Where's the Altar and Where's the Sacrifice?

Devotional

Day 1: The Altar is Golgotha’s Hill

The cross stands as the ultimate altar where blood was shed once for all. This isn’t abstract theology—it’s the gritty reality of a slaughtered Savior securing forgiveness. Jesus’ death wasn’t symbolic theater but the violent, loving act that answers humanity’s deepest need. His sacrifice fulfills the Old Testament pattern while abolishing the need for further offerings. The cross transforms “Where’s the beef?” into “Behold the Lamb.” [48:21]

“Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
(Hebrews 9:28, ESV)

Reflection: What specific sin or burden feels too heavy to carry today? How does the finality of Christ’s sacrifice on Golgotha’s hill reshape your approach to guilt?

Day 2: Your Life as a Living Sacrifice

The altar isn’t confined to ancient stones or church furniture—it’s your commute, your kitchen, your cubicle. Every surrendered moment becomes worship when offered intentionally. Unlike Old Testament sacrifices that ended in death, believers are called to present their breathing, working, laughing selves as ongoing offerings. This transforms ordinary spaces into holy ground. [52:45]

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
(Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you most struggle to view your daily routine as sacred space? What one practical step could make your workplace or home feel more like an altar this week?

Day 3: The Church Altar as a Place of Transformation

Those wooden rails soaked with tears and prayers are battle stations for surrendered hearts. Here, addicts break chains, marriages resurrect, and prodigals return. It’s not about the furniture but the spiritual transaction—the moment self-will meets divine grace. Like Chuck Colson kneeling in a prison cell, true altars exist wherever knees bend and lives change. [01:01:30]

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
(Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Reflection: When did you last physically kneel in surrender? What hesitation keeps you from approaching your church’s altar rail as a tangible act of yielding?

Day 4: Wherever You Go, There the Altar Is

Cincinnati chili becomes communion when eaten with gratitude. Kroger aisles turn cathedrals when navigated with patience. The New Testament redefines sacred space—not as a location but a posture. Your altar moves with you because sacrifice isn’t about slaughtering animals but slaughtering pride, anger, and selfishness in real time. [54:17]

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task this week could become an act of worship if approached with intentionality? How would viewing your errands as altar moments change your attitude?

Day 5: Crucified with Christ, Alive in Him

The paradox pulses through every believer: death to self births true life. That Lutheran pastor was right—we do get paid for sinning, but Christ’s payment overrides our debt. His cross becomes our altar, His resurrection our empowerment. Living sacrifices don’t crawl off the altar because they’ve discovered the secret—dying with Him means rising with Him. [01:03:04]

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”
(Luke 9:23, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your “old self” still fights against daily crucifixion? How might embracing your identity as both sacrifice and conqueror change today’s struggles?

Sermon Summary

The question begins with plain old wordplay and a little food on the plate. Wendy’s once asked, “Where’s the beef?” but the real questions here are, “Where’s the altar?” and “Where’s the sacrifice?” The word altar matters because an a l t a r can truly a l t e r a life. Cincinnati style chili gives the shape as a “three way,” with the altar and the sacrifice considered first in objective biblical reality, then in personal spiritual experience, and finally in church sanctuary furniture.

An altar in the Bible is a place for sacrifice in the exercise of worship. More bluntly, an altar is a place for slaughter. Old Testament worship brings crops and gifts, but especially living, breathing beings whose blood is shed before God. Leviticus says the life of the flesh is in the blood, and the blood makes atonement for the soul. God never called for human sacrifice, and Jeremiah says such a thing never came into God’s mind. Pagan worship may have burned sons and daughters, but the Lord’s worship pointed toward atonement through blood without demanding that human beings slaughter one another.

The New Testament does not leave sacrifice behind. Hebrews says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The cross displayed in the sanctuary is not decoration. The cross says Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear again, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation. Golgotha’s Hill is the altar, and Jesus nailed there in innocence is the sacrifice. God asked no human slaughter from sinners, but yielded himself in the person of his Son. If sinners gave themselves, they could not save themselves, because the wages of sin are already death.

Romans 12 then turns the question toward personal spiritual experience. The altar is right where the believer is at any given moment, in the pew, at school, at work, at home, or at Kroger. The sacrifice is a life yielded to God, being transformed by the Holy Spirit, holy and pleasing to him. Danville First Church of God is not most accurately located on Harrisburg Road, but wherever its people go as living sacrifices.

