A Communion Sunday...
Having just finished the series on our mission statement and being in the middle of Lent I happened upon a three week sermon series idea that is a bit odd for Presbyterians. The unofficial (but in my mind it is official) title of this series is "The Devil is Real and He Doesn't Like You." For three weeks we will look at the fact that Satan is a real thing- not an idea or a metaphore but an actual created being that rebelled against God and is opposed to God's purposes in the world and in our lives.
Sunday we looked at Genesis 3:1-10 as the foundation for this study through a sermon entitled "The Devil's in Your Garden."
1. We have an opponent who wants us to fail- to rob our glory, to tarnish God's image in us, and to choke God's breath out of us.
2. The Devil hasn't changed his playbook that much. In the garden God gave Adam a rule of law that was more freeing than restrictive. "You may eat of any tree... except this one." Satan, incarnate as a sepent, found Eve and asked, "Did God really say...?" This question pretends as though God's word is subject to revision. The devil's first ploy in the garden is to have us question the authority of God's word.
3. Once God's clear command was brought into question, Satan convinces Eve there there will be no consequence in her disobedience. "You will not die..." God becomes a liar in Eve's mind. Adam and Eve attempt to become God. Satan is obeyed. God is ignored. And the results? Shame, seperation, and death. The devil's second ploy is to convince us that adherance to God's word is simply humanity being duped by a cosmic kill-joy.
I left the pulpit to conclude the sermon. I walked to the table prepared with the Lord's Supper. And I spoke the gospel. Though death came to us through the tree in the garden, life comes to us through the tree of calvary. Genesis says, "she took some and ate..."- fruit that results in death. Jesus says "take and eat." - fruit born from his death that results in life.
The devil's in your garden. Hold fast to his word. Seize the fruit that gives life!
Pastor Scott
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