The Fall of Man
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Welcoming
Welcoming
If you are here for the first time today, or you’ve visited several times already, I want to say, welcome. I’m glad you’re here. This year we’re focusing on growing our skills as a welcoming church.
I’d like to ask our regular attendees a question:
How do you relate to this space and the people in it? Do you have a pew that you have to sit in to feel comfortable? How adaptable are you to change?
Every new person who joins our family, even if only for a day, has to negotiate the behavioral and spacial norms that many of us have settled into. And sometimes, we don’t behave nicely when our space is invaded by someone new.
If we are to be a welcoming church, then we need to treat our space with adaptability.
I’m grateful I’ve never heard of anyone in this church chastising someone for sitting in “their seat”. If I ever do hear that, I will have some stern words with you. That attitude is completely opposed to the love and acceptance of Jesus. He would be the first to say, “here take my seat.” But even if we would never say "hey, that’s my seat!”, do we create barriers to other people participating with us in worship by how we arrange ourselves?
We’ve had a lot of illness in our congregation in the past couple of months so we’ve had some extra seats lately. But on a typical Sabbath last year we had 85 to 90 people in our sanctuary. When someone comes when we’ve already started singing, it can be a bit awkward to find a place to sit. Not because there isn’t room, but because you have to pass through the church to find a place to sit. The first seats we fill up are often the seats in the back.
What would change about our behavior if we walked into the sanctuary with this question on our minds, “how can I be welcoming to a visiting family?” Would we take up a tiny bit less space in our pew, or maybe sit more towards the front? Or maybe scoot to the center so people can easily find seats at the edges?
I know it’s uncomfortable to sit farther forward if you are used to sitting in the back. Change is not easy, but being a welcoming church family isn’t something we do because its easy. We do it because Jesus calls us to welcome people in His name and with His love.
I’m not asking you to move, or even change your behavior. I have seen self-sacrifice and deference towards others in this congregation. What I am asking is for you to ask that question, “how can I be welcoming to a visiting family?” let’s be intentional about being a community where people feel warmly welcomed when they walk through our doors.
Intro
Intro
From the moment we open our eyes in the morning until we drift off to sleep our days are filled with choices.
What we wear, eat, do, believe… where we go... how we behave.
Our lives, our reputations, our relationships and health and careers and values are all shaped by the choices we make.
The choice to lie or tell the truth.
To be cruel or kind.
To cheat or be honest.
To seek vengeance, or offer forgiveness.
To do the popular thing or the right thing.
To ignore God or acknowledge Him.
Choices determine the person we are and will become.
The most important choice you will ever make will be made here today as we examine the story of the most consequential choice that was ever made by a human.
Prayer
We’re studying the first chapters of the book of Genesis in a series called Beginnings, and we’re uncovering foundational treasures about God and His powerful truths for living.
We started in this series with the creation of Adam and explored our identity and dignity.
Then we explored the sacred union between a man and a woman that God designed to be a reflection of His divine love, and a tool in shaping and forming holiness in our lives.
Until now, everything has been good, very good. There is beauty, harmony, love, justice, and direct communion with God.
Adam and Eve were created innocent and pure, but not beyond the possibility of doing wrong.
They were “free moral agents, capable of appreciating the wisdom and goodness of His [God’s] character and the justice of His requirements, and with full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 48)
God could have made humanity like cows or monkeys or cats — without moral conscience, without the capacity to know and choose right from wrong, and without the capacity for deep and intimate relationship with God. He could have made us like elephants, without the ability to contemplate justice, honesty, goodness, and peace. Like a bear that hibernates or a butterfly that migrates.
But instead He chose to make humans in his image, with the ability to love Him and be loved by Him. He made us good, honest and noble with no bias towards evil, but able to choose. And He fully, completely, lovingly informed us of the path of joy and peace.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God set before Adam and Eve the serious matter of obedience and allowed them to make a decision.
