Blessed we are So that we can be a blessing.

2026  03  01  Lent 2 A

Genesis 12.1-4a Psalm 121   Romans 4.1-5, 13-17  John 3.1-17

“Father Abraham has many sons….”   This was the song I learnt when I was little.  Through it, I learned that Abraham is considered our father in the faith.  He is the father of all who live by faith.   I have recently returned from a holiday where I cruised to New Zealand.  Through this we met a variety of people, notably a ministering couple from Ohio.  They shared with us that their church has a core motto; “Love God.  Bless People”.  To make it clear what it means to love others, they used the word “Bless”.    Be a blessing to others.   Abram was called, and in him all the families of the earth were to be blessed.

 

God called Abram (at this stage God had not changed his name to Abraham), and gave him a very sure promise.  "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

 

The promise was to make of him a great nation and make his name great.   Did God keep his promise?  yes, his name is great and his nation is the nation of Israel….  Although it could be correctly noted that he was the father of the Arab tribes, the Edomites and many others also… but the nation through whom the promise of God was through, is Israel.   Abraham is most famously considered the father of those who have faith in God.  God spoke and Abraham believed what God said.  This is an important aspect in the story of Abraham’s life and through that faith and trust and belief in God, Abraham is considered to be righteous.  This important understanding about the Good News, is explained in the letter to the Romans.  Abraham was justified by his faith and not by his works.   He trusted in God.  Faith is not just about believing in God.  It is about trusting as well, and therefore, following what God says.

 

Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldeans.  Ur was THE main center for the worship of the moon god, Nanna - also known as Suen or Sin.  It is safe to say that Abram was well acquainted with this god.  When God called Abram, he was called to leave his country, his home and his family…. Not an easy thing to do, but also God was calling him to leave behind the religion that worshipped many gods.   Abram obeyed because he believed what God was telling him.  As we follow the story of Abraham we find that he had chosen to turn away from all other gods and serve the LORD.  We are told when Abram reached that land, he built an altar to the LORD.  It would be many years- many, many years before Abram would have a child.  Abram’s wife was barren.  Abram still remained faithful to God.  Many years of being separated from his homeland and family.  Many years of waiting to become a great nation and still no child.  Abram up and left all that he had known because God called him, but here he was living in what seemed to be exile and the promise was not fulfilled.  He passed through towns where he could well be murdered so that others could have his wife, who, as rumour would have it, was very beautiful. 

 

It was a treacherous time, and God was with him to save him and confirm his blessing on him, but still no child to fulfill the promise of the great nation.  Why I’m highlighting these tough times of Abram is because we are living in times that are tough.  We are a church hard pressed by legal and financial demands.  We are in a position where we wonder about our future.  There is a scripture verse that is quoted about us paying for the “sins of the fathers”, but this is actually only part of the scripture passage. It actually says in Exodus 20: 4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  The second and more important part of the scripture says that God shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.  We are recipients of his love and favour.

 

We too, are like Abraham.  We have been given a promise by God.  He will show love to the thousandth generation.   We have a hope and a future.  We, like Abraham, are always being called to leave behind the things that might ensnare us.  We are always being called to let go of any false gods that we’ve been inclined to trust in rather than trusting in God.  The people of Abrams home-town trusted in many gods – Abraham made a choice and he chose to believe the ONE God El Shaddai/ the Almighty…. then he put his faith into action.  We are always being called to let go of the sins of yesterday and walk into the promise of what God will do in our tomorrow.   God promised to make Abraham’s name great.  Why?  So that he would be a blessing.  The point of the promise was so that others could also be blessed.   The world is blessed through Abraham, because it is through him that Jesus came into the world.  Through him we are brought into the family of God.

 

In our Gospel reading Jesus tells Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  What he is referring to, is his crucifixion.  Through his death anyone who believes in him can have eternal life.  Eternal life is an amazing gift, and we receive it, not by anything we do to be “good enough” – because we can never in our own strength BE good enough.  However, simply by making a definite choice to believe God and by believing that God is who he says he is and knowing that he is Good and loves us, we are counted as the people of faith, and we like Abraham are considered righteous and acceptable to God.   Our challenge is always to get our lives to line up with our spiritual reality.  Our spiritual reality is that we are considered clothed in Christ through our baptism.  In other words, Christ has atoned for the sins of the world and God the father sees us as perfect and acceptable through him.  Yet, the fact is we fall even in our faith.  Even in our believing in God…. We doubt.   Last week our readings talked about Adam and Eve and how Satan planted doubt about God.  It was that doubt that led to the fall.  It was doubt that the devil tried to plant in Jesus’ mind when he said, “IF you are the son of God….” “IF” – it was a vain attempt to planted doubt about Jesus own identity. 