Church furniture then becomes more than decoration. The high altar of the mass misunderstands Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, and the communion table remembers that sacrifice rather than repeating it. The altar rails, the old mourners benches, rightly picture the place where repentance, faith, tears, dying to self, and new life meet. Galatians 2:20 gives the heart of it: “I have been crucified with Christ,” and now Christ lives in the believer. Chuck Colson’s prison conversion shows the same pattern: repentance at the altar, transformation in Christ, and a life poured out for others.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Golgotha is the final altar The cross is not one altar among many, but the place where the whole meaning of sacrifice comes to its fullness. Christ does not need to be offered again, because his blood was shed once to take away sin. Forgiveness rests not on human effort or religious repetition, but on the innocent Son given by God himself. [48:03]
2. Blood reveals sin’s true cost Leviticus does not let worship become sentimental; the life is in the blood, and atonement requires life poured out. Sin is not treated as a small mistake that can be brushed aside with better intentions. The blood on the altar tells the truth that forgiveness is mercy, but never cheap mercy. [41:10]
3. The altar travels with obedience Romans 12 moves worship out of one religious moment and into the believer’s whole embodied life. The altar is wherever the Christian is, because the living sacrifice is offered in ordinary places and ordinary decisions. School, work, home, and the store become holy ground when a yielded life honors God there. [51:50]
4. True altars form transformed lives An altar rail is not magic furniture, but it is a faithful sign of repentance and faith. Tears, surrender, confession, and trust belong there because a sinner meets the finished work of Christ there. The point is not to leave a dead sacrifice behind, but to rise as a living sacrifice made new. [58:34]
5. Christ lives in the crucified life Galatians 2:20 names the deep exchange at the center of Christian living: self-rule dies, and Christ lives in the believer. The life that remains is not erased personality, but redeemed humanity animated by faith in the Son of God. The one who “loved me and gave himself for me” becomes the power and pattern of every surrendered day.

## [62:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:51] - Food, Words, and Wordplay
[37:19] - Where Is the Altar?
[38:44] - A Three Way Look at Altar and Sacrifice
[39:23] - The Biblical Meaning of an Altar
[41:10] - Blood, Atonement, and Old Testament Worship
[44:28] - Sacrifice in the New Testament
[48:03] - Golgotha’s Hill and Jesus the Sacrifice
[50:41] - Living Sacrifices in Daily Life
[54:47] - Church Furniture and True Altars
[58:34] - Mourners Benches, Repentance, and Faith
[63:41] - Chuck Colson and a Transformed Life
[65:49] - Invitation to the Altar
[69:12] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 12:1
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” [51:17]

Hebrews 9:22
“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” [45:24]

Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [01:02:44]

Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” [41:21]

Hebrews 9:28
“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” [46:30]

Observation questions

According to Leviticus 17:11, what is said to be in the blood, and what does the blood make atonement for? [41:21]
In Hebrews 9:22 and Hebrews 9:28, what two things are tied directly to blood and sacrifice: forgiveness of sins and Christ’s once-for-all offering?
What places were named as places where the altar can be found in everyday life? [53:12]
What actions were connected with coming to the altar rail or mourners bench in gathered worship? [59:03]

Interpretation questions

If an altar in Scripture is a place of sacrifice and even slaughter, how does that deepen the meaning of the cross beyond being a religious symbol? [40:00]
Hebrews 9:28 says Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. Why does the word “once” matter so much for how believers understand forgiveness and worship? [56:54]
Romans 12:1 calls believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. What does that suggest about worship being more than a church service or a private feeling? [51:48]
Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” What does that seem to mean for a person’s old way of living, deciding, and seeing themselves? [01:02:44]

Application questions

If the altar is wherever a believer is, where is it hardest right now to live as a holy and pleasing sacrifice to God: at home, at work, at school, or somewhere else? What makes that place difficult? [51:50]
The cross shows that forgiveness is not cheap. How does remembering the cost of Christ’s blood change the way a person confesses sin, takes sin seriously, or receives mercy? [48:03]
The altar rail pictures repentance, faith, yielding, and dying to self. What might “dying to self” look like in one concrete area of life this week? [59:20]
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Where does self-rule most often try to take back control in daily life: speech, money, habits, relationships, or plans for the future? [01:02:44]
A living sacrifice is offered in ordinary places, even at the store or on the job. What is one ordinary setting this week where Christ could be honored more clearly through patience, honesty, or love? [54:02]
Tears, repentance, and surrender are not signs of weakness in God’s presence. Is there anything being resisted before God right now that needs honest confession instead of delay? [01:02:21]
A transformed life does not stay at the altar and stop there; it goes out to serve others. What is one way God may be calling someone in the group to turn personal repentance into practical love for other people? [01:05:17]

Sermon Clips

84s

“So friends, I talked about this objective biblical reality. objective biblical reality in answering those two questions are this. Where is the altar? The altar is Golgotha's Hill. where is the sacrifice? The sacrifice is Jesus is nailed to a cross in innocence. But he becomes the blood sacrifice that we need for us to find forgiveness. How great is God's love for us? He asked us no human sacrifice of slaughter, But he yielded himself in the person of Jesus, his son, and he was slaughtered for us.”

69s

“It's a a place where there is some dying to self that takes place and living rise. These are the altars. And and, again, what's the sacrifice? The sacrifice is a life that's transformed in Christ. We come lost sinners, damned forever because of our wrongdoing. But at an altar through repentance and faith and trusting in the provision made when Jesus died on the altar of the cross, are forgiven. We're made new. And then in that newness of life, we can become the living sacrifice. God doesn't want dead sacrifices from us. He wants living sacrifices. And this altar, it it is, an emblem of where that transformation takes place.”

58s

“Now, you just take that that call that the apostle gives us. And you can ask the questions again. Where's the altar? Where's the sacrifice? And I say to you, the altar is exactly where any of us is at any given moment. Right here is the altar. where's the sacrifice? It's being transformed by the Holy Spirit's enabling, and me giving myself as a living sacrifice to follow God.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Danville First Church of God This sermon · AI assistant

What is the biblical meaning of an altar?

How does Christ's blood accomplish atonement?

What role do church altars play today?