Sermon March 21 "The Devil Is Going Down"

This final sermon in this short series on the reality of Satan came from two texts: Ephesians 6:10-18, in which Paul admonishes the believers in Ephesus to put on the full armor of God so that they could stand against the devil’s schemes; and Revelation 22:1-6, in which John’s vision of the new Jerusalem includes the tree of life which humanity was barred from access to because of the curse.

Paul reminds us that there is a war going on! But it’s not against flesh and blood. It’s against the spiritual forces at work in the world that oppose the things of God. “Stand firm then…” is Paul’s big appeal. And he makes this appeal by telling them how to dress for the battle- like a Roman soldier.

Put on the belt of truth. Christ is the truth. The truth is that Jesus was who he said he was- the tomb was empty. This truth defines the whole of history and eternity.

Stand firm with the breastplate of righteousness- a tall order for sinful people. However, Paul explains to the Philippians that it is Christ’s righteousness not our own that defines us.

Our feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The sandals of a roman soldier were designed not for protection but swiftness. We ought to be swift in our willingness to advance the good news of Jesus Christ.

Take up the shield of faith so that the fiery arrows of the devil might not find purchase in our flesh. Faith, the gift of the gospel, is able to protect us when Satan would have us doubt the character of God and his affection for us as his children.

Wear the helmet of salvation. This is our hope that comes with the gospel- that God’s grip on us is eternal. We have been saved. We are being saved. We will be saved.

Wield the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. This is what Adam and Eve forgot in the garden and what Christ clung to in the wilderness. The Word of God is the weapon of those who would share in this victory over Satan.

And finally Paul gives one last admonition for those in the battle. Pray. Pray all the time. Pray for everything. Pray on alert. And keep on praying, not just for yourself but for all the saints in this battle with you. We must always be in communication with our command if we would stand firm.

We closed with this picture of the New Jerusalem in Revelation that shows us the outcome of this battle. God wins. The garden we were expelled from is where the New Jerusalem is built. The tree we were barred from is the one that gives nourishment to the nations. The curse is no more.

Good news! God wins and we are his. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. Stand firm.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon March 14 "The Devil's in Your Desert"

The Devil Is Real and He Doesn’t Like You

The second sermon in this series was entitled “The Devil’s in Your Desert”. This was a contrast in images from last week’s look at the devil in our garden. The primary text for this sermon was Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness from Matthew’s gospel 4:1-11. We also looked at what Peter says of Satan in 1 Peter 5:5b-11.

Although these temptations were uniquely messianic they do provide us with a basic scheme from God’s enemy. Life is a desert at times. Sickness, depression, poverty, worry, physical weariness… any of these things come to us in seasons- sometimes long seasons. In this state we become easier prey for our enemy the devil- that roaring lion. That’s why after 40 days of fasting Satan came to Jesus. He was weak, tired, lonely, seemingly broken- lion food.

It was then that Satan used 4 tactics that we would do well to be aware of when we are in the desert.

Scheme 1. He tried to get Jesus to question his identity. Jesus had just been baptized by John and heard the great affirmation. God the Father called out from the heavens "This is my son in whom I am well pleased." That's who Jesus was. But Satan's first two temptations begin with "If you are the Son of God..." It was an attempt to get him to question who he knew he was. Satan's first ploy against us in the desert is the same. Are you really God's child? If God really did care for you why this 40 days of trial and weakness? The truth is we are heirs with Christ- we are God's children and just like it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness, so too it is God who has led us into our own deserts- because the testing of our faith produces endurance that we may be made mature in Christ Jesus!

Scheme 2. Satan appeals to Jesus' most fundamental need at the moment- his physical hunger. "Turn these stones into bread." Satan would have our carnal appetite distract us from God's greater purposes. C.S. Lewis' demon Screwtape speaks of appealing to that part of his patient over which he had most control- his stomach. Tiger Woods "turned stones into bread" and fed his carnal appetite because he could. He became lion food.

