Ministry Matters. . .supporting Christian ministry with resources, community, and inspiration - Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! for Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Ministry Matters. . .supporting Christian ministry with resources, community, and inspiration - Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! for Tuesday, 4 March 2014
7 Examples of Unwritten Rules that Shape an Organization by Ron Edmondson
In an organization the unwritten rules are just as important, if not more important than the written rules. If you are considering making changes, implementing something new, adding staff, or any of dozens of other decisions in your organization, you need to also consider these “rules” of the organization.
Here are seven examples:
The culture – How does it responds to change? How does it address problems? How does it plan for the future? How trusted is leadership? These are all unique to this organization.
The leader’s accessibility and temperament – Every senior leader is different. If you change the leader you change some of the unwritten rules. Is he or she considered approachable? Does he or she participate with the team normally? Would he or she know if there was a perceived problem in the organization? Do team members trust leadership? These answers shape responses to change.
The relationships of team members to each other – Is there a friendship or just a working relationship among team members? Is conflict acceptable and healthy? Do team members feel freedom to speak freely when in disagreement? Do people respect one another? Is there a silo culture or a common vision everyone is working to achieve? The healthiest organizations have people working together who genuinely like one another. If that isn’t there, change will be more difficult.
The sense of work satisfaction – Are there long-term team members? Are team members generally happy with the organization? Is there any unrest among team members? Are there unspoken concerns within the organization? Many times this has been formed over the years, sometimes even before a leader has been in the position, but it is valuable information for any leader.
The reaction to change –  Is the “way it’s always been done” changeable? Has change usually been accepted or resisted? Who has to initiate change? What is the anticipated speed of change? Who needs to know about it? The success of change will be directly related to the answers to these questions and the way a leader responds to them.
The way information flows – How does communication really happen? What are the circles of influence? Who drives discussion? Who has influence with peers? What are the expectations regarding the “need to know”? Communication is key in any organization so, as leaders, we must understand the way it occurs.
The real power structure – Who really makes the decisions? Is it a board? A few key people? A consensus of the largest percentage of people? Power structures are rarely as purely formed as what is written on a piece of paper. Knowing this is critical to navigating change.
As a leader, it’s important that you not only concentrate your attention on what is easily measured, written in a policy manual, or even spoken as a value. Other considerations may be more important, even though they may have never been expressed formally. When change occurs or is to be implemented in an organization, paying attention to these unwritten rules is necessary for success.
By the way leaders, most likely you helped write (or are helping to write) these unwritten rules.
What are some of the unwritten rules of your organization?
This post was originally published at RonEdmondson.com. 
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Mental Illness and Christian Faith by Peter Surran
All-Too-Familiar Stories of Violence
It’s not every week that a state senator from Bath, Virginia, gets into the national spotlight with an interview on the CBS News program 60 Minutes. According to an article by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the interview was taped in December, following tragic events that took place on November 19, 2013. On that day, Senator Creigh Deeds’ son, Gus, attacked his father with a knife, not killing him but leaving scars on his forehead and left cheek. After the attack, Gus killed himself with a hunting rifle.
This story has an unfortunate twist. Just a day earlier, Senator Deeds had taken his son to a mental health facility under an emergency custody order because he was afraid Gus would harm himself. The facility said they were unable to accommodate Gus because there were not enough beds. The custody order ran out, and Gus was released. Senator Deeds has now successfully pushed for a new law extending the amount of time mentally ill individuals can be held in emergency custody, along with other reforms of the mental health system in Virginia.
Unfortunately, this tragic story is just one of many recent examples of violence that have been in the news lately. On January 25, three people were killed at a mall in Columbia, Maryland, including the shooter. In November, a homeless man in Ocean City, Maryland, allegedly set himself on fire and then ran into St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He set fire to the office and rectory, killing himself and the rector. In each of the cases, and in many others like them that have occurred within the past year, one common denominator was mental illness.
Mental Health in the United States
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), serious mental health disorders that are often the cause of such terrible events like the ones cited above are relatively uncommon. Their research shows that 4.1 percent of all adults in the United States have been diagnosed with what they call a serious mental illness (SMI). This is defined as a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder either currently or within the past year that causes significant impairment in major life activities. There may, of course, be many others suffering from illnesses that have not been reported.
The NIMH also reports that less serious mental disorders in general are fairly common. In the United States, 25 percent of adults, one in four, are diagnosable with a mental disorder in any given year, including anything from anxiety to depression to bipolar disorder. Of those 25 percent of Americans with a diagnosable mental disorder, about 41 percent receive any kind of care or services for the disorder, according to the same NIMH study. That means 59 percent, or more than half, do not.
There are many factors that might explain why people with a mental illness do not seek help. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center Health Encyclopedia, people often do not seek treatment because “they don’t think treatment will help. . . . They don’t recognize the symptoms . . . [or] they can’t afford it.” They also cite the social stigma attached to mental illness as a reason why people might not seek help.
The Church and Mental Illness
How has the Christian church approached mental health throughout the centuries? In Scripture, the focus is on supernatural causes of any number of struggles humans face, either as God’s judgment or as the actions of demons. There is no acknowledgement of any natural causes that might lead to a mental illness.
The early church also focused on supernatural reasons for why people struggle with their mental health. The book Modern Psychopathologies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal traces the understanding of mental illness throughout the history of the church. The authors explain that in the early church, “all suffering, disability and trials can in the end be traced back to sin, and therefore an understanding of these struggles in life begins with an awareness of the sinfulness of the human condition.” Pastoral care, then, primarily took the form of a penitential rite, whereby an individual would seek to be reconciled to God and thus undermine the primary cause of their struggles.
The book points out that it wasn’t until the Puritans came along in the 16th century that a distinction began to be made between spiritual and natural causes of disorders, especially depression. The rise of the modern field of psychology in the 19th century has led to a new understanding of how mental illnesses begin, though the book’s authors caution against the church emphasizing the natural factors contributing to mental health to the neglect of the spiritual side of human nature.
The church has often struggled to maintain that balance between recognizing the natural causes of mental illness while also tending to the spiritual needs of those who struggle. It is an issue that, unfortunately, was brought into sharp focus last April, when one of the most well-known pastors in America, Rick Warren, lost his son Matthew to suicide. Warren is best known as the author of the book The Purpose Driven Life.
An article in The Washington Post, written on April 10, 2013, described how the death of Warren’s son caused some Christian leaders to question how the church “might sometimes stigmatize those who struggle with mental illness.” The leaders quoted expressed a desire to bring those struggles out of the shadows and discussed reasons why those struggles might have been driven into the darkness in the first place. Their responses demonstrate how some Christians continue to approach mental health issues in the same way the early church did as described in the Modern Psychopathologies book.
“As Christians, we believe this side of heaven [that] all disease, sickness and pain is rooted in a world broken by sin,” Rebekah Lyons, an evangelical blogger, said in the Washington Post article. Lyons believes that this understanding might sometimes lead people to downplay or minimize any natural causes of mental health issues, which she says leads to an unhelpful oversimplification of the issues. The article also points out that some people might be reluctant to seek medical help for mental health problems, particularly if they feel that issues like anxiety and depression are primarily spiritual issues. “The fervent belief among evangelicals in the power of prayer and dependence on God and Jesus for healing might stifle congregants from talking about mental illness or seeking help for themselves or family members,” the article states.