As Bible scholar, Arthur Ferch says:
The guidelines given by their divine Father were few, succinct, and clear. The command — as every other divine instruction — arose from love, and through it one could hear the love of the speaker. Like a caring parent, the Lord wanted His children to enjoy happiness, life and joy, but He left the choice between life and death to them.” (In the Beginning, 41)
There was nothing arbitrary or self-serving about God’s boundary markers. They were all meant for the good and harmony of all creation. But early in their lives Adam and Eve made a choice that broke their relationship with God and unleashed untold sorrow, misery, hatred and death. Their choice devastated their family for every generation since then.
Sara Groves sings a song called Generations in which she says,
I can taste the fruit of Eve
I'm aware of sickness, death and disease
The results of her choices are vast
Eve was the first but she wasn't the last
And if I were honest with myself
Had I been standing at that tree
My mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit
Things I shouldn't know and things I shouldn't see
Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know
If only Eve had known…
Oh, but she did. Eve had been told. She knew the story of the rebellion and fall of Lucifer in heaven. She knew about his lust to ruin their lives.
But now, from the base of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she watched the deceivers tool, the beautiful dragon move gracefully among the branches.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
The serpent misrepresented God and distorted His instructions.
As the Old Testament scholar Derek Kidner says, “it smuggles in the assumption that God’s word is subject to our judgment.”
Did God really say that? And even if that’s what God said, don’t you know you can’t take those words literally? We all have our own interpretation of what He really means by what He said. You have one idea, and I have another.
The serpent tempted Eve to doubt God’s word.
You’ve face that challenge, from coworkers, classmates — sophisticated people. Don’t be detoured: follow His word, obey His word.
It’s a lamp that guides and protects. Know it by your own study. Know by experience that His commands work for good and His promises are true.
Eve was tempted todoubt God’s word and she was tempted to be dissatisfied with God’s will.
Look at the serpents smooth words again:
Genesis 3:1 (ESV)
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
“Eve, God may have said that, but surely His will is for you to be happy. If God really loved you, He would give you anything you want. I can’t believe He would say no to you.”
Satan focused Eve on the one thing God said was out of bounds. This was the one tree that God put a barrier around and said, “no.” It was a test of Adam and Eve’s trust and willingness to obey and submit to Him.
Have you become dissatisfied with God’s will for your life?
Is it because it somehow comes in the way of something you want or feel you should have? Is the enemy tempting you to believe that you can only be really happy if you have that one thing?
The serpent made God look harsh and unfair, like He was withholding something good. And Eve began to be confused,
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Eve overcorrects the serpent’s error, magnifying God’s strictness. She adds, “and you must not touch it.”
In addition to magnifying God’s strictness she also seems to diminish the consequences of disobedience. Bible scholar Arthur Ferch offers says:
In the original Hebrew, her [Eve’s] reply to the serpent seems to indicate that she had modified God’s threat. Instead of repeating the certainty with which God had stated the death penalty, her response implied that death was merely a possible event. She did not take God seriously, and by reflecting the doubt and hesitancy of the serpent, Eve played into Satan’s hand.” (In the Beginning, 41)
Satan responds with a flat contradiction: “you will not surely die.” (verse 4)
It’s the serpent’s word against God’s. Who will she choose to believe?
Eve became dissatisfied whith God’s will when the serpent focused her attention on that one thing beyond the boundary line. Then eve intensified the tempation by tolerating it and talking about it instead of dismissing it and running away.
When Joseph was tempted in Potiphar’s home he ran, leaving his coat behind.
The apostle Paul said that when we are tempted we should run from it (2 Tim 2:22)
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we should talk to and negotiate with the temptation. The only time we should be talking about our temptation is when we talk about it with God. How much better would it have been had Eve run back to God and asked, “what was it you said? Iv’e been listening to someone who says what you said is not true. And by the way, I think this is harder than I can handle. Would you help me take care of this?”
Can you imagine the serpent’s expression if Eve had showed up with God at her side?
But she didn’t.
And the temptation intensified as Eve was confronted with doubts about God’s word, dissatisfaction with God’s will, and finally, denial of God’s goodness.
Larry Crabb, a well known Christian psychologist and author defines sin as “our effort to supplement what we think are limits to God’s goodness. It is trusting ourself instead of trusting God.”
That is essentially what happened to Eve. Satan tempted her to think that God was holding out on her. That in refusing her access to this tree He was withholding something that would be good for her, and in fact it was precisely because it would be good for her that He was withholding it.