Scheme 3. Satan appeals to that part of Jesus' humanity that was self-aware- his ego. "Throw yourself down off of the temple mount- let the world see how great you are." There is a part of us that longs to be noticed- to be recognized, to be honored in the eyes of others. There is an appetite for ourselves to be the objects of other’s envy. Satan would have us feed our ego just as he would have us feed our physical desires. Screwtape writes, “The Enemy [God] wants to bring each man to a state of mind in which he could build the best Cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in that fact, without being any more or less or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.”



Scheme 4. Satan appeals to that part of Jesus' humanity that would accumulate earthly glory and excercise power and dominion over others. "Worship me and the world is yours." The will to power is the poison of Satan. The first and worst place he makes this appeal is within the marriage. Satan would have us be people constantly striving for dominion over our own worlds. God, of course, would have us take the lowest seat at the table in order that we might serve.



So how do we withstand the schemes of the devil when he is in our desert? Jesus stood on the rock of the Word of God. How fitting that Jesus' retorts to Satan's temptations all came from the book of Deuteronomy! Deuteronomy was given to the children of Israel when? After 40 years of wandering in the desert where God had brought them right before going into the promised land!



Be alert! Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The devil is in your desert. Let us stand fast on the Word of God knowing that we are his.


Pastor Scott
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Sermon March 7 "The Devil's in Your Garden"

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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Sermon February 28 "Making Christ Known through Our Life Together"

Sunday was the final sermon in this series on our Church mission statement. The two texts we learned from spoke clearly about the most effective means of communication we have for making Christ known; namely, our communal life on display for the world to see.

We looked again at the Acts 2 passage that provides a concise snapshot of the life of the first body of believers in the gospel message. Weeks ago we mentioned that the four disciplines this early church was devoted to were scripture study, fellowship, worship, and prayer- our four keys to knowing Christ. What we looked at on Sunday was what those disciplines resulted in.

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The result was the transformation of the world around them as people were being redeemed from lives of sin into life in Christ. Their witness was their life together.

And why was this the case? We discovered that in the passage we read from John 17. Jesus prays, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message… may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me… may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Christ’s prayer was that the unity of those who would believe through the message of the apostles would bear witness to the world of God’s love for them in Jesus. The church does a disservice to the cause of Christ when we are divided over the trite and inconsequential. How we serve and sacrifice and honor one another within the body is the validity of our testimony; it’s the picture of our profession; it’s what makes our faith ring true for the lost around us.

In closing this sermon I drew attention to a prayer card that we printed. This business card on one side said, “________________ is committed to prayer for First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.”

And on the reverse side it had a prayer based on the mission statement we have been studying which reads, “Great God of love, give us a vision for your church. Show us how it is that we are to know you more fully. Reveal to us what it would mean for us to make Christ known both near and far. Through your Spirit we pray that you would do more in us and through us than we could ask or imagine for the sake of your kingdom and glory. In the name of Jesus we pray these things. Amen.”

Those cards were handed out to the congregation after both services. Lord, hear our prayer.

Pastor Scott

Sermon February 21 "Making Christ Known through Our Testimony"

On Sunday we discussed the role of our own personal testimony in fulfilling our mission of making Christ known. Our scripture texts were from Psalm 40:1-8 and Acts 22:3-16.

One of the most powerful ways that we share Christ with others is through the narrative of our own experience with Jesus. Our unique stories of encounter and redemption have the potential to speak into the suffering and difficulty of others. Through the vehicle of our story the Spirit speaks to others who need to hear that Jesus loves them not as a theological concept but rather as an actual event in our lives.

The conversion of Saul (depicted above in Michelangelo’s painting of that name) is the story of the most famous testimony in the world. It’s a story that Paul owns in Acts 22. With no shame he told of his evil and murderous ways as he persecuted “the Way.” Then Jesus interrupted him on the way to Damascus. He became Christian who was told by Christ to preach Jesus to the world. So he did.

Who he was. Where Jesus met him. How Christ changed his life.

The three essential components of a testimony. But a testimony is not relegated only to our conversion. Any experience of God’s work in one’s life is just a new chapter of a testimony that will grow until we reach glory.

That’s the picture we get in Psalm 40. “I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit… and placed my feet on a rock… Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

The Psalmist says where he was, tells how God met him with deliverance, and how his life was changed. All of this with idea that this deliverance was part of his story that he would tell so that many would "see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." That should be the hope of our own testimony. Your testimony is a story that should be shared because it is good news.