Shining Light, Bringing Hope
How can churches better minister to those struggling with mental health issues?
Awareness is the first step. Opening dialogue within a congregation about the prevalence of mental disorders in society and what might cause them can help bring people and their struggles out of the shadows. Properly understanding the causes of mental illness can help inspire those suffering with it to seek help.
Prayer is the next step. Congregations ought to be in prayer for those suffering with mental illness and those around them in their families and communities. Prayer can also aid the congregation in discerning what ministries might be helpful or what actions might need to be taken in order to respond to the needs of those struggling with mental health issues. Facing these issues openly and honestly, with Christ-like compassion, can bring light, hope, and healing to an issue that affects so many in our congregations and communities.
When the Unthinkable Happens
Building a culture of openness and compassion in the church will go a long way in properly ministering to those suffering with many mental illnesses. Unfortunately, there will likely continue to be stories of tragedy and violence related to these complex issues. The church is in a unique position to minister to the community when the unthinkable happens.
First, the church can be a welcoming presence. Simply being open and available for people to come and rest in the midst of a chaotic time can be a profound comfort.
Next, providing opportunities for prayer and worship with others is something only the church can do. Liturgy and ritual offer a sense of normalcy in the midst of a completely abnormal situation. Prayers like the Lord’s Prayer offer words in the midst of a situation for which there are no words.
Finally, being actively involved in promoting reconciliation where needed can be a precious gift of healing to a community. This may take many forms. In October 2006, members of an Amish community that suffered the tragic murder of five young girls in a schoolhouse gave a striking testimony to the world by attending the funeral of their killer. There were 75 people on hand, and about half of them were Amish. How can our congregations be witnesses for forgiveness and love?
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups. FaithLink motivates Christians to consider their personal views on important contemporary issues, and it also encourages them to act on their beliefs.
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The Auto-Correct Failure Feature by Neal Bowes
It has happened to everyone who texts: You type in your message, click send, and only then realize that the auto-correct feature has substituted a word that makes no sense in the context of the sentence. Most of the time, it’s just annoying. Sometimes, it can be pretty funny. But occasionally, auto-correct inadvertently morphs your note into an off-color or offensive message. Recently this particular writer was trying to congratulate a member of his youth group on an excellent essay. Unfortunately the message she received was, “Your essay is excrement!”
Texting can be a tricky form of communication. It’s great for short messages, but trying to have deeper conversations risks misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Body language, vocal tone, and facial expressions all play an important role in conveying meaning when people are talking to one another. All of that is absent with texting, so you are left to guess with what emotion you should read the words you receive. What if you guess incorrectly? You could feel as though you’ve been insulted when the words weren’t even written in anger.
People sometimes make other assumptions when texting. A dead phone means your friend can’t respond; but on your end, it could seem like you’re being ignored. Short responses may be because your friend is busy, but it could seem like he or she is being terse or distant.
Novelist L. M. Montgomery once wrote, “It’s dreadful what little things lead people to misunderstand each other.” How true for texting! When you consider the shortcomings of the nature of texting, and then add in the occasional shenanigans of auto-correct, it’s easy to see how misunderstandings can happen.
The Power of the Asterisks
When people see that auto-correct has changed something in their message, they will often attempt to fix it by sending the proper word, preceded by an asterisk, such as: *excellent! This quickly clears up any confusion or misunderstandings. Sometimes, though, misunderstandings can go unnoticed and, without being rectified, can hurt feelings and damage relationships.
Of course, texting isn’t the only source of misunderstandings. Sometimes people make assumptions or just simply don’t bother to verify their information. There is an entire website, Snopes.com, that exists just to debunk rumors and scams that spread like wildfire across the Internet. Unfortunately there isn’t quite so convenient a clearinghouse for information on who was flirting with whom, which person wasn’t invited to what party, and who said what about your outfit.
Here We Go Again, Again
Misunderstandings are nothing new. They even dogged Jesus. Although he told his followers several times that he would be handed over to the authorities in Jerusalem and killed, but would rise again on the third day, none of them were sitting outside the tomb waiting for him on that Sunday morning. He never went over battle plans or military strategy with his disciples, but most of them thought he was planning to carry out a coup against the Roman government. Even after his resurrection, Acts 1:6 records that “those who had gathered together asked Jesus, ‘Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?’” Ten days later, though, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and a greatly-enhanced understanding of Jesus’ mission and purpose (see Acts 2:1-36).
Certainly the Holy Spirit can be instrumental in helping us to clear up any misunderstandings we have with one another, while also blessing us with a greater understanding and a deeper appreciation of God. God’s desire is for us to live in right relationships with one another and with our Creator.
This article is also published as part of LinC, a weekly digital resource for youth small groups and Sunday school classes. The complete study guide can be purchased and downloaded here.
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Rethinking the Way We Do Funerals by Tom Fuerst
I’m going to be brutally honest here for the sake of improving some things, both in our practice and the way we think about funerals, death, and comforting the grieving.
I hate the visitation line at funerals.
I hate standing there next to a deceased loved one for over an hour.
I hate having to comfort other people when I can’t even comfort myself.
I hate having to endure people I barely know trying to “solve” my grief, as if some spiffy saying or cliché can take away the pain.
I hate the awkward things people say.
And most of all, I hate the cheap casket-side theology that comes out of people’s mouths.
Who in the world thought it was a good idea to put a grieving family three feet from their dead loved one and force them to publicly grieve for an hour before the funeral even starts?
I’m not a particularly private person—as my blog attests to over and over. I’m a pretty high extrovert. But when I’m grieving, I don’t want to be social, especially when the grief is at its worst. I don’t want to be forced to stand in line while a bunch of people—whether I know them or not—come by and say things to me. Even if they’re saying good things and not weird things, I just don’t think the visitation line is the best way for families to grieve.
If you love me and my family enough, you’ll come by and say weird things to me later. You’ll bring me a meal. You’ll pray for me at church.
But for goodness sake, we’ve got to stop making three feet from a dead body the central location of this kind of “compassion.” Because it’s not compassion for the grieving family—it’s torture. As if the family isn’t going through enough, now we’re going to torture them for an hour, too?
I don’t doubt that there are people who want to stand in the visitation line. I’m sure there are some people out there who disagree with me. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the majority voice in this. Most people would rather grieve on their own or with the people with whom they choose to grieve.
I understand no one is physically forced to stand in a visitation line. I understand we make the choice to be there. But there is social and familial pressure to stand in that line, on top of the customary and tradition pressures. So while no one is physically forced to stand in in that line, there are other forces at work.
I think of the visitation line almost like rituals at church. We’ve been doing it for so long that we don’t even now why we do it anymore, but because of familial, social, customary, and traditional pressures, we don’t think we can abandon this practice. Maybe there was some older cultural reason why the visitation line was appropriate and desired. Maybe there was a time when certain rituals resonated deeply with people who were grieving. But that day is gone. And it’s time to rethink the visitation line, just as we have certain rituals at church.
