We celebrated Veterans’ Day honoring the veterans among our membership and many guest veterans with a steak dinner. We then opened our meeting with a full color guard flag ceremony followed by prayer and pledge. Next we allowed all veterans present to introduce themselves and the military branch they served under. Following this, we observed some stories, videos and music of service members honoring their service and contributions to defending our country. Finally, we had a moment to honor KIA and MIA veterans lost in foreign conflict, those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our message this evening was led by a veteran and one of our own Men of Steel, Romero Lopez. Romero taught on the value of service and sacrifice as an act of love and obedience to God. Examples were provided of service members giving their lives to save others and scriptures were provided to explain how sacrifice is an outward expression of the inward change that comes from salvation.

Genesis 4:3-7
3. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.  4. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5. but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
6. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected?  7. You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

Genesis 22:9-10
9. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.  10. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

Romans 5:8
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

I Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

John 15:13
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Galatians 2:20
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.