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“In other words, Eve,” Satan implied, “God is mean and doesn’t want you to enjoy life to the fullest. And God is protecting himself because he knows if you ate this you would be his equal.”
Are you tempted to think that God is not completely, absolutely, unconditionally good? Is someone, something, some situation tempting you to think that your heavenly father doesn’t have your best in mind, or that He’s holding out on you? And if you want to really enjoy life or get what you deserve out of life, you’re going to have to get it yourself?
This quote from the book Patriarchs and Prophets is insightful:
“He [satan] insinuated that the Lord jealously desired to withhold it [the forbidden fruit] from them, lest they should be exalted to equality with Himself. It was because of its wonderful properties, imparting wisdom and power, that he had prohibited them from tasting or even touching it.
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The tempter intimated that the divine warning was not to be actually fulfilled; it was designed merely to intimidate them, How could it be possible for them to die? Had they not eaten of the tree of life? God had been seeking to prevent them from reaching a nobler development and finding greater happiness.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 54)
Ever since this fateful moment, men and women have been tempted to believe that freedom from God and from His will brings real liberty and opens us to expansive knowledge. The chief ingredient of sin still consists of doubt in God’s love, wisdom and care.
God is appealing to you today, to put aside your suspicion of His interest in you. God is reminding you and me today through His word that life is only found in trust and obedience.
What temptation are you tolerating, thinking about, and toying with?
I know someone who died years before she should have. She was a hard-working, caring mother and a good woman. But she tolerated and touched and toyed with something that got her by the throat and strangled the life from her. Some of you are playing with it too: alcohol, wine, beer.
You think it’s a harmless pleasure, a tasty condiment, an evening relaxer, a social lubricator, a special compliment to a fine meal.
Don’t be fooled.
In the end it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
What are you tolerating, thinking about, touching, toying with that you know is wrong?
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
There it is.
This formula has been destroying people ever since Eve.
She toyed with and entertained temptation and pretty soon, what God had said to stay away from became, “good for food” and “a delight to the eyes.”
She saw the fruit that it was good, “the lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16)
It was pleasing to the eyes, “the lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16)
And it was desirable for gaining wisdom; it appeared to bring something enriching and good — “the pride of life.” (1 John 2:16)
So... “she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (NIV)
This has to be one of the saddest stories in the Bible. So simple an act, so hard its undoing.
Derek Kidner said it memorably:
“Eve listened to a creature instead of the Creator, followed her impressions against her instructions, and made self-fulfillment her goal.”
Ever since Eve’s fateful decision to leave the goodness, blessing, security and fullness that God offered, men and women have been inclined to believe the same: that freedom from God and independence from His will brings liberty and opens the path to knowledge and wisdom. They trust the creature rather than the creator, and rely on the impressions of their senses and desires.
It’s a lie more infectious than the Omicron covid variant.
Eve passed the infection on to Adam, and then they together passed it to the entire human race.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
But God didn’t abandon them… or us.
He could have left them to their ruin. But that’s not God.
God’s first recorded words to Adam and Eve, to fallen humanity, have all the marks of grace.
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Of course, God knew where they were. He’s not calling out to get information, but to restore the breach that is always created in relationships when love and trust are broken.
Is God calling you, friend?
“Where are you? I missed you for prayer this morning.”
“Where are you? You read your Bible but with such an absent mind.”
“Where are you?”
Adam replies:
And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
It’s the first mention of fear in the Bible.
Adam and Eve were afraid because of their embarrassment. They tried to hide their nakedness from God. But the cause of their embarrassment wasn’t their nakedness, it was their mistrust and disobedience.
Ever since they hid from God we’ve been doing the same thing. We confuse sin with its results, and we mourn what happens because we’ve been caught in the wrong more than being sorry for the root character flaw that cause it.
God quickly turned their focus to the root:
Genesis 3:11 (ESV)
Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
“Did you stop trusting and obeying me?”
But before confessing, Adam pointed his finger at his wife,
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
It’s not his responsibility for eating the fruit, it was Eve… no really it was God who caused this to happen. If God hadn’t given me such a temptress as a wife, then things would be different.
