The Sacrifice Of Praise

THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

“Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.”

Hebrews 13:15 NASB

What is your favorite food aroma? Apple pie. Turkey baking in the oven or deep far fried. Steak on the grill. Gumbo. (I’m gonna make you hungry today!)

I directed or preached at least one week of youth camp a year, every year, for thirty years. Several of those years were spent at Camp Sharon on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. We had an open-air dining hall that wafted the smells of camp food all over the twenty-two acres! And Kathleen was a great cook! When it was lunchtime or supper time, the campers were ready because they had smelt it for hours!

Kathleen made the greatest homemade yeast rolls! You know, the kind you knead and let rise and knead and let rise! An open-air kitchen in 100-degree weather on a lake with 90 percent humidity is perfect for that yeast to do its good work! And when they’re baking, the aroma was heavenly across the camp and the Lake! The neighbors who lived in condos across the lake from the camp would come stand on their decks to inhale the sweet smell! (Are you hungry yet?)

Since I was Camp Director or Camp Evangelist, Kathleen gave me executive privilege! When the first batch of those yeast rolls were done, she would slather butter all over one and give it to me! With sweat pouring off my face from the heat of the kitchen and butter drooling from my lips and the chew of that yeast roll in my mouth, I was in hog Heaven! (Hungry yet?)

When I was growing up, my home church had a Sunday School picnic every year. That was the time when the ladies of the church shined with their culinary skills! And everyone shared in the bountiful buffet!

Imagine it being the day of the picnic and you get up and go to the kitchen to get your shared dish ready. The only problem is that the cupboard is bare! All you can find is one piece of aging baloney, two slices of stale bread, and just enough mustard in the jar to get it all over your knuckles! You can’t get anything else because there’s not time and not only is the cupboard bare but so is the pocketbook! So you make your baloney sandwich, put it in a lunch bag, and head to the picnic!

You sneak down to the end of the table away from everyone else with your bag, hoping no one will notice. You try to act thankful while the preacher asks the blessing! As you open your bag, here comes Sis. Robertson hurrying with her family and food to park themselves next to you! And she is a great cook...fried chicken, corn, green beans, apple and cherry pies, and yeast rolls!

(Are you hungry yet?)

As she is making her children plates, she sees you and your baloney sandwich. Sis. Robinson says to you, “Here, let me give you some chicken!”

You say, “No, I’ll just eat my sandwich.”

Sis. Robertson says, “You know, we really like baloney sandwiches and wish you would share what you brought with us and we’d be glad to share ours with you!”

And before you can say a word, she has taken your baloney sandwich, cut it in pieces for her family (and the trash), and made you a plate of all that good food! Although you came like a pauper, you are feasting like a king!

“Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.”

Hebrews 13:15 NASB

God told the Israelites preparing for the Promised Land that they were to offer three kinds of sacrifices: sin offerings, burnt offerings, and peace or fellowship offerings. All have similarities and differences. The peace or fellowship offerings were given in celebration of peace with God! One type of fellowship offer was a thanksgiving offering.

It was the most elaborate and costly of all the offerings. We should always be extravagant in Thanksgiving! Three types of bread were to to be offered, both leavened and unleavened! Two sections of the sacrificial beast were to be offered in specific ways: after the giver placed their hands on the head of the sacrifice during the slaughter, the breast was to be waved before the Lord and then the right thigh was to be lifted or heaved up to God, forming the symbol of a cross! After the entire animal was roasted on the altar, it was to be returned to the giver with this stipulation: it had to be eaten entirely the day it was offered! No leftovers, for that would be offensive to God!