You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we do pray for your help.
We always need your help.
Every moment, every day.
Amen.
We are especially needy as we come to your word and seek to know it and understand it,
to see it cut to our hearts, that it would shape us and mold us as you would have it.
And so we ask that you would speak this morning as we look to your word.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Last Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching in Memphis as the church that I grew up in celebrates its 50th anniversary, 50 years as a church.
And looking back 50 years to remember God's faithfulness is really neat.
But God has been faithful a lot longer than 50 years.
He's been a God of redemption since before He created the world.
That's who He is.
Looking back to the Old Testament even to see His character on display generation after generation
is a beautiful reminder to us of who God has always been and who He continues to be today and in our lives.
So this summer, we're going to do that for a few weeks to look at what we will call redemption stories in the Old Testament.
You can see a couple of them up there.
You might be able to figure out which ones they are.
He's been working to redeem for thousands and thousands of years.
And some pastors and churches these days are critiquing the Old Testament.
They're fearful of the wrathful God that we will find there and not like and be turned off by.
But we will see there a God who is indeed holy and who is and has always been all about redemption, full of grace.
So that's going to expand our vision of God's greatness, of His love.
That vision we have that Paul tells us in Ephesians is the one thing that is absolutely essential
essential to us being the people in the church God has called us to be.
That we would have a glorious vision of God, of His great love for us.
And as we look back to the Old Testament, it's going to expand that vision that we have.
That we might love God as we should.
That we might be used of Him to transform Huntsville and the world.
We need that vision.
I love being able to go to the Old Testament for that.
One other reason that we pastors wanted to spend some time in the Old Testament this summer
besides the fact that we've been in Luke for 17 years, not that long, just a couple of years.
We're almost finished, by the way.
Many of these great stories are stories that we and our kids know and love.
And so we get a chance as we look at some of these Sunday school stories and some others
to understand stories that we love in the context of the big story.
God's big story.
So that's an opportunity we'll have all through this summer.
This morning we're going to start near the beginning of God's big story
with a familiar episode.
The story of Adam and Eve.
A serpent.
Forbidden fruit.
The fallout of the first sin as they rebel against the Holy Creator.
Is there redemption there in that story?
Absolutely.
Because God is here and that's who He is.
Read with me in Genesis chapter 3 the whole story
and then we'll look back at parts of it together.
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?
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.
But the serpent said to the woman,
You will not surely die,
for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
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.
She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked
and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day
and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him,
Where are you?
And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden
and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.
He said, Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me,
she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.
And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done?
And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field.
On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
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.
To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing.
In pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.
And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,
you shall not eat of it.
Cursed is the ground because of you.
In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.
And you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground.
For out of it you were taken.
For you are dust.
And to dust you shall return.
The man called his wife's name Eve
because she was the mother of all living.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife
garments of skins and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said,
Behold the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.
Now lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life
and eat and live forever.
Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden
to work the ground from which he was taken.
He drove out the man and at the east of the garden of Eden
he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword
that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Thus far God's holy, inerrant, infallible word
for which we give him great thanks.
It was a really hot August day
that I first learned a lot
about my offensive line coach
in high school.
I was a freshman on the football team.
It was the first time through two-a-day practices.
It was sweltering out there.
I didn't know what it would feel like.
And I watched as one of the upperclassmen
tried to block his own way,
the way he wanted to do it
rather than the way that the coach had taught us.
And he ended up face first on the ground.
He could have gotten seriously injured
trying to do it his own way.
And to remind him of that,
he got a metal visor clip
from my coach on the back of his helmet.
And the way he reacted,
wincing in pain as the ringing in his ears,
I said,
I never want that ringing in my ears.
I'm sure of that.
But then he decided to talk back to the coach.
And he got sent in full pads,
all of his football gear,
to run up and down the steep hill
up to the locker room
for the rest of practice.
Dripping with sweat,
you can imagine he didn't run too long.
Pretty soon he was crawling up the hill
and almost rolling down it.