The same thing happened with Eve. She pointed the finger at the beautiful, beguiling snake.
If I’m honest with you, I have to admit that I do the same thing. When I’m caught in sin I tend to point the finger too. I blame my upbringing, my church, the weather, stresses from my job, the government, my wife, my kids—anything that turns the focus away from my guilt and responsibility.
Good News
Good News
The genesis account of the Fall casts its shadow over all scripture.
The whole bible from the Old to the New Testament tells about man’s bondage to sin. But the New Testament unmasks the figure of Satan behind the serpent declaring our utter helplessness. It celebrates the Good News that God’s love found a way. That God would rescue, that His mercy would spare our punishment, and at the same time that He would affirm justice.
Hear the word of the Lord through God’s work of redemption:
Revelation 12:9 (ESV)
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world...
Then heaven erupts with a loud cry:
Revelation 12:10–11 (ESV)
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
How did this happen?
In the councils of heaven there was devised a plan that would save us and exonerate God’s love and justice.
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, would share our humanity, He would come to earth in human flesh and blood.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
This is the victory anticipated in God’s sentence upon the serpent in the Garden:
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
The “he” that deals the crushing blow to Satan is Jesus Christ. An the “enmity” that God puts between the human pair and the serpent was, essentially, an act of grace.
God, by his mercy, placed within every human being a hostility toward evil.
Yes, the great controversy that began on earth in Eden still rages within us. Paul described the struggle in Romans 7:
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
But Paul doesn’t give in to despair. Because of Christ’s victory over sin—His life, death and resurrection—although sin is a powerful force in this world and in me, it doesn’t have dominating control over me. Paul shouts this truth in the next verse:
Romans 7:24–25 (ESV)
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Satan in His temptation of Adam and Eve and his plan to defeat God’s purpose failed to realize one very important thing—the depth to which God’s love and grace would go to save us. Satan’s self-centered mind could not imagine that God would commit the fullness of His divine nature to right our wrong, to bring us back. Satan, who always seeks his own preeminence, could not envision the Creator of the universe laying down His own life in atonement for ours.
That’s what God chose to do for you and me.
Now He’s reaching His forgiving, restoring hand out to you.
He will never force you, but He is inviting you to choose Him.
Adam and Eve had the right idea when they tried to cover themselves. They needed a covering for their sinfulness, guild and shame. But the fig leaves were woefully inadequate—just like our filthy rags of self-righteousness are woefully inadequate for us. All our denials and excuses and attempts to look good to others only make more problems for us.
God provided forgiveness through His blood. Adam and Eve had the first taste of that forgiveness when God made them robes from animal skins after demonstrating the first sacrifice—the first picture of What God would suffer in order to buy us back from our rebellion.
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Footwashing
Footwashing
You may already have been baptized, or at least understand the symbolism of baptism—that we die with Christ And are given a new birth as God’s children. That life-altering commitment to Christ in baptism is essential for the Christian experience. If you have already been baptized, but you find yourself in need of the forgiveness and cleansing of Jesus’ blood, you don’t need to be baptized again. In the last supper Jesus said it to Peter, “if you’ve been washed, you don’t need to be washed all over, just your feet.“
Right now we’re going to separate to do the foot-washing ceremony. Please, ask someone if you can wash their feet, and before you wash each other’s feet, have a prayer of dedication.
I’d like to emphasize that you don‘t have to be a member of our church to participate in this service. We practice an open communion here where any sincere following of Christ is welcome to participate.
The women will be in the fellowship hall, the men downstairs in teh children’s classrooms to the right of the stairs. If you are unable to navigate the stairs, you can come up to the front of the sanctuary to share in this special service.
Communion
Communion
Jason Will say a few words
Kneel together
Brent will pray a blessing on the bread.
Harry will pray a blessing on the grape juice.
Rise and break the bread.
Deacons will pass out the bread and the grape juice and then return to the table.
Brent will read Matth 26:26 and the people will eat the bread
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
Then Harry will read Matt 26:27 and the people will drink the grape juice
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,
Jason will close by inviting the congregation to stand and sing the closing hymn:
We’ll Build on the Rock (531)