At my mom’s funeral, I protested the idea of having a visitation line. I knew people were going to come talk to us, anyway. By not having a visitation line, I at least didn’t have to stand in one place and wait for it. I didn’t have to endure watching my siblings try to comfort other people while they held back their own tears. We could go hide, engage, cut the conversation short, or weep on a shoulder all in our own timing and need.
I know the community needs to grieve, but the community’s job should be to protect the family, not put them in the lion’s den. I would love to hear some of your ideas on how to rethink these things.
Have you been to a funeral where they didn’t do a visitation line? How might you rethink a funeral service to make it more healing for a hurting family? Do you like or dislike the visitation line? Why?
This post originally appeared on Tom's blog, Tom1st.com.
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Living Stone is a FREE multimedia worship series for Lent available exclusively at Ministry Matters! Resources include graphics, worship elements, sermon starters and three professional videos.
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85942107" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/85942107">Ministry Matters Lenten Worship Trailer: Living Stone</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ministrymatters">Ministry Matters</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
#LivingStone
Now you are coming to him as to a living stone. Even though this stone was rejected by humans, from God’s perspective it is chosen, valuable.
1 PETER 2:4 CEB
Living Stone is a free multimedia worship series from MinistryMatters.com and the content is meant to be shared - on social media, on your church website, in your bulletin, with friends, colleagues, small groups, and your congregation.
Each week we will make a group of content available for you to use each week of Lent including PowerPoint backgrounds and visuals, worship elements including an opening prayer, calls to worship, benedictions, sermon starters or sermons, and more.
We are also providing you with three professional videos: one overview or trailer video (available now), one 3-minute video for Palm Sunday, and one 3-minute video for Easter Sunday (coming soon).
Stones are a basic imagery used for Lent, but not overused, which is why we eventually went in this direction. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of stories we found around stones in the Bible.
Here’s a synopsis of the stories and the key verses from each:
Week 1: Sacred Pillar
After Jacob got up early in the morning, he took the stone that he had put near his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
GENESIS 28:18
Week 2: Covenant Stone
Remember—don’t ever forget!—how you made the Lord your God furious in the wilderness. From the very first day you stepped out of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebels against the Lord. 29 But these are your people! Your own possession! The people you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm!
DEUT. 9:7 & 29
Week 3: 12 Stones
This happened so that all the earth’s peoples might know that the Lord’s power is great and that you may always revere the Lord your God.”
JOSHUA 4:22
Week 4: Foundation Stone
Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, 
a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, 
a sure foundation: 
the one who trusts won’t tremble.
ISAIAH 28:16
Week 5: Stones to Food
The tempter came to him and said, “Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.”
MATTHEW 4:3
Week 6 (Palm Sunday) : Stones Cry Out
He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout.”
LUKE 19:40
Week 7 (Easter Sunday): Empty Tomb
Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it.
MATTHEW 28:2
In the end we hope that there is one nugget, one Scripture, one thought that makes you stop and say "Aha!" or brings you or someone in your congregation closer in your walk with God. Or maybe this series will provide inspiration to you as a preacher or worship leader, as you seek to make Easter worship fresh, and new, and engaging.
As with #FollowTheStar, the content is free - free to use, free to share, free to modify. It's YOUR content, do with it as you will. We only ask that you share with others, if you believe they will find value in it.
Blessings on you, and on your ministry. 
Your MinistryMatters.com team, 
Betsy, Myca, and Shane
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Just Add Oil (Ash Wednesday) by Betsy Hall
If you've planned your first Ash Wednesday worship, congratulations!
Let me give you a piece of advice that I wish someone had given me. If you must add a small amount of liquid
Just add oil!
Don't add water—water and ashes don't mix. Well, they do, but mixed with water ashes will irritate your skin and burn. And when washing off the remnants, it's good to wipe them off with oil or a tissue first.
I'm an expert on this because I added a small amount of water one year. Although it provided a reminder for me that I was celebrating the season of Lent, I seriously doubt the people who attended Ash Wednesday that year had the same appreciation! I've never been more thankful for a small attendance in worship then or since.
If you use oil, my preference is olive oil; vegetable oil will work too. I've used olive oil in healing services and in prayer with people at other times. Regular olive oil works fine; you don't have to purchase expensive oil. Ask if your pastor has a preference for both the oil and how it is displayed—probably not in the original container.
My prayer is that your first Ash Wednesday worship will be meaningful for those who attend and for you! I've learned that it's easy to get caught up in the details of worship that we don't experience worship. 
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First Sunday in Lent, 9 March 2014
Message Idea: Disabling Temptations by Brett Younger
Matthew 4:1-11
Most of the time, without any real thought, we do what we want to do and make inferior choices. We trivialize sin when we think of it as an error in judgment. Sin is a flawed approach to decision making that leads us to the worst decision with which we can be comfortable. In a thousand ways we get used to making lesser choices. We’re so used to choosing what’s easiest that deciding to become more than we are doesn’t occur to us.
Yet it’s always possible to be true to the higher calling. Jesus is baptized in the muddy water of the Jordan River. The voice from heaven proclaims, “You are my child, my beloved, in you I am well pleased.” Then Jesus goes to the middle of nowhere to decide what kind of child he’s going to be.
The wilderness is hot and barren. The hills are dust heaps. The rocks are jagged. The wind howls at night. Jesus is so weighed down with the burden of choosing the direction for his life that he doesn’t even think of food. It’s been days, weeks since he has eaten. It’s a great understatement when Matthew writes, “and afterwards, he hungered.”
The silence is broken when from somewhere there comes a voice—a whisper, a screaming whisper: “If you are God’s child, command this stone, so that it becomes bread.” Jesus remembers John, the River Jordan, the sky opening and the voice saying, “You are my child, the beloved.” Now it’s a different voice, “If you are God’s child.”
Jesus was the first person tempted by fast food. A rounded stone becomes a loaf of pumpernickel; a flat rock becomes a tortilla. Who will it hurt? If he is God’s child, then why shouldn’t he have what he wants?
We struggle with the attraction of doing what’s easiest. This first temptation is to make our decisions on the basis of what requires the least effort. We often pass on what’s eternally best for what’s momentarily satisfying.
We’re tempted to choose the easy way when we realize how hard it is to forgive the guilty, listen to the lonely, and share what we have with the poor. It’s much easier to settle for a tepid faith. We get so used to choosing what’s easiest that we seldom consider the hard way of sacrifice. We’d like to believe that an easy life is a sign of God’s approval, but if we’re comfortable, then we’ve missed what’s best.
Jesus understands the temptation of the easy way; “One cannot live by bread alone. Obedience to God is more important than my own comfort.”
Satan tries again like a con man with an arm covered with Rolexes. This time it’s from the steeple of the old First Church, “If you are God’s child, throw yourself down. You know that the Bible says, ‘God will protect you.’ ”
The first-century Jews believed that when the Messiah came, he would reveal himself from the temple roof. The tempter is reminding Jesus that he can be the Messiah the people want. He can be a great religious teacher and skip the hard parts. Jesus could have modified his ministry ever so slightly and been what they wanted him to be.