 

Our call is to BE the people of faith.  It is easy to be people of faith when all is going our way.  It is harder when things are not going well.  It is harder still when everything goes “pear-shaped”.   How hard was it for Abraham to believe in God’s promises of making him a great nation when his barren wife reached 90?   It is easy in those times to doubt.  Abraham didn’t know how God would make him into a great nation, but he continued to be trust God.

 

Nicodemus struggled to understand Jesus, because he had a cultural understanding about his world and the spiritual world.  What Jesus was telling him was new, about being born from above.  He had to let go of his prior understandings, to accept what Jesus was saying.  We are challenged likewise to let go “Other gods” that we are inclined to put our trust in, rather than God.  Our own efforts?  Our own intelligence?  Our own culture?  Are we accepting the worldview of those around us and becoming no different from our secular culture?  This is why God called Abraham to leave his country – so that he could be different and true to the living God, the LORD almighty.  No doubt, as the years without an heir went by, many would have said to Abram, “Did God really call you?”  The world around us would say to us “Did God really call you?”  “Is God really with you?”  It seems to me, through last week’s message, and this week’s, we are encouraged to remember that God loves us.  Remembering this is important so that we don’t fall for the devil’s lies. 

 

"Hosanna" is a word we hear, mostly when we read about Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the word of praise, but the  Hebrew phrase hôšîʿâ-nā means "save, I pray" or "save now". It is a plea for help that became a shout of praise.  It is the praise we give God expectantly sure of His deliverance before the battle has even begun.  It is the image of the small shepherd boy David declaring his trust in God as he stands before Goliath. Be encouraged to stand firm in times that are tough and, like Abram, answer God’s call – We chose God, the LORD almighty.  We are his and we are in his hands.  God has chosen us and has called us to be blessed  - and blessed we will be, because he wants us to be a blessing to our world. Hosanna!

The first commandment ! Lent 1 A 22nd Feb 2026

 

2026 02  22 Lent 1 year A

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7   Romans 5:12-21   Matthew 4:1-11   Psalm 32

 

I’m often amused at how many non-church going people will tell you that they are pretty good because they are law-abiding people who keep the Ten Commandments.  What amuses me about this is that they have no idea of the first and most important command.  To love God and have no other God’s before him.   I mention this because it is central to our readings today.

 

Speaking of laws, did you notice the extent of freedom enjoyed by Adam and Eve in our first reading?  Adam was free to eat of every tree in the garden, but one.  We may have the Ten Commandments, but Adam and Eve only had one!  Also, perhaps of note, just to balance the blame that woman gets for the fall, this command was given to the Man before there WAS any woman.  However, have you ever considered the freedom enjoyed by Adam and Eve?

 

From the very beginning, Adam and Eve were free.  God created us to be free, and He gave us free will.  Death was not initially part of our reality, and you might have missed the fact that in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could freely eat from the tree of life.  That all changed when they followed the advice of the serpent and God exiled them from the garden of Eden. 

 

Adam and Eve disobeyed God, but why….?  What could have been so tantalizing that they would risk death?  Firstly, the fruit looked good for food.  Notice how this is echoed in the temptation of Jesus in the desert.  He was first tempted with food… this was at a time when Jesus was hungry – very hungry and a very real temptation.  But Jesus does not sin.  He answers by quoting spiritual truth that emphasizes the will of God and trust in God. 

 

We are told that Eve considered the fruit desirable for making her wise.  Many scripture verses encourage us to aspire to be wise but also advise that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  God is first and foremost and His ways are truth and life.  Was it wise to eat from a tree that God said would cause your death?  To accept that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, means to have a humility towards God.  It means we defer to God’s wisdom, rather than our own and we trust in what HE says….. God says, “Don’t eat that fruit”, we accept that God knows what is best for us and we don’t.  We might think this was simple and foolish of Adam and Eve, but do we still do the same?  Are there aspects of our life, where God’s direction is different from our actions?

 

The second and third temptations of Jesus in the desert have been suggested to be about pride and about authority and power.  Jesus knew he was the Son of God – THE son of God.  He knew his importance, but he humbly submitted to the will of the father - always– even to the cross.