I knew,
as I watched this develop,
that coach took quite seriously
both blocking your own way
and the dangers that come with that
and disrespecting his authority.
Adam and Eve had been promised
that disobeying God
would have frightful consequences.
And man's first sin here,
determining to distrust his good creator
and insist on his own way,
indeed receives God's just punishment.
We learn right away about God
that he takes sin quite seriously,
don't we?
I mean, just look at how this develops
for a second in this passage.
Satan, having inhabited the serpent,
begins to cast doubt on the word of God.
Did God really say?
Are you sure?
But beyond that,
he casts doubt on the character of God.
Can God really be trusted?
Does he really have your best in mind?
Is he really good?
Y'all, what a monstrous evil.
Right?
Can you imagine this?
This God who has just created
this glorious, good world
and put Adam and Eve in the midst of it
and said,
here's everything you need.
Eat fruit from all these trees.
Look at all these animals.
And I'm going to walk and talk with you
every day with me.
And evil suggests
that he might not be good.
Evil questions his goodness?
Preposterous!
No way will they buy that.
I mean, we would never.
But Eve begins to wonder, doesn't she?
And soon, Adam and Eve decide
to try their own way
rather than God's.
It may seem astounding,
but we still try to handle relationships
and our marriages our own way
rather than God's, don't we?
We try to handle our bodies
and our sexuality
our own way
rather than God's.
We try to handle our money,
our time,
our priorities,
our own way
rather than God's.
And it's dangerous to us.
And God knows that.
The Creator's just judgment is severe.
The man and woman
must not be left to think
that they can find life their own way.
It's not true.
And so God pronounces curses
on all of creation.
In fact,
right on the places
they hurt the most.
Adam and Eve were created
to reflect God's image
by filling
and subduing
the earth.
Two things He told them to do.
Now,
filling
will be hard
and painful.
Pain and childbirth.
Now,
subduing
will be hard
and painful.
Thorns,
thistles,
a cursed
ground.
But it gets worse.
As you read through
the rest of the story,
what happens to Adam and Eve?
Banishment
from God's presence,
right?
Their closest friend.
Out of the garden.
Sent away.
And the spiritual
and eventually
physical death
that they'd been promised
if they disobeyed.
all the good creation
broken.
Those around you
hurt
by your failure.
Can you imagine
for a minute
the guilt
and shame
that Adam and Eve
must have felt
as that sunk in?
As they experienced
the Holy Creator
pronouncing these
curses,
sending them away.
How did we get
taken in by that?
We've blown it
and we can't fix it.
Have you felt
the shame
of sin
and failure?
Kids,
have you felt
so embarrassed
or ashamed
at disobeying
your parents?
At something
you've looked at?
At something
you've said?
the first audience
of the book
of Genesis
had felt this.
That the Exodus
generation
that God had just
brought out of Egypt
now they're
wandering
in the wilderness.
Why?
Because they
didn't trust
God.
And they
doubted Him
and insisted
on their own way
didn't they?
And so
here they are
wandering
and perhaps
wondering
how will this
God respond?
What's He like
anyway?
And they learn
that He does
take sin
seriously
don't they?
They're tasting
that when they
get this story
from Moses.
But is that
the end of the story?
Is that all
there is?
See
all the other
gods that
they've heard about
in Egypt
and the other
nations around them
those other
gods are like
that?
They take sin
seriously.
They're
terrifying.
Retributive.
You need to
watch out
or they'll
get you.
Is Yahweh
any different?
Is there
any hope
for us
in our failure
now that we've
blown it?
Maybe you're
wondering that
this morning.
Here's the
good news
God's
of this story.
In the midst
of our failures
which are huge.
The holy
creator
and He is
holy
and He
takes sin
very seriously
He is also
our gracious
redeemer.
And this makes
all the difference
y'all.
There's no other
God like
this.
Look at how we
see God's
character on
display here.
How do we
and the
Israelites
learn about
a redeeming
God who
gives failures
hope?
Well it
starts with
a question.
Where are
you?
Nearly every
day when I
get home from
work my
five-year-old
Lily runs
and hides
away from
me.
