Of all the colors of Christmas, I suppose red is the most prominent. Look around you, in our beautiful sanctuary this morning. We see red bows, red lights, red paper ... even the paraments, the cross around my neck, and the ribbons I gave the youngsters today are red. But there is more of a meaning to the "red" of Christmas than all of these red things that surround us today.

Just as the green spoke to us of life two weeks ago, and violet or purple suggested the royalty of Christ last Sunday, today red has a special meaning, too. I alluded to it with the youngsters, but I want to take it one step further with all of you. God’s Word sheds some light on this meaning of sacrifice, and I’d like to look at fourteen verses of the 22nd chapter of Genesis, followed by just two verses, verses 16-1…