When Monty Hall offers us what’s behind door number two, it’s the temptation to look spiritual. We can keep up appearances even as we lower our expectations. In T. S. Eliot’s play, Murder in the Cathedral, the tempter comes to Thomas Becket and offers the temptation of being a martyr, a religious hero. Becket understands, “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”
We’ve figured out that we can look religious without truly seeking God. It’s easy to meet people’s religious expectations. We know how to pretend that we are living as God’s children.
The screaming whisper returns with an offer of palaces and kingdoms, “Compromise and it’s all yours.” This is Frodo Baggins offering the one ring that rules them all. To worship Satan is to choose success. This third temptation is to want what everyone wants.
The evil one doesn’t appear for us in a readily identifiable red suit with a pitchfork. The tempter appears as reasonableness. Evil’s nagging voice is the desire for a little bigger house, a little more in savings, and a little better job.
Have you ever learned that someone who does the same job you do makes more money than you make? We know it doesn’t do us any good to think about it, but we keep thinking about the injustice of it all and what we would do with the extra money. We choose to hang on to greed until it starts to crowd out things that matter more.
O.A. Battista wrote, “You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.” By that standard, most of us are still some distance from the summit.
Through cracked and bleeding lips, Jesus answers the master counterfeiter, “Bow down to God alone; worship only God.”
The adversary retreats temporarily, but Jesus never stopped being tempted to make it easier for himself. Jesus faced the same temptations to compromise that we face. We choose every day between what seems okay and what’s true to the gospel.
We need to remember this story of Jesus in the wilderness. There were no witnesses. Jesus must have told the disciples because he hoped that they would remember. Maybe you’ve had the experience of meeting someone so kind and caring that they made you want to be kind and caring, too. Remember that there was one who lived beyond comfort, praise, and affluence.
Remember whose we are. The voice at Jesus’ baptism was the voice of assurance, “This is my beloved child.” God has assured us that we too are God’s children. We come to this Lenten season of repentance confessing our longing for the paths of least resistance and asking for new and honest hearts.
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Bible Meditation: New Medieval Bible Meditation: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 by Clifton Stringer
Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7 (Roman Catholic); Gen. 2: 15-17, 3:1-7 (Revised Common); Gen. 2:4b-9, 15-17, 25-3:7 (Episcopal)
John Henry Newman says:
[Scripture] cannot be mapped, nor its contents catalogued; but after all our diligence, to the end of our lives and the end of the Church, it must be an unexplored and unsubdued land, with heights and valleys, forests and streams, on the right and on the left of our path and close about us, full of concealed wonders and choice treasures.
While this is true of all Scripture, it feels particularly true of the Scriptures for the First Sunday in Lent. Each has wondrous depths no preacher will ever exhaust. The Christian’s task is only ever to guide others into the saving wonders and blessed paths the Spirit has opened to him or her. With this happy and modest goal, let us turn to Genesis.
Join me in meditating on the story of the fall according to the fourfold sense of Scripture common in the middle ages: the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical levels.
At the literal* level, Gen. 3:1-7 tells the story of humankind’s fall, our rebellion against God (Rom 5:15). The Holy Spirit speaks of a “serpent” who tempts Eve. The serpent symbolizes the fallen angel called the devil or Satan (“the accuser”). (It is sensible to read the serpent as a symbol; one may hazard to assume that even the Ancient Near Eastern human author of this text had not met a talking snake!) Angels (even fallen angels) are spiritual creatures; this one is already in rebellion against God, and now seeks to put humankind in bondage. Note that the devil’s question in v. 1 sows doubt, while his assertion in v. 4 is an outright lie (c.f. Jn. 8:44). In v. 5, the devil appeals to Eve’s desire to be “like God.” This is a good desire, and something God desires to give humanity (2 Pet. 1:4), but the devil tempts Eve to grasp it through disobedience and pride rather than inheriting it through obedience and love. Something that is at the deepest level a gift ceases to be itself if it is stolen. In disobedience, Adam and Eve inherit darkness rather than light, “good and evil” (v.5) rather than goodness alone. Since evil is a privation of good, Adam & Eve drastically damage their own goodness through disobedience.
Through their sin, Adam and Eve disfigure the divine harmony of the paradise God has created, and they become subject to death. They experience a fourfold disordering and disharmony, a fourfold state of injustice or unrighteousness. (1) Humans’ relationship to God is compromised. Humans no longer dwell easily with God in the garden of paradise. Just like Adam & Eve doubted God’s generosity and so disobediently tried to seize what God would have been happy to give them as a reward for obedience, so our vision of God is still doubtful and darkened to this day. We think of God as less than perfectly Good; we suspect God of evil (rather than ourselves!); we worship and serve idols rather than the Creator; we worry that God is out to get us; in all these things we have a darkened vision of God. We are found to be unjust sinners before God, and we also perceive God unjustly. (2) Human’s relationship to himself or herself is compromised. Our souls and bodies are out of harmony. We no longer enjoy inner peace. Our passions run amok and drag us toward sin. We are in a state of inner and outer disintegration, and our bodies and souls fully separate at death. (3) Humans’ relationships to one another are compromised. We do not love our neighbors as we ought. Injustice nags at even the best human affairs, and sometimes totally overcomes them. Nation wars against nation, and people against people. Even in the closest and best human relationships (friendship, marriage, family), the sinful desire to dominate others manifests itself in various ways. We fear one another; we fear our own violence and the violence of others. (4) Humans’ relationship with the rest of the created order is compromised. We no longer live in harmony with creation (as in the garden), but have a destructive effect on the world around us. Adam once named the animals in the garden, signifying the great closeness that governed the created order; now animals fear humans, and vice versa. Note that in the unfallen creation, humans did not eat animals (Gen. 1:29).
In all of these things it is manifest that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). We are sinners; we are dust and to dust we shall return; “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body” (2 Cor. 5:10; c.f. Mt. 25:31-46).
At the allegorical level, Gen. 3:1-7 shows us the source, and continual logic, of our own disordered passions. It can be read alongside of Rom. 1:18-32. There is a parallel between the disobedience of Adam & Eve and the causes of the fall highlighted in Rom. 1:18-32, namely, failure to honor God as God, and failure to give thanks.
Further, Adam and Eve (who choose disobedience to God) prefigure Christ and Mary. Look at the Adam & Christ typologies of Rom. 5:14 and 1 Cor. 15:22 and 45. See Christ’s obedience as he is tempted in the wilderness by the devil (Sunday’s text, Mt. 4:1-11). See Mary’s obedience (Lk. 1:38) in contrast to Eve’s disobedience. Consider that Mary’s obedience was a free human act, enabled by God’s grace, that allowed the Word of God to become incarnate in Mary’s womb. As Irenaeus of Lyons describes it, the obedience of Christ & Mary unties the knot tied by the disobedience of Adam & Eve (Against Heresies, 3.22.4).
