How could anything I am able to give up possibly compare to Christians in some foreign countries who are willing to be tortured rather than denounce Christ?
A part of the traditional liturgy asks, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?” I mean, what can I possibly give back to God that even remotely matches all that he has done for me? Nothing.
Maybe the first part of sacrifice is just that—acknowledging that I have nothing to give. Everything I have comes from God, and he already “owns” the universe; he doesn’t really need anything from me, it’s already all his.
So, what can I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? The liturgy continues, “I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord.”
Hmmm—a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It’s easy to give thanks when things are going well–the spouse, the job, the kids all thriving. But what about when it’s not? When the job fails? The kids rebel? The spouse leaves, or dies? One of my most vivid pictures of a sacrifice of praise was at a funeral. Our friend’s husband died suddenly, almost inconceivably, despite prayers going up from the whole church. We were all shocked. Speechless. No one could understand why God would allow it. At Jim’s funeral we sang “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman. Janine had her hand raised high to God during these lyrics:
Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I’ll
Turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
A sacrifice of praise: lifting God’s name not just when things look rosy, but when others would tell us, as Job’s wife told him, “curse God and die.” (Job 1:9) When we realize that God will work everything for his good, somehow, even when we don’t understand it, and we feel like we will be taken down by it, we can offer a sacrifice of praise. Rather than enumerating all the ways we’ve been wronged, the hardships we’ve endured, the catalog of tragedies that would garner attention to us and draw others in in sympathy, we can call on the name of the Lord and praise his name for all he has done and all he will do, the things we have seen and the things that remain hidden. In fact, we can sacrifice our need to know, and simply acknowledge that God is God and we are not. And for him being God, we give him praise.
Heavenly Father, we praise your name when streams of abundance flow, and when we are walking in a desert place. When you give and even when you take away our hearts will choose to say “blessed be your name.” We offer you a sacrifice of praise. Amen.
Prayer for the World
· For my city, state, and country.
· For leaders: mayor, governor, president, congress.
· For those who serve the public: police officers, firefighters, teachers, first responders, medical personnel.
· For the nations of the world, for world leaders.
· For good government, good schools, good business.
· For justice, especially for the oppressed: minorities, immigrants and refugees, orphans, widows, the very young or unborn, the aged.
· For creation: for the care of land, air, wildlife, and sea.
Closing Prayer
King Jesus, your Kingdom comes by a cross. Help us to see your hidden work. Forgive our blindness to your activity. Have mercy on us. Renew us and lead us to walk in your ways until our life’s end. Amen.