Comunion Service
Opening Hymn: O worship the King all-glorious above
Prayer
Most faithful Friend, look with compassion upon each member of this congregation as we come before you this morning . Override our ignorance, undercut our arrogance, scatter our indifference, and infiltrate our thoughts and feelings with your own Spirit. Please set us free from anything that might demean or diffuse this hour of worship. Enable us to put down our roots into the immovable ground of your eternal goodness. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
CONFESSION
God our Creator and Redeemer, we confess to you and to each other that we are people who often fail in the hour of temptation. Sometimes we put up a great fight, only to lose the ground in an unguarded moment while we are licking our wounds.
Sometimes we slowly win the struggle, only to fall into the same trap as we come from another direction.
Sometimes we think the issues are so trifling that they are not worth the fight, and so we corrupt our true selves in a dozen mini betrayals.
Sometimes we do not even realise that we have wandered until we look around and find ourselves on the wrong path.
Sometimes we believe the Tempter when he says that your ways are unfair, and so we rebelliously turn our backs on you.
Most merciful Friend, please reclaim and forgive us. Remove not only our guilt but also those mental struggles through which we have sought to justify ourselves. Give us a new start. Keep us alert without anxiety and courageous without overconfidence in our own wisdom. Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen!
FORGIVENESS
My sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, it is written: “While we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us.” Most happy are they whose transgression is forgiven; whose sins are covered by God. Be glad and celebrate, his grace together.
The Lords Prayer
Notices
Hymn: Lord of all hopefulness. (Birthday song for Ann)
Setting the scene: Sarah Thompson - Magic Penny.
Song: How deep the Father's Love for us?
Bible Readings:
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 - Norman Goodeve
Mat 4: 1-11 - Jude Richards
Song: Forty days and forty nights.
Sermon
Pic: Charles and Camilla.
So what do you think: Charles and Camilla - yes or no? King and Queen or King and the Countess of Cornwall ? Or should he abdicate and let William be King? Or don't you know what all the fuss is about. Whatever your conclusion - no doubt we have each heard the debates this week. A debate based on issues of forgiveness, love, tradition and new beginnings.
And we move into Lent - we move into a season where we celebrate issues of forgiveness, love, tradition and new beginning, and we turn towards the mysteries of the Easter Story and discover again our God in hope.
One of the girls came to Girls Brigade on Wednesday and announced _" I am giving up chocolate for Lent" a noble announcement we were very impressed, here in this 9 year old we witnessed the spirit of determination and devotion - then she gave us the rider - but not until after my birthday"! I like it. Just in case you are tempted - give yourself a way out.
Today's readings are all about temptation.… Adam and Christ - tempted in the garden, and the wilderness - tempted to do what would seem natural but what they knew was not wise.
Pic: Angel an devil on shoulder.
Temptation is something that we cannot avoid. This week we will have each been tempted. How have we coped with temptation? And how has temptation hit us: Tempted to not display parking ticket for the few minutes you needed to be there; tempted to not tell the woman in Tesco that they had given you too much change? Tempted to leave work 10 minutes early so avoid the rush, tempted to cross the road to avoid that person, tempted to pretend to be asleep to avoid another conversation, tempted to linger a little longer in the presence of someone who you find attractive, despite your personal circumstances etc, etc?
This week we will each have been tempted in one way or another - tomorrow we will be tempted again - it happened to Adam - it happened to Jesus, and it happens to you and I. There is nothing we can do about the fact that we will be tempted - it's simply the daily dilemma of freewill - will she, wont she? Can he, can't he? Each temptation comes and along with it comes is a test of our character, faith, integrity, and morality.
Each temptation then is a God opportunity. For each time we are called to exercise our freewill we have a chance to choose goodness. You could also say that each temptation seems like a set up, for every time we are tempted we have failure looming over our heads!
We can't avoid temptation - and hopefully we wouldn't we want to. For it's in our response to each temptation that we are moulded and shaped into the people of God. It is in success and failure that we meet with God, and learn life's important lessons.
This morning we are faced with Adam and Christ - or as some theologians call them the first and second Adam. The failure and the hero - the goat and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Picture of Adam and Eve.
There is always a danger when we look at the early chapters of Genesis that the story is lost in the debate on whether or not Adam and Eve actually existed or whether this is an allegory - a vivid picture of humankind and the dilemma of freewill.
Whatever we think - we cannot fail to see that all humanity displays traits of Adam and Christ. At times we will be tempted and fail, and at other times we will be tempted and overcome. Its part of the complexity of our make up - we are human like Adam (earthly creation), yet being saved through Christ (the heavenly Saviour).
The first Adam displays humanity separated from God. In Adam and Eve we see a primarily concerned with self-preservation, self-gratification, and pleasure-seeking. In our first-parents we see demonstrated how we so naturally gravitate towards irresponsibility. They seek to please self alone. In other words, this way of living is based on our own carnal whims, passions and desires.
Yes - lets be honest - we are there all too often! The spirit of Adam and Eve lives in us and often we turn our back on what is right in favour of what we fancy. Like Eve and Adam, when we are tempted, we fail. We fail - not simply because they failed and it's all their fault that we are weak - but we are like them. This is our story as well as their story.
When we look at the story of the temptation of Adam we discover that nature of the temptation is not first of all about moral issues like committing adultery or telling the truth or bearing false witness against your neighbour, though that comes very quickly afterwards.
The first way in which this temptation enters the world is when the serpent comes and calls upon Eve (and Adam mindlessly follows. Eve wrestles, by the way, with temptation. Adam doesn't wrestle at all. Just does it).