At the moral level, Gen. 3:1-7 raises especially the matter of obedience. The deepest meaning of obedience is something like “to hear so as to be willingly taught.” Adam & Eve disobey. Though God is God, they do not hear him obediently, and as a result they do not obey when tempted. Obedience is in many ways a matter of the heart. “Keep your heart with all vigilance; for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). “Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, / which must be curbed with a bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you” (Ps. 32:9). Is our heart inclined rightly to God and his commandments so that we joyfully obey them? Are we obedient to God in the things he commands and prohibits? In the moral sense, we are each Adam & Eve; we are tempted every day, and must choose Adam & Eve’s ungraceful disobedience or Christ & Mary’s graced obedience. We are each Israel. Moses speaks: “See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil” (Deut. 30:15).
In the anagogical sense, we remember that Adam is a type of Christ, who is both human and divine. In Christ’s perfect obedience, Adam & Eve & our disobedience is overcome. As members of Christ’s body the Church, we share in Christ’s perfect humanity and so participate by grace in his perfect divinity. We are surrounded by his holiness; let us worship him who is far beyond our understanding. Christ cross is the tree of life; let us taste the fruit of our redemption, and walk by the Spirit. Christ himself is the tree of life, for he says, “I am the life” (Jn. 14:6), in whom Adam’s race is welcomed into eternal life. Glory to Christ! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Notes and Bibliography
*Historical critics may feel that my exegesis of the literal level above anachronistically reads it in light of the Church’s doctrine rather than in its original historical context. They think the literal meaning of a text reduces (perhaps?) to its oldest human meaning. But this is not obvious: why should the oldest human meaning of Genesis, insofar as we can reconstruct it, have priority over the historical context which shaped the interpretation of Genesis, say, in Second Temple Judaism, or Essenism, or rabbinic midrash; and if any of these, why not St. Paul’s reading and the Church’s reading as determinative “original” historical contexts? I can give a theological account of why I think the (most primary) literal sense is as it is: the most determinative and so “original” historical meaning of any Scripture must be one which reads it in the context of Jesus Christ’s historical humanity, for Jesus is God incarnate, the Word of God and sum total of divine revelation. Jesus Christ’s divine humanity is the origin, the ‘original context’ of all Scripture. Hence, Christians rightly read Genesis 3 in light of Jesus Christ (as in Rom 5:12-21 or Jn. 5:46). The Holy Spirit always testifies to Christ (Jn. 15:26). Hence, ‘literal sense’ does not mean “non-theological”; it means in accordance with the Catholic theological “system” or “hypothesis” (to draw again on the terms of Irenaeus of Lyons).
The Newman quotation above is from An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, rev. ed. (London, 1891), 71. It is quoted in Jason Byassee, Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 240.
In my exegesis of the literal level, I drew the exegesis of the fourfold injustice, and the point about the talking serpent, from Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering, Holy People, Holy Land: A Theological Introduction to the Bible, (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005).
Irenaeus’ of Lyons’ Against Heresies is in the Ante-Nicene Fathers series, and is online at www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm
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New Medieval Bible Meditations: Scripture Interpretations for Preachers, Nuns, and other Guilty Bystanders is Clifton Stringer’s contribution to the renewal of the Church’s reading and teaching of the Holy Bible. I try to pick a passage from the lectionary for the coming Sunday, ideally one shared by both Roman Catholic and Protestant (Revised Common & Episcopalian) lectionaries.
The premise of this method of interpretation is that Sacred Scripture, because it is divine revelation, has wondrous depths. That Scripture is ‘divine revelation’ means that Scripture is divine truth and wisdom graciously shown to us by God. Scripture is thus a created participation in the divine Word (Jn. 1:1) who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Sacred Scripture is thus, and ultimately, a participation in God’s own knowledge, the very joyful eternal life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Scripture is shared with us out of love that we might become wise and good, and be saved.
Since the infinite God is the author of Sacred Scripture, in addition to Scripture’s “literal or historical” sense, many passages of the Bible will have mystical senses (or spiritual senses). The literal sense is, as it were, the fountain and foundation of these mystical senses. These mystical senses are usually reckoned at three: the allegorical sense, the moral sense, and the anagogical sense.
Here is how St. Bonaventure describes these three mystical senses: “Allegory occurs when by one thing is indicated another which is a matter of belief” – like when one thing in Scripture prefigures another later thing, or builds on an earlier prefiguration. “The tropological or moral understanding occurs when, from something done, we learn something else which we should do” – like when Christ or an apostle does something holy that we must imitate. “The anagogical meaning, a kind of ‘lifting upwards,’ occurs when we are shown what it is we should desire, that is, the eternal happiness of the blessed” – that is, when we catch a glimpse of the glory of God.
Aquinas even notes that, since God understands all things through one infinite act of being, God can intend for there to be more than one meaning of a scripture at the literal level.
All four senses (literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical) are effective for preaching, teaching, and training in righteousness, as the Spirit leads.
To reflect further on these senses consider, for example, Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae 1.1.10 or Bonaventure’s Breviloquium, Prologue, section 4.
Also note that, in writing these meditations, I do not do any ‘historical critical’ research into the passages. If you would like to do this, it can add to your understanding of the literal sense, and even sometimes spur your imagination among the other senses. But many modern scholars focus on ‘historical critical’ questions almost exclusively; read their works, insofar as it is helpful for knowing and teaching Christ; there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel.
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Worship Elements by Bill Hoppe
First Sunday of Lent
COLOR: Purple
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
THEME IDEAS
The central ideas for this first Sunday in Lent are temptation, sin, right and wrong, and how we respond to each. The familiar story of the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve is no less relevant today than when it was first told, and Paul uses this story as a primary foundation for his doctrine of Christ’s atonement for the sins of humankind. The psalmist sings of the joy and relief of forgiveness, which comes from
acknowledgment and confession. Finally, driven into the wilderness by the Spirit and armed with only God’s word, Jesus confronts temptation at the end of his forty days and nights of fasting without yielding to it.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 32)
Happy are those whose sins are forgiven.
Happy are those whose sins are cast away.
Rejoice in the Lord! Be glad!
Sing out! Shout for joy!
Rejoice in the Lord!
Rejoice! Amen!
Opening Prayer (Genesis 2, 3; Psalm 32; Matthew 4)
Holy One,
we are constantly bombarded
with temptations and enticements.
When we yield, when we fail,
who will help us?
You, Lord, have come to our aid.
You teach us, counsel us, and guide us
in the ways we should go.
We rejoice in your unfailing love. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 32)
We keep silent before you, Lord—
we are afraid to confront our transgressions;
we are terrified to face the reality of our sin;
we feel as if the weight of the world
were upon our shoulders;
we no longer recognize ourselves
or what we have become
as we keep our failings and fears inside.
Help us admit our sins and accept our imperfections.
Why is that simple act so difficult for us?
Why do we hesitate, knowing that you stand ready
to wash away our guilt?
You are the sanctuary where distress cannot reach us.
In your steadfast love, forgive us.
In your healing caress, cleanse us.
In your Holy Spirit, restore us.
In the name of our Savior, we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Psalm 32)
When distress and anxiety surround us
like an angry flood,
our pleas are heard.
The Lord hears the prayers of a faithful heart.
God has become our hiding place,
our refuge from trouble.
No harm can touch us here.
The Lord wraps us in the arms of salvation.
Shouts of deliverance enfold us.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Romans 5)
Abundant grace is God’s gift to us. Out of all proportion to our wrongdoing, we receive grace and forgiveness from God’s amazing love, revealed to us in Christ Jesus. Share this love, so freely given to us, with one another.