That's kind
of a thing.
It's a game
right?
Except that
I know
where she
is.
Invariably
Lily has
run up
to her
bed
and hidden
herself under
a blanket
creating an
unmistakable
lump in the
exact shape
of a five-year-old
little girl.
It's hard to
miss.
But she hides
there and I
walk up the
stairs and I
say Lily
where are
you?
Now I know
where Lily
is.
But I
I ask
where are
you?
And so
she gets
engaged,
right?
She can
make noises
to give me
hints or
usually she
just starts
giggling
underneath the
blanket so
now it's a
moving lump
even easier
to spot.
And I
say where
are you?
Not to
get an
answer but
to get her
engagement because
I love her and
being in
relationship with
her, right?
If I know
where Lily is
under her
blanket, do
you think
God, the
Creator knew
where Adam
was behind
his fig
leaves?
Yeah.
Yes he
did.
And yet he
says, where
are you?
Here comes
God on his
daily walk
in the garden
as he always
does.
Used to
being with
the man and
the woman in
intimate
relationship.
He loves
them, doesn't
he?
He comes to
walk with
them.
And yet
today they're
not running
out to greet
him.
They're hiding,
aren't they?
Verse 7,
they sewed
fig leaves
together and
made themselves
loincloths and
they heard the
sound of the
Lord God walking
in the garden.
They knew that
sound.
He always came
to walk with
them in the
cool of the
day and the
man and his
wife did what?
Hid
themselves.
from the
presence of
the Lord
God among
the trees of
the garden.
And the
first question
that God
asks in the
Bible's whole
story, it's
not, what
were you
thinking?
It's not, how
could you
possibly?
What's the
first thing he
asks?
Where are
you?
God's not
looking for
information.
God's
pursuing Adam
in his
guilt and
shame to
engage him in
relationship
because he
loves him and
being in
relationship with
him.
A pastor
friend of mine
recently said
to me that
God asks
fallen man
here, where
are you?
And we are
still avoiding
that question
and hiding
from him.
We love to
hide, don't
we?
Adam says
he was
ashamed and
afraid and
so he
hid.
He didn't
run out and
throw himself at
God's feet and
say, oh
father, I'm
right here, I'm
feeling the pain
of my mistakes,
the embarrassment
of my failures, I
need you desperately,
here I am.
No, he went to
the fig leaves.
Man, I get
that.
He'd really
blown it.
Big time
failure, genuine
guilt and
when I feel
that, my
instinct is to
hide.
Don't let
anybody know.
Some of you
hide the way
that I often
do, behind
busyness.
Just so no
one can know
where my heart
really is.
I'll be really
busy, I'll
avoid God's
word, avoid
prayer, just
let's do a lot.
Nobody will
really know
what's going
on.
Maybe you
hide by not
telling your
parents what's
really going
on.
Maybe you
hide behind
blame shifting
like Adam.
This woman,
you gave
me.
It's always
someone else's
fault, right?
Plenty of
people to
blame.
Maybe you
hide behind
alcohol,
behind
religiosity,
being a good
person,
behind humor,
behind
intellect,
telling
yourself as
you hide
that no
one, not
even God,
really knows
you.
We all have
our favorite
hiding spots,
don't we?
And of
course,
they're fig
leaves.
God sees
right through
us.
He knows
where we
are, but
we hide.
Maybe you're
hiding this
morning.
God says,
where are
you?
This won't
sound like
good news,
perhaps, if
you're hiding
from Him,
but it is.
No matter
how good you
are at
hiding,
your father
is even
better at
seeking.
It's not
even like
the odds
of me
finding Lily
under her
blanket.
He's way
better at
seeking than
we are
at hiding.
He pursues
you because
He loves
you.
And that's
good news
because God
makes a
promise that
He's not
coming merely
to shame
us and
punish us.
He's seeking
us for our
good, to
redeem what
once was
lost.
God pledges
to remove
our guilt
and shame.