But it's a temptation to ignore the voice of God to turn their backs on the very truths which were foundational to life.
(Don't listen to Him!)
The tempter comes and calls into question first of all the boundaries that God has set: Did God say that you were not to eat of any of the trees in the middle of the garden? Surely God didn't say that. The tempter makes them examine the boundaries that God has set, and question their validity.
(Calls them to examine their safe places)
And then the serpent calls into question the significance of our choices. Oh, surely, surely, you won't die. It's not that serious, really, is it? What choice will you make?
( The tempter comes and challenges their concept of the truth - making the truth seem like a lie with his plausible argument and cleverly crafted questions)
And then ultimately, there is the denial of the goodness of God.
Let me tell you , says the serpent, let me tell you why God doesn't want you to eat of this particular fruit. Because God knows that you will become like God and God doesn't want you to become like God. God doesn't want the best for you.
(Here's some false hope for you)
These subtle temptations to
a) ignore what God has taught them,
b) destroy the safe boundaries that exist,
c) calls God a liar
d) Offers dreams and status that seem extremely attractive .
In my life there have been times when I have been lead down this cause of action - have you? As Oscar Wilde once said that he could resist everything except temptation.
Thankfully, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, demonstrates to us another way to deal with temptation.
In contrast, to the first Adam, the second Adam (Christ) speaks to us of life in union with God. Christ's whole life was influenced by spiritual direction, destiny, and based on faith, not on selfish whims.
The tempter follows a similar line of attack with Christ as he had with Adam:
a) Ignore what God has taught you, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
That little word if - the Tempted comes to undermined what Christ knew from his baptism when the heavens had opened, the stories his mother had told him about his birth and angels and travelling wise men. Jesus knew who he was, and was not thrown by any seeds of doubt that the tempter wanted to nurture in this time of hunger and testing. (Ignore what you know already - here you are a sad lonely man in a desert place, hungry and thirsty, are you really the son of God?)
b) Destroy the safe boundaries that exist. These safe boundaries that existed was the next thing that the tempted wanted Christ to kick again, when the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. The tempted challenged Christ to re-examine the boundaries that God has set, and question their validity. If you are Gods son, why hold back, why not do something amazing. Boundaries do not equal power - why not grasp power while you can, and push the boundaries now.
c) Calls God a liar - throughout the three temptations we see that Jesus is called to see God as a liar.
d) And finally Satan takes Christ to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
Here like was offered to Adam - Christ is offered the fulfilment of his dreams, a status that would at that moment have seemed extremely attractive, to a hungry lonely man in the wilderness.
Yet Jesus replied : "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
Pic: Christ temptation.
Jesus was tempted to be Lord of his own life too.
His father had led Him into the desert so that Jesus might decide for himself what kind of Messiah he was going to be.
Unlike the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve, the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert has an altogether different kind of ending.
Jesus held fast to his God-given freedom to choose, but Jesus chose the right course. Where Adam and Eve put their trust ultimately in themselves and lost their freedom and happiness; Jesus put his trust ultimately in God and won eternal life for us all.
Where Adam and Eve sought power and knowledge for themselves; Jesus sought power and knowledge through his Father in heaven.
Where Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent; Jesus listened for the heart of his Father.
Where the first Adam failed, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus, triumphed.
In Christ, we see one who resisted temptation and leads us in a different way, one who works for the Kingdom, one who obeyed the will of His Father, and one who demonstrated how love truly works - as he lays down his life for us.
In Lent we too are led right out in the middle of the desert where we have some choices to make.
Lent is often our time of temptation. Like the temptation of Adam and Eve and the temptation of Jesus, God puts us at this crossroads for a reason.
Do we want to continue our lives the way they are, or are we seeking new lives?
Do we want to follow the our own whims, passions and selfish desires, or follow the Jesus Christ?
This is the desert place God takes us so that we might have the time and space to make some decisions regarding our future.
Pic: Spaghetti junction
So often our desert place looks more like a major motorway junction - too may choices, too many complications.
After Jesus was done with the tempter - angels came and attended Him. And we have more than just the help of angels, we have Jesus himself attending us. The one who understands our weaknesses, know our temptations and walks with us.
And we are not just attended only in victory; we are also attended when we fall. For Christ is with us always,
The necessity of trials and temptations teach us several things:
We begin the service with those words we use each week "lead us not into temptation". Friends I pray that when temptation meets you face to face, the second Adam, the Christ will meet you there, and lead you safely through.
Amen
Intercession:
The cease-fire agreement announced by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a summit meeting in Egypt .
The Finance ministers from the world's seven richest nations agreeing, in
principal, to write off up to 100% of the debts of the world's poorest countries at
the G7 meeting in London .
In Nepal , King Gyanendra announced that he will take power imposing a state of emergency and suspending many civil liberties, including the liberty of expression.
Localised flooding in Guyana. Yvonne Phillips concerned for family members there.
(Floodwaters in also in Venezuela)
In the Aceh province of Indonesia , the decades-old conflict between government forces and Acechnese separatists has flared up again.
In Iraq , an average of 18 people have died each day since the elections.
Silence
Lord in your Mercy - hear our prayers:
Song: There is a redeemer, Jesus God’s own son
Benediction:
Go out into the world in the righteousness of Christ.
Do not hide your sin, but trust in God who gives mercy and love.
Do not be afraid to face the wilderness, but do not compromise with evil.
And may God be your shelter to save you from ruin.
May Christ be your teacher and show you the path to walk.
And may the Spirit encircle you with songs of freedom.
The Grace