02/20/2024
Temptation Isn’t A One Time Thing
Not Even For Jesus
In Luke’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness it says, “when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.” Yes, Jesus faced down the tempter and was able to ward off his weaker impulses in favor of the path God had laid out for him. But it doesn’t mean that Jesus never faced serious temptation again. Old Satan decided to wait it out for a more opportune time to try again.
Commentator Tom Wright wrote: “Jesus would meet the tempter again in various guises: protesting to him, through his closest associate, that he should change his mind about going to the cross (Peter’s correction of his Master); mocking him, through the priests and bystanders, as he hung on the cross (again with the words ‘if you are God’s son’). Indeed, the last and most compelling temptation that faced Jesus was to reject a violent death on a cross and continue his ministry of healing and preaching indefinitely. The temptation to “be one of us in every way” would have included falling in love, raising a family, being a model citizen who could show by daily example what it means to love God completely, and share that love with his neighbors.
Our willingness to learn key scriptures by heart,
in order to keep them easily accessible;
Our ability to keep our eyes on God, trusting God
for both our daily needs and our unique purpose in life;
Our openness to remembering our calling to bring God’s light into the world
—these are the things that will give us the same
strength of resistance that Jesus showed.
Temptation seems to have a mind of its own and it often chooses to come at just those moments when our defenses are down, when we are exhausted and weary, when we are the most vulnerable. That is why staying close to God through prayer, scripture, and worship are so important if we are sincere about our desire to be men and women of God.
Archived Posts
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.
Power Without Conscience?
I ran out of room for this vignette in Sunday’s sermon. Remember the quote that could be the headline for Ahab and Naboth: “All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” The following reinforces that truth.
The Cars Are Looking for A King
I don’t have a thing to add to Pastor Jessica’s excellent sermon this last Sunday. The fable/parable she shared has been one of my favorites for all the lessons she pulled from it in her message. I was playing around with my friend Chat GPT and after several abortive attempts, we came up with the following modernized version of Judges 9:7-15.
The Lost Benediction
Depending on the length of the sermon, I try to add a little something extra in my benedictions. This week I wrote up a benediction but then realized we’d be singing and waving our umbrellas to some New Orleans jazz.
Change of Focus This Week
Instead of sharing with you about yesterday’s sermon I’d like to invite you to do some background reading for next Sunday’s “Only Murders in the Bible.” Seeing that it is All Saints Day this Sunday, we are going to look at the very first Christian martyr, Stephen.
You Might Be Thinking It’s All About You If…
In working on Sunday’s sermon I asked my computer’s AI if she/he could come up with a few suggestions in answer to the above: "You Might be thinking it’s all about you, if…."