If you place a cookie jar in front of a three-year-old, leave the room, then come back and ask them if they took a cookie from the cookie jar, most likely the answer would be, “No.” But as you look at the cookie crumbs on the little tot’s face, you know that it’s begun. What has begun? The dance with temptation!
We all dance with temptation. It’s as old as humanity itself. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden and see how it all started. Genesis 3 tells us that not only were Adam and Eve in the Garden, but a serpent was there, too. Not just any serpent. It was a serpent that was “more crafty” than any other serpent. And it talked!
And what came out of the serpent’s mouth was not truth but a lie. The temptation comes in what will you believe, the truth or the lie? You may remember a game show that tested those skills. It was called To Tell the Truth. Four celebrity judges were faced with the task of listening to three contestants and assessing which one was telling the truth about their occupation or some incident in their life. Oh, the contestants were good. No doubt primed for the show. And many times the judges were fooled by a good telling of lies.
Isn’t that how temptation works? A good telling of lies. We saw it in the Garden, but we also see it in the wilderness. Jesus went into the wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry. And that’s when He was faced with the devil’s version of To Tell the Truth. For forty days Satan threw one temptation after another at Jesus, each one filled with lies, yet with a grain of truth in them. And that’s what gets us – the grain of truth. We believe that part, so the rest of it must be true, too. That’s the temptation, to believe the lie.
And what Jesus shows us, as recorded in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, is how to put first things first, how to burn up temptation and rise from the ashes even stronger! And it’s something that we can all do. If we put first things first.
I hope you will join me on Sunday as we begin our Lenten sermon series: From the Ashes. This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Lent and the Lord is going to help us to deal with temptation once and for all. The title: From the Ashes of Temptation: First Things First. I’ll see you in the Sanctuary! And if you forget to set your clocks, I’ll see you online!
Daylight Savings Time It’s time for our annual check-up. Can we remember to set our clocks UP one hour tonight? Of course we can! We’ll lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of daylight. Here we go!
Lenten Offering goes through Easter. This is above your regular giving. It is a sacrificial giving that the board usually designates for a particular cause or need. This year, the board has once again designated it for the youth and children’s ministries. This will help ensure that our young people have vibrant ministry so that they, too, become deeply rooted disciples! Please designate “Lenten Offering” when giving.
Churchwide Bible Study! It’s here! We’re going to hold a Bible study for the entire church during Lent. It is a study from RightNow Media called: Essentials of Faith. The study will begin on this Wednesday, March 12, 6:30-7:30pm. It will take us through some of the basics of our faith such as: what is a Christian? Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit? Whether you’re a long-time disciple or new to the faith, this course is sure to strengthen you on your faith journey! No book is required for purchase. Study guides will be made available for each of the 6 weeks. Potluck dinner (optional) will be available from 5:45-6:15pm, or come for class at 6:30p. Let’s pack the MPR, because the church that studies together stays together! Check out the trailer: https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/player/video/860452?session=871151&position=0.
Save the Date! GT will once again dine out together! We had so much fun at the Mellow Mushroom, that we decided to do it again. So, on April 8, we will dine out at Maggie O’Brien’s. More details will come later.
Vision for 2025:
Deeply Rooted:
Growing Through Discipleship!
Blessings,
Pastor Linda
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