 

The third temptation of Christ was where Jesus was offered all power and authority by bowing down to Satan, to which Christ answers with our familiar commandment to worship God alone and serve him only.

 

Although there were three temptations described as happening to Jesus in the desert, they are all essentially about the same thing…. They are all about that first commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.   It is about allegiance.  Which side would Jesus choose?  God or the Devil?  Jesus was faithful to God – three times – therefore the matter is well and truly settled.

 

The serpent had told Eve that God lied to them.  They wouldn’t really die but would be like God.  All they had to do was eat the fruit…. All they had to do was not obey God…. All they had to do was to obey the serpent.

Adam and Eve took a side.  There was Satan on one side and God on the other.  In eating that fruit, they took the side of Satan.

 

Many people in the world around us today, don’t trust in God.  They might hear about God or read parts of the Bible and decide that God is lying to them.  And we all know those people – we’ve come across these people.  But here is where the rubber hits the road…. Sometimes those people are us.  When we know what God wants us to do, but we don’t do it, or anytime we put ourselves before God and anytime we make a judgement about what is good or bad, rather than deferring to what God tells us, then we are eating that fruit all over again…. We are taking a side – and it isn’t the side of faith.  And we ALL do this.  Even with our best intentions…. Sadly.  Sin entered the world through Adam, but we all bear his image, and sin is passed on as though part of our DNA.  Now, we need a saviour!

 

In the desert Jesus faced the same temptation as Adam and Eve, but he didn’t fall, he continues to reverence God the father and submit to his will – three times he was tested – which means the matter was confirmed and absolute.  Jesus, standing true to God the father in this time of testing, demonstrates his role in reversing the disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

 

The temptation was ultimately about being “God” – having the power and authority and wisdom of God and being our own God and therefore, not needing God.  Therefore, choosing the way of Satan.  Adam and Eve were enticed to doubt God.  They were enticed to be their own God.   They were enticed to disobey God.  The consequence was death.  Without God’s spirit and presence, and without access to the tree of life, they began to die physically.   Death entered the world and reigned ever after – Then Jesus rose from the dead, proving that he had power over the grave, and he brought about something new…  the opportunity for redemption.

 

We, like God, are triune beings.  We have a body, soul and spirit.   The consequence of sin was death… physical death eventually, but spiritual death through being separated from God’s spirit.  Often people see this time of Lent as being the big build up and preparation time for Easter, with it’s culmination being resurrection Sunday.  But those apostles, after experiencing the resurrection, did very little, even after seeing the risen Christ, until they received the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit.  It wasn’t an optional extra.  The Holy Spirit is vital.  The story of the salvation we have through Christ is not finished until we have experienced Pentecost.  Someone once said it this way, “Jesus did not come to die for your sin” – and that sounded like heresy – because Jesus did die to atone for sin– he died as the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world…  but the speaker went on to explain.  “Jesus came to bring you life!” 

 

Yes, Jesus brings us eternal life through dying to atone for the sins of the world, but that life – the abundant God type life -  is what comes through the Holy Spirit.  God desires for us to be truly alive.  His desire is to be in communion with us… to have us walk with him just as Adam and Eve did in the beginning, but better, because we have already chosen a side… through our baptism into Christ we are considered to have chosen the side of faith.

 

Our journey today begins with understanding that Adam and Eve fell, and we all do the same.  We come before God in humility knowing that we have also questioned God, not followed His call and by doubting God, we’ve unwittingly given allegiance to one who tempts and lies to us.  In acknowledging this, we turn back to God. 

 

Romans tells us; “If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”  This is the Good News.  Our unity with Jesus, who didn’t fall for the temptation, means that we have life – abundant, spirit-filled life!  Grace, eternal life and unity with God is the free gift of God, which is ours through Christ Jesus.

 

Lent is a time of consecration, where we commit our lives to God.  We know our weaknesses, but we don’t rely on our own resolve and efforts. …. Instead, we know that our life is assured through our unity with Christ.  However, we take this time to focus on prayer and fasting, as we acknowledge the reality that we are not as law abiding as we wish we were…. We do fall… often... but in this time, we remind ourselves that we continue to choose God.  We, through the gift of Jesus, are absolutely the people of God.  It is who we are and who we always choose to be.  We choose the way of faith.