Isn't it
remarkable that
the first
promise in
the Bible
comes in
this
passage?
The one
where we
blow it
and the
Creator King
has just
been spurned
by His
creatures,
rebellion
is rampant,
here come
the curses,
and the
verse that
Christians since
the first
century have
referred to
as the
Proto-Evangelium,
the first
promise of
the gospel
comes in
the midst
of God
pronouncing
curses.
Verse
15,
I will put
enmity between
you and the
woman,
between your
offspring and
her offspring,
he shall
bruise your
head and
you shall
bruise his
heel.
What's God
saying?
I haven't
given up on
these failures.
sinners.
There's a
singular
person
coming from
this disobedient
woman who
will bring
hope.
There's a
child I'll
send who
will defeat
the serpent
once and
for all.
Listen to
this promise,
y'all.
Right at the
low point
in the story,
right?
There's a
certainty
that evil
will
lose.
that your
arch enemies
will be
defeated,
that Satan
will be
crushed and
all creation
will be
redeemed.
That's what
God's saying.
Adam and
Eve, don't
lose hope
in your
failure.
Israelites
wandering in
the wilderness,
don't lose
hope in
your failure.
Southwood,
dear friends,
don't lose
hope in
your failure.
The one
true God
is a
redeeming
God.
That's the
unchanging
nature of
his character.
That's who
he is.
Do you want
to know how
gracious your
father is?
Yes?
Yes, you do
want to know?
See, ask me,
right?
How gracious
is he?
Okay, can you
ask me that?
One, two,
three.
How gracious is he?
That was really
good, all
talking during
the sermon.
Even in the
midst of
meeting out
justice, he
oozes out
grace, doesn't
he?
Even in the
face of our
greatest rebellion,
he promises
redemption.
Even to the
most guilty
and the most
ashamed, he
brings hope.
Even to those
facing certain
death, he
brings life,
eternal life.
He's so
good.
He's so
gracious.
That's who
he is.
But the
redemption
story gets
even more
beautiful.
Before they're
sent out of
the garden
because of
their sin,
God doesn't
just speak
hope.
He begins
to act to
cover our
guilt and
shame.
I don't
want to
overplay the
sacrifice
imagery here,
but it's
almost certain
that we see
the first
example of
an animal
having to
die so a
person could
be covered.
Look at
verse 21.
The Lord
God made
for Adam
and for
his wife
garments of
skins and
clothed
them.
This probably
means there
was an
animal
sacrificed,
but it
definitely
means that
God
demonstrates
tangibly
that he's
continuing
to care
for Adam
and Eve
even better
than they
could care
for themselves,
right?
No fig leaves,
garments of
skin.
He hasn't
abandoned them
even when
they've sought
to abandon
him.
He offers
protection,
covering for
their shame
much better
than their fig
leaves.
This time,
God himself
does the
covering,
doesn't he?
God.
And in that
sense,
at least,
we get a
taste already
of the
redeeming
grace of
God that
we know
most fully
in Jesus.
Covering
Adam and
Eve with
animal skins
is only the
beginning of
what God's
going to do,
of his
care for
his rebellious
people.
In Jesus,
God provides
not merely
a second
chance for
failures who
would blow
that second
chance anyway,
but a second
Adam,
one who
comes and
who when
he is
tempted to
doubt God's
word and
God's good
character,
he does
what?
He trusts
his father.
He obeys
the father.
He succeeds
where Adam
has failed
and where
we have
failed.
And yet,
even though
he's the
successful one,
the one who
doesn't give
in to temptation,
he does
actually go
to the
cross,
doesn't he?
He goes
to the
cross to
die where
we deserve
to.
Galatians 3
actually says
it this way,
he redeemed
us from
the curse
of the law
by becoming
a curse
for us.
For it's
written,
cursed is
everyone who
is hanged
on a tree.
Jesus
takes the
curse so
that we
receive the
blessing he
earned.
That's why
we sang in
that great
hymn,
the beginning
of the
service.
He comes
to make
his blessings
flow far
as the
curse is
found.
Where's the
curse in
this story?