Response to the Word (Genesis 2, 3; Matthew 4; Romans 5)
The Tempter appears to us in many guises and always in the manner to which we are most vulnerable. We know right from wrong, yet we become complicit with the Tempter when we use the word of the Lord to justify our disobedience and transgressions. Yet in Christ, our sin is overcome with a single act of obedience to God: one just act has brought acquittal and life to all.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Matthew 4)
In the hour of his temptation, when Jesus hungered,
he knew from where his sustenance came:
“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.”
Lord,
from the abundance of your grace,
your word has provided all that we need.
All that we have is yours.
Receive the offering of our hands
and the gratitude of our hearts.
In the name of our Savior we pray. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction or Words of Assurance (Romans 5)
Though we were condemned, we have found pardon.
Though death held dominion over our lives,
God’s grace and gift of righteousness
now lives and reigns within us.
We are free. We are forgiven. We are alive in Christ!
Amen!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Psalm 32)
The eyes of God are upon us.
The Lord will guide us.
God will keep us safe.
No harm can touch us.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 32)
Shout for joy! Sing out! Sing aloud!
Women, men, everyone: Rejoice! Be glad!
Rejoice in the Lord!
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Worship Connection by Nancy C. Townley
First Sunday of Lent
COLOR: Purple
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
The theme for Lent: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS
Each week a script will be provided, following the gospel lesson, concerning those whom Jesus met.
First Sunday in Lent: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS: SATAN
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: Happy are the people whose sins are forgiven! 
P: God’s forgiveness is poured on them as a healing balm. 
L: Happy are the people who place their trust in God. 
P: God’s presence is their guide and their strength. 
L: Come, let us worship the God who forgives and heals us. 
P: Let us celebrate God’s presence with us each day. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: Today the journey begins. Are you ready? 
P: There is so much I still have to do. I am not sure I’ll ever be ready. 
L: Let go of those things THAT chain you to despair. 
P: Lord, help me look and see the ways in which I have abandoned you. 
L: Come, let us worship and feel the power of freedom in God. 
P: Open our hearts today to receive your freeing love, O Lord. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2055, “You Are My Hiding Place,” offer the following call to worship as directed.]
L: The path is unknown to us, O Lord. We fear the journey. 
P: There may be hidden dangers, discoveries that we dread. 
L: Help us, Lord. Be with us. 
P: Let us take the first step safely, we pray.
Choir: singing “You Are My Hiding Place”
L: You have been my hiding place. 
P: Now you are calling me to leave this place and to take a risk 
L: You sing to me of deliverance and hope. 
P: Be with me, O Lord, I ask you.
Call to Worship #4:
L: We are people of impatient hungers. 
P: We want to be filled with all good things immediately. We don’t want to wait.
L: We are people who seek power and authority. 
P: We want to be in control, not to be controlled. 
L: We are people whose individual safety is of highest concern. 
P: Protect and guide us. 
L: Stop our greed and selfishness, O Lord. Help us to listen to your words of comfort and hope. 
P: Open us up to all the wonders of your love. Heal our hardened hearts. Give us lives of loving service to others. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENECTION
Opening Prayer
Lord, we are so tempted by everything we see; the glitz and glitter of the world and the get-rich-quick schemes are placed before us. We believe that if we just have enough money, enough friends, enough power, enough safety we will be OK. Show us how foolish we are to place our hope and trust in these things. Give us hearts for loving service in which we will find our strength, our courage, our security, our home. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
God of infinite patience and love, we come to you this day, having just gone through the season of greed. We embark on this Lenten journey not sure if we want to make the spiritual trip. It is easy for us to get caught up in our own needs and our own anxieties. We are a people of great “want,” and we need to become a people of great “faith.” Stop us and remove us from the self-destructive journey on which we were living. Place us on your track of hope and salvation. Forgive our stubbornness, and heal our sorrowful souls. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
You are loved by God! And in that love rests all safety, security, comfort, and hope. Rest in God’s love. Prepare yourself for service to God who is ever faithful to you. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord, it seems as though Lent came too early this year. We wanted more time to recover from the activity and anxiety of Christmas, yet here we are: the first Sunday in Lent. Our hearts need cleansing, Lord. Our spirits need restoration and healing. During this season of Lent you send us on a journey to the cross with Jesus, and beyond the cross to the resurrection. We would just rather skip to the happiness of Easter and enjoy the flowers and all the trimmings, but you insist on the journey. We cannot truly understand the power of the resurrection until we have been to the cross. Today we travel to the cross where Jesus encounters Satan who flashes before him visions of power, wealth, and individual security. How shall we respond to those same temptations when they are presented so seductively to us? Help us, O Lord. Guide and restore us. Give us courage and strength as we journey to you. AMEN.
Readers' Theater: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS: SATAN
Each week a script will be provided, following the gospel lesson, concerning those whom Jesus met.
[The large rough wooden cross is placed in the front of the chancel/worship area. Place burlap at the base to cover the stand. Have the same person read the part of Jesus each week. It should be someone with a good speaking voice. Each person who encounters Jesus will be wearing/carrying a length of cloth. When their encounter with Jesus is complete, they place the cloth over the arm of the cross and leave.
Today: “Satan” encounters Jesus. He will have a drape of black cloth over his shoulder, which he will place over the arm of the cross when the “temptation” is complete. Then he departs.]
Narrator: When Jesus had been baptized, he went to the wilderness to fast and pray. He fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and spoke to him. Satan: So you say you are the Son of God! You have been here a long time. You look hungry. How about a little bread? If you are the Son of God, you can command these stones here to become loaves of bread. Go ahead. Do it. It’s OK. It’s just a little bread, not a great feast. You will feel better when you have a little food in your stomach. Go ahead.
Jesus: It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Satan: Quoting scripture, huh? Well, if that’s the way you want it. Stay hungry.
Narrator: Then Satan took him to the holy city and placed him on the highest point of the Temple so that he could see all of Jerusalem.
Satan: Well if you don’t want bread, maybe there is something you do want--assurance. Son of God, throw yourself down from this high point, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you” and “On their hands they will bear you up so that you will not even dash your foot against a stone.” How’s that for quoting scripture?
Jesus: Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Narrator: Again Satan took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
Satan: How about it, Jesus? Want a little power and wealth? Look at this! This is all mine to give. I have control over it all, and I can give it to whomever I choose. I choose to give it to you, and all you have to do is to bow down and worship me. Nothing fancy, just a little spiritual commitment. You can have it all. Think of all you could do with this wealth. You would never have to worry; you could take care of millions of people. After all that’s what you want to do, right? Just bow down and worship me.
Jesus: Get away from me, Satan. For it is written, “ Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
[Satan takes the black cloth from his shoulder and places it over the arm of the cross. He pats the cross and then walks away.]
Narrator: And Satan shook his head, and walked away for a time. And God’s angels came and took care of Jesus.
Benediction
Be with us, Lord, as we go from this place. Give us confidence in your loving presence, and help us witness to that love as we encounter others. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for today is: Purple, however, I am using “character” colors to represent each Sunday. The worship center may be draped in purple, if you wish.
