LCC Discipleship Minister Daniel Koch begins a new sermon series this week about “Easter Eggs” hidden in the Bible. In week 1, we discuss the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis. Daniel reminds us of the “first Good News” shared in the Bible, in Gen. 3:15, when God said to the serpent, “He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” When all seems overwhelming and we are surrounded by chaos, we can remember this promise – Satan may deliver a powerful blow, but Jesus will always overcome and claim the victory.
“God created humans with the ability to choose right from wrong. No other beings possessed this gift. And it is a gift – it allows us to demonstrate a response of obedience, which is God’s very love language.”
“Satan uses the same approach with you and I today – testing how well we really know God’s command. He knows if you don’t know God’s command, it’s easy to twist certain things.”
“If you want to see somebody completely destroy their life, start by undermining true authority in their life. If you want people to rebel, begin by undermining true reality and a true sense of right and wrong.”
“Chaos begins with undermined authority.”
“Even worse than tempting someone to do wrong that knows what they are doing is wrong… is the ability to tempt someone to believe that what is wrong is actually right. The only way to do that is to destroy the foundation of God’s authority, first and foremost – the only true, objective, moral authority.”
“You don’t have to live very long to see how quickly the definitions of right and wrong change in our society.
“The problem with popular consensus, and anything else we might fill that void with, is that it isn’t consistent. It always changes. But as Christians, we hold to a constant, true, objective source of moral authority.”
“Satan plays on our vulnerability – that when we don’t know God well, he sees that as an opportunity to come in and take hold.”
“There is truth in the Word of God and when we know it and we study it, then we’re able to know the counterfeit lies that are constantly bombarding us.”
“When authority is undermined, the next thing that happens is that clarity is replaced by confusion.”
“When the standard of what is right and wrong is ignored, there is no end to the claims of truth that seek to fill the void.”
“In the midst of facing the daily effects of a broken and fallen world… when the chaos around you feels too great and too overwhelming… God whispers. When all you see is chaos, look to the cross.”