It's on
creation,
it's on
you,
it's on
me,
it's everywhere
and Jesus
comes to
make blessing
flow
everywhere.
That's why
we rejoice.
That's why
we have
hope.
For
failures
buried
beneath
their
guilt
and
their
shame.
Jesus
sacrifices
himself
to be
a
covering
for us.
Hebrews
chapter 10
says it
this way,
but when
Christ had
offered for
all time
a single
sacrifice
for sins,
he sat
down at
the right
hand of
God,
waiting
from that
time until
his enemies
should be
made a
footstool
for his
feet.
For
by a
single
offering,
he has
perfected
for all
time those
who are
being
sanctified.
He
crushes
the head
of the
serpent,
defeats
all his
and our
enemies,
and by
his one
sacrifice
covers us
safely
forever.
Verse 17
keeps going.
I will remember
their sins
and their
lawless deeds
no more.
Where there
is forgiveness
of these,
there is no
longer any
offering for
sin.
No more
sacrifice
needed for
your sin.
It is
finished.
His was
enough.
No matter
how shameful
your failure,
no matter
how big
your sin,
his death
covers
you.
What's God
like when
you fail?
Can you
answer that
a little bit
better now?
He pursues
you to draw
you out
of hiding
into a
relationship
with him.
He promises
hope at
your lowest
and darkest
moments.
He takes
action to
provide what
you need.
He's always
been that
way.
He always
will be.
It's who
he is.
It's the
first glimpse
of his
redeeming
nature in
this story,
but there
are many,
many more
preparing us
for the
ultimate
redemption
we find
in Jesus.
Yahweh is
the king
of creation
who rules
justly and
firmly and
living your
own way
rather than
his is
dangerous to
your soul.
So take
heed.
Don't trust
yourself.
And at the
same time,
he loves
to redeem.
So take
comfort
and trust
him.
I said I
learned a lot
about my
coach that
really hot
August day.
I did.
I actually
came to
realize I
could trust
my coach,
that he
really loved
me.
Coach would
eventually say
encouraging
things.
He would
pray for us
before every
game.
God,
take care of
my guys.
And so he
would demonstrate
his love.
But I knew
by the end
of that first
practice I
could trust
him.
By the end
of practice
that day,
I saw what
he was like
having been
disregarded,
having been
disrespected.
He went
and walked
over to that
hill where
of course the
player is now
crawling up
the hill.
And my
coach, who
is not a
small man
himself,
got down on
his hands
and knees
beside him
and started
crawling up
the hill.
Shouting
encouragement
to the guy
next to him.
Come on,
you can do
it.
You can do
it.
Keep
coming.
Of course,
my coach
beat him
up the hill
because it
was his
first trip.
He got
up to the
top and
he turned
around and
reached down,
grabbed the
guy by the
arm and
pulled him
up to
stand next
to him and
threw his
arms around
his big
sweaty,
stinky
self and
hugged
him.
And I
thought,
I can
trust him.
He does
love us.
I don't
want to
blow it,
but he's
the one I
want around
when I
do.
Y'all,
God has
entered into
our sin.
He has
suffered for
us and
given us
not just a
hand up
but an
eternal
security,
a righteous
standing with
him,
a new
family when
we deserved
none of it.
there's no
other God
like him.
No one
else meets
you in
your failure
to bring
you hope
and redemption.
Everyone
and all
of creation
needs to
know about
a God who
redeems like
that.
Amen?
Let's pray.
Father,
we need to
know that
because we
forget.
we fail
and we
forget that
you still
love us
and that
you're more
gracious and
merciful than
we believe.
Thank you for
giving us a
reminder of that
this morning,
a picture
of your
redeeming
nature,
how you love
to rescue us
in the midst
of our failure.
Would you
so excite us
by that
that we
might long
for the
world to
know
for everyone
and every
part of this
creation to
be touched
by the
God who
rules over
it all
and who
redeems
so gloriously.
We ask it
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
For more
information,
visit us
online at
southwood.org.
Thank you.