However simple or boring we may think our own experiences with God are (hey, none of us have a testimony like Saul/Paul), God wants us to share those experiences with others. At our Sunday evening service I passed out worksheets to encourage folks to write down and outline their own stories of God’s work. We heard some great testimonies that night! Here’s what the worksheets said:

Where you were… (the trial)
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city… I persecuted followers of this way.” Acts 22


Where Christ found you… (the redemption)
“He lifted me out of the slimy pit; out of the mud and mire.” Psalm 40


How your life was changed… (the new life)
“Therefore, if anyone was in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians

Ask God for opportunities to share your story with others. Watch his kingdom grow through such a simple thing.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon February 14 "Making Christ Known through Our Words"

Two Lucan New Testament passages were the focus of this sermon on making Christ known through our words. Luke 8:1-9 is where we read the parable of the sower. And in Acts 17:16-34 we find the story of the Apostle Paul in Athens as he waits for Timothy and Silas.

Last week we looked at “letting our light shine” as a means of making Christ known. But To let our light shine without telling people why it shines is like being in a boat and throwing a life preserver to a person drowning in the ocean- and then driving off in the boat leaving them there. They may no longer be drowning. But they’re not saved.

Paul tells the church in Rome, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”

That is why Jesus told the parable of the sower. We’re the farmer. The seed is the gospel. Every person you see is the soil. And eternity hangs in the balance; salvation on the one side and damnation on the other.

Our culture tells us that religions are simple different paths up the same mountain. But Peter in Acts 4 says this of Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." We are not responsible for the soil of the human heart. We are simple responsible to sow the seed of the gospel wherever we find ourselves.

That’s what Paul did when he found himself in Athens. He shared Jesus with those people. They called him a “babbler” as he spoke of the resurrection. That word “babbler” in Greek is the word “spermalogos”. Sperma- seed. Logos- word. They were accusing Paul of spreading seeds with his words! That is what we are called to do.

Paul spoke into the reality of the agnostic pluralism of the Greek culture there in Athens using their own idols and poets as the spring board for his proclamation. The result? Some scoffed and rejected him. Some said they would be interested in hearing more. And some believed the gospel and were saved. The path, the rocky ground, and the fertile soil.

At the end of this sermon there was an invitation to place your faith and trust in the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved as we prayed this prayer together:
“Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you died my death for me on Calvary. I believe you rose again to give me eternal life. I give my life to you. Give your life to me. Amen.”

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Pastor Scott

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Sunday, February 7 “Making Christ Known through Our Actions”

Our focus passage this Sunday came from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13-16. This is where Jesus calls his followers both salt and light. We also looked at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they resisted bowing down to the idol created by the king of Babylon.

There was a shift on this particular communion Sunday. Whereas our mission to Know Christ” has to do with the internal strength of discipleship, “Making Christ Known” has to do with the external focus of mission. The first dynamic we discussed in making Christ known was action- how we live.

Jesus called his followers salt and light. Both salt and light impact their environments. Jesus calls his followers salt and light- environment impactors- because he was salt and light. The most basic and fundamental way we make Christ known is by being salt and light in a bland a dark world through our actions- the way we live our lives bears witness to the one who has impacted us.

We discussed two primary ways that we can be environment impactors- salt and light- for Christ.

1. Resisting the ways of this world.
Our three friends from Daniel resisted what the culture was doing. The result was not only encountering God in a unique way but allowing King Nebuchadnezzar to see God’s glory as well.

The Greek word “ecclesia” translated “church” literally means “called-out-ones.” Being called out from our culture means to resist the patterns of this world for the sake of God’s glory.

2. Pursuing excellence in all we do.
Whatever we do, we are to do with our whole hearts as unto the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23). To illustrate this we looked at some edited clips from the movie Chariots of Fire. Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell understood this concept of pursuing excellence for God’s glory.

In one scene he tells his sister that he knows God has called him to ministry in China, but that God also made him fast. “When I run, I feel his pleasure… and to win, to win is to honor him.” A life lived for excellence unto God is a life lived as salt and light and bears witness to Christ’s redemptive work in those who believe.

-Pastor Scott

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