[The large rough wooden cross is placed in the front of the chancel/worship area. Place burlap at the base to cover the stand.]
FABRIC: Purple cloth may be draped over the worship center. It should come to the floor but not be “puddled.”
CANDLES: Two candles may be placed on the worship center on either side of an open Bible.
OTHER: Place an open Bible in the center of the worship table.
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Worship for Kids by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7. Recent studies indicate that all people move through predictable stages or tasks as they develop moral reasoning. The stage of a worshiper's moral development greatly influences the understanding of this Old Testament story.
In the earliest stage, children accept rules as irrefutable. By the age of four or five, they realize that those who are biggest and most powerful set the rules. Decisions to obey or disobey rules are made in order to receive rewards or escape punishment from the powerful. To people who reason this way, this story says that God is the biggest and most powerful being in the world. Indeed, God created the world, and therefore God's rules are to be obeyed. There are serious consequences when one breaks the rules.
Most young elementary children begin to realize that a person's motivations for breaking or obeying rules are important. They struggle with the difference between meaning well and simply being defiant. They experience situations in which the right and loving thing to do requires breaking the rules. From that perspective, the defiance of Adam and Eve is the key to the Fall. Adam and Eve knew what was wrong to do, but they did it anyway, simply for their own satisfaction.
That defiance is further defined by older elementary children, who generally see the world as a conglomerate of groups and individuals, each with an assigned role. It is important to these children to be a "good girl," a "good scout," and so forth. Therefore, when Adam and Eve defied the rule and ate the forbidden apple because they wanted to be "like God," they were stepping beyond their place and role. They were not being "good" people. By stepping out of their role, they broke the trust and peace with each other and between themselves and God. Shame and division resulted.
The challenge to children at each level is that they not do as Adam and Eve did. The truth is that people of all ages often do.
Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11. The temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness are very similar to those children face today. The first temptation was to be selfish, to take care of his own wants and needs. This temptation confronts children in the drive to get the biggest piece of pizza, the best basketball, the prettiest clothes, the most video games, and so forth. Jesus insisted that there are better things to do than worry about how much we gather for ourselves.
Jesus' second temptation was to use his powers for attention--to show off. Children today must decide whether to use their talents and abilities to gain praise and attention, or to help others. Jesus refused to be a show-off.
The third temptation was to be king of the world. Kings make all the decisions. Everyone else does what the king says. Children often wish they could be king or queen and, for once, be in charge. Jesus, though he would have made the very best king ever, refused to take such power. Instead, he chose to obey God.
Matthew presents Jesus' response as a decision to live within the role of a "good" person, as God intended. He planned to obey God.
Epistle: Romans 5:12-19. Paul's highly abstract theology is beyond the mental abilities of children. To their literal minds, it is neither sensible nor fair that either Adam's disobedience or Jesus' obedience should affect them. Read this passable for the adults. The children will find more meaning in comparing the actions of Adam and Jesus.
Psalm: 32. A child's summary of this psalm:
Happy are those who are forgiven by God. When the psalmist tried to cover up his sins, he felt guilty and awful. When he finally admitted what he had done and apologized, God forgave him. He says that a God who forgives you can be counted on to take care of you in any situation. And you would be smart to listen to that God and do as that God teaches.
The sin vocabulary and poetic images make this psalm difficult for children to follow as it is read.
Watch Words
The Fall, to children, is simply a title for the story of Adam and Eve's disobedience. The theological significance of a fall from grace is beyond their literal thinking.
Temptation is a familiar word. 
Let the Children Sing
To sing about resisting temptation, choose "O Jesus, I Have Promised" or "Take Time to Be Holy."
The connection between God's creation of the world and the battle against sin makes "This Is My Father's World" a good choice. Explore the meaning of verse 3 before it is sung.
Most children also know the creation hymns, "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "For the Beauty of the Earth."
The Liturgical Child
1. Place an apple or an apple with a bite out of it in a greenery display in the worship center.
2. Matthew's account of the temptation is primarily a conversation between Jesus and Satan. As you read, take the two roles. Let the tone of Satan's sly superiority and Jesus' positive commitments be heard in your voice. Turn slightly toward one side while reading Satan's propositions, and toward the other side while reading Jesus' replies. Use your hands to point to the sweep of lands being offered, and to emphasize the suggested leap from the top of the Temple.
3. Focus confession on our tendency to be like Adam and Eve, rather than like Jesus:
Lord God, who created us, we confess that we are a lot like Adam and Eve. We too want to be "like God." We want to be in charge of everything, to know everything, to do everything our way. We are willing to break the rules and hurt one another to have our way. Forgive us.
Help us instead to learn from Jesus. Remind us that having what we want and need is not so very important. Tame our wild desires to be the center of attention, the star, the winner every time. Teach us to know your will and to obey. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Sermon Resources
1. Before the sermon, or before reading the Genesis text, give each worshiper a piece of wrapped hard candy, but instruct everyone not to eat the candy. During the sermon, describe different reasons for eating the candy as a springboard to exploring our responses to other temptations. At the end of the sermon, invite worshipers to eat the "teaching aid" if they wish.
2. Obey is a key word in the Genesis and Matthew stories. It marks the difference between Adam and Jesus. It is also something most of us do not like to do. Children do not like to obey, and they long for the day they will not need to obey anyone. Most brides no longer promise in their wedding vows to obey their husbands. In business, management techniques often stress group decision-making, rather than obedience to directives from the boss. Children appreciate having their feelings about obedience recognized and hearing about adult problems with obedience.
3. Tell stories about sinners whose experiences follow that of the psalmist (e.g., a child who called a sister a name that hurt badly—first trying to ignore what had happened, then feeling guilty before the sister and before God, finally apologizing to both and accepting forgiveness).
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Sermon Options
THE NATURE OF SIN
GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:1-7
The word sin isn't in the text, but sin is its theme nonetheless. In fact, this passage contains the familiar story of the origin of sin. Eve and Adam learned the hard way that sin delivers destruction into the lives of those who commit it. They had been warned by God that serious consequences would follow from their disobedience, but they paid no attention. Sometimes we may become careless in our attitude toward the consequences of sin. When that happens, we should beware. Look at the cycle of sin as described in the text.
I. We Become Aware of God's Gracious Will for Our Lives
Adam and Eve knew beyond doubt that the Lord was gracious to them. He provided them with every essential gift for fulfillment in life. He kept from them only one thing—the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He even explained to them the reason for that single prohibition: they would experience evil, and evil would issue in death. In that case death encompassed both spiritual death, which is separation from God, and physical death, resulting from their loss of access to the tree of life.
The couple also clearly understood God's will for them. Eve confessed such an awareness in her response to the serpent. His initial effort to mislead her was not successful because she detected his lie. Sin becomes a possibility for anyone who has insight into the nature and purpose of God.
II. We Are Tempted to Rebel Against God's Gracious Will
The serpent persisted in the temptation of Eve, and his strategy was successful. He first forthrightly accused God of lying. Then he himself told another lie. By that time Eve had already entered into the mentality that made her vulnerable. She doubted God's word. She doubted enough to consider the forbidden fruit, then she succumbed to its enticement and ate. Adam readily followed her lead. Satan has the uncanny ability to make evil inviting. From the urge to get more of this world's goods, to the drive to lust, to the inclination to cling to bitterness, we know that the devil has power to persuade us to sin.
