Pastoral Messages by Matriarch Elnette Edwards Dear family, True sacrifice costs us something valuable. It's easy to give from our abundance, to serve when convenient, to love when it's comfortable. But sacrifice gives when it hurts, serves when it's costly, and loves when it requires something precious from us. The ultimate example of sacrifice is Christ. He didn't give from excess—He gave everything. He left heaven's glory for earth's suffering. He endured the cross for our salvation. His sacrifice wasn't comfortable or convenient—it was excruciating and costly. Yet He did it willingly because love demands sacrifice. When David wanted to build an altar to the Lord, someone offered to give him the land and materials for free. But David refused, saying, "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." He understood that sacrifice without cost isn't really sacrifice—it's convenience dressed up as devotion. I...