However, we have an advantage Adam and Eve didn't have. We have revealed to us in this text and in other places in the Bible Satan's strategy and methodology. Understanding his tactics assists us in resisting temptation, and when we do, the devil will flee from us.
III. We Experience Conviction and Shame Following Our Sin
Normally, conviction of sin will hit the transgressor immediately after the act. Eve and Adam knew immediately that they had sinned. They felt guilty before God and shame before each other. A dedicated Christian confessed the guilt and shame she sensed following a verbal expression of hatred for a person who had hurt her. A young man told of the time he was so burdened with conviction of sin that he fell before God in a catharsis of repentance and confession. All of us have experienced similar feelings when we've failed the Lord.
The cycle of sin begins with an awareness of God's gracious will for us. Once we know how good God is and what God desires for us, Satan will entice us to reject God's purpose for our lives. When we fall to that temptation, we sin, resulting in a sense of shame before God. The cycle can be broken before it leads to sin.
It may be broken when we are tempted to reject God's will. Our Lord taught us how by example. When he was tempted in the wilderness, he resisted Satan by refusal to disobey God. As a result, Satan eventually left him alone for a season. As James wrote, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7) . (Jerry E. Oswalt)
BEING AN AUTHENTIC PERSON
ROMANS 5:12-19
The bold ideas of facing up to our sinfulness and placing our complete trust in the free gift of God's grace as given are not all that easy in a culture obsessed with ownership and earning. Paul, however, wants to make it clear that because we are human we sin, and that the only way out of our sinfulness is the acceptance of the gift of God's grace as shared in Christ. This passage can be a most helpful one in the season of Lent to broaden our understanding of self-examination and the difference God's grace seeks to make in and through such an experience.
I. Self-examination Helps Us See Our Need for God's Grace
The temptation with the idea of self-examination is to understand it as something we do for ourselves, out of a sense of duty and obligation to God, so that we can better serve God. Such a discipline, done in such a way, misses the point of Paul's understanding of the free gift of God's grace. Self-examination does not begin with us; rather, it begins as we see ourselves in the light of God's grace. Such grace given freely in the moments we live exposes the shadows of who we are.
In Paul's way of thinking, we can only be the humans God created us to be. Being human means we are sinners. If we are to truly be involved in a self-examination that will be honest, such an experience must begin with grace. With the emphasis in our culture on self-help, this becomes a most ambitious understanding to relate.
II. Self-examination Is Valueless without God's Grace
Paul clearly identifies where such thinking leads. Left to the self, we will be left with judgment, condemnation, and death. Any Lenten self-examination not rooted in the experience of God's free gift of grace will end up leading to a try-harder mentality so as to win the approval of God. To do so is to miss the whole point of grace and what graces does in us and through us. The Lenten experience must include feelings of sorrow and resolve, and it must also seek, to express with joy and thanksgiving the difference God's grace makes in our lives.
The underlying reason for the Lenten experience both begins and ends in grace. To focus on self to the point that we are going to do better, outside grace, is to miss the whole point of the Lenten experience. For Paul, the human experience must be lived from only one perspective: grace.
Katherine Ann Power lived a life of hiding. As a college student in the early seventies, she was involved in a bank robbery that led to the murder of a police officer. Just recently, she left the life she had created that included a husband, a son, friends, and a job to turn herself in to authorities after two decades as a fugitive. Emerging from the shadows into the light, she stated she did so "in order to live with full authenticity in the present ... with openness and truth, rather than hiddenness and shame."
That is what this passage and Lent are. It is a time whereby with the goodness and love of God's grace in Christ persons seek to live with full authenticity in the present ... with openness and truth, rather than hiddenness and shame. For Paul, the human experience must begin and end in God's grace. Anything less than that experience has somehow failed to find God's vision for each life. All God has ever wanted for us is to be the authentic human beings we are. Only God's grace will help make that so. (Travis Franklin)
IN THE WILDERNESS
MATTHEW 4:1-11
Lou Holtz, who coached football at Notre Dame, was interviewed after a Cotton Bowl game. People and the press were going on and on about the great impact of the game, and Lou said, "Wait a minute. The game isn't all that important. There must be three billion people in China who don't even care what happened." Sooner or later we must leave behind all our mountaintop experiences, and we must return to the valley below—down where the dangerous days are for life and for faith. The peril to faith and trust comes in the ordinary days when monotony and the commonplace stretch out, like forty days in the wilderness. The same Holy Spirit who brought Jesus the announcement of God's approval at baptism now leads him out into the days of temptation and letdown.
I. Temptation Often Comes in the Wake of Commitment
It is always true that once we have accepted a high challenge and made a great commitment, there comes the temptation to forsake the cause. There is always the temptation to give up the commitment to the best and settle for something less. Once we have made a commitment to be God's persons, there comes the temptation to compromise and to settle for something less than God's best. The long, difficult journey always brings the temptation to give up the painful pilgrimage to paradise.
II. Temptation Often Comes in the Days of Ordinary Service
If we are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to recognize that such obedience is going to take us through long periods of wilderness, frustration, work, and the ordinary. We need to be prepared for that. That is why so much of the message of our consumerist economy is demonic. It is all part of the barefaced lie to convince us that we can escape the drab ordinary days of our lives by resorting to alcohol, new cars, trips to other places, new clothing, or sexual excitement. The devil tempts Jesus each time with the suggestion that he do something a little spectacular to escape the boredom of the day. Don't settle for soup and sandwiches—turn the stones into a real holiday buffet!
Jesus will not betray his commitment to God and humanity by escaping from our human limitations. Jesus knew that human life has its ordinary side. Jimmy Buffett sends his sweepstakes winner "Somewhere Over China" because it is his one chance in a million to "brighten up a boring day." But all of our human lives have drudgery and boredom.
III. God Gives Us the Grace to Defeat Temptation
Jesus was prepared for his long journey by his knowledge of Scripture. Everywhere along the way, Jesus' response to temptation was a response from Scripture. So it is with us. That is why the Christian community tries to spend so much time in making disciples by the normal means of grace—Scripture, prayer, worship, service, and giving—to develop the habits of faith to keep us faithful in the weary times.
It is not a matter of great feelings and passions. One suspects that Jesus did not glow with the great joy of being the Anointed of God out there in the wilderness being tempted. He was not being sustained by the warm spiritual glow or the power of positive thinking. It didn't matter whether he liked what he was doing or not. He continued in obedience and faith by his reliance on the promises of God in Scripture. The story gives us the promise that God will sustain us and minister to us along the way. After the forty days, angels came and ministered to Jesus. Somewhere along the painful pilgrimage to paradise as you stay faithful, suddenly and unexpectedly an angel of mercy, some act of kindness, some word of hope, some gesture of inspiration, will be given to you to minister to you and to encourage you in the midst of the ordinary days of temptation. Such is the promise of God's Spirit to those who are God's disciples. (Rick Brand)
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