We began our Lenten preaching series in which we will explore the John Bell hymn "Take, O Take Me As I Am." The sermon series will incorporate this year's lectionary passages for Lent, which began with Jesus in the wilderness being tempted. When I outlined the sermon series, this first sermon was supposed to see how Jesus modeled the actions to which we are going to be called by our exploration of the hymn. I"m not sure I set that up properly in the sermon.
“Modeling the Actions” Matthew 4: 1-11; Romans 5: 12-19; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; Feb 22, 2026
Matthew 4: 1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Introduction: Don’t forget the timeline of Jesus’ entry into ministry?
Just before before beginning his ministry,
just before this story in the wilderness
Jesus has been baptized in the Jordan River -
we know that baptism is a special time - whether you remember the day you were baptized,
or have heard stories
or have presented your own child for baptism
or stood up with the one being baptized,
we know how special baptism is
as one who spent last Sunday at a baptism, I can affirm that is a special moment
and the voice from heaven has announced about Jesus: “This is my Son, the Beloved,[e] with whom I am well pleased.”
a glorious moment.
a glorious moment immediately followed by Jesus being sent by the Spirit into the wilderness,
the wilderness, where in biblical where tough stuff happens and things are sorted out.
This is where we begin Lent - with Jesus in the wilderness, being tempted.
a place where he is tempted by the devil and sorts out and lays claim to who he is.
as we reflect on this story today to begin our Lenten journey, we explore how in the face of temptations, we are called to join Jesus and lay claim to who we are and whose we are.
Move 1: I am struck by how subtle temptations in our lives can be.
a. on the one hand, the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness ought to be a clarion call for us to name temptation for what it is and turn away.
1. On the other hand,
and maybe it’s just me,
but I read these temptations as offered by the devil, and they do not seem so clear cut.
I hear the devil’s questions, and I’m not so sure how far they are from my own thoughts and words.
1. Consider the first temptation.
the devil basically says,
“Jesus, you say, or maybe others say you are the Son of God - prove it.”
How many times do we wonder who Jesus is,
or really want to know if Jesus is the one for whom we should give up our lives and follow?
We know that Jesus will spend much of his ministry dealing with people who doubt who he is,
who want him to prove that he is the son of God.
even on the cross as death is near, Matthew tells us that the chief priests, and scribes, and elders,
the learned folks,
the people in leadership like us,
are saying - if he comes down from the cross, then we will believe he is the Son of God. (Matthew 27:40)
the devil’s offer for Jesus to prove who he is does not sound too far from thoughts we might have.
2. Or, the temptation to test God
the devil invites Jesus to “throw yourself down,” to see if God will really save him
in other words, throw himself down and prove that God loves him
and cares for him
and protects him.
We know what it means to sets condition on someone’s love or care for us: “if you really love me….”
prove it by doing this or that.
Or maybe, “if God really loves me….”
God will save me
or God will do this for me.
Again, I find myself hearing the devil and seeing myself.
3. In fairness, when we get to the third temptation, maybe it seems more devilish
the devil calling on Jesus to worship him - admittedly, does sound like a clear-cut temptation that I might not voice
but the offer -
power,
control,
the opportunity to rule others
so enticing.
so, well, so much like the way the world seems to run.
If only we had the power then we could to do things the way they should be done.
Or conversely, if only those other people did not have the power, we would be able to accomplish so much more,
enjoy our lives so much more
we strive for riches and power because we see them as the way to get what we need.
4. As I ponder Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, I am reminded of the person who prayed,
jokingly, I think,
"Lord, lead us not into temptation; just show us the general direction and we'll find it ourselves."
4. But there in the midst of temptations that seem less like temptations than they probably should,
we hear Jesus call them out for what they are
- the temptation to seek power instead of God.
All three temptations come as an invitation for Jesus to seek power,
instead of seeking God and being who he is.
Move 2: So we watch how Jesus models for us what it means to focus on God and turn away from power To understand what it means to follow Jesus.
a. Don’t be led astray by the loaves of bread to eat for a hungry Jesus
or Jesus being led to the pinnacle over the holy city,
or images of the riches of the world.
1. The real question we see answer is this:
Will jesus give in to the temptation to accept the devil’s offer of power?
to give up his humanity and humility to rule the world using raw, worldly power,
or will Jesus choose another way.
b. We see Jesus’ answer in the wilderness.
1. he turns away from the devil’s offer of power and stays true to who he is:
the Son of God who comes to live among us,
the Son of God will choose to serve others
the Son of God will stand up to the powers and injustices of the world,
the son of God will choose the path of suffering and dying on the cross.
2. Jesus will indeed pass that test both in the wilderness and in the life he lives among us.
Jesus will show his power off for all the world.
But it is the power of love and sacrifice,
not the power the devil offers.
c. As Jesus establishes who he is and the power he brings to the world in his confrontation with the devil in the wilderness,
he models for us how we are called to act as his followers.
Move 3: As you may already know, during Lent our preaching series will focus on John Bell’s hymn, “Take, O take me as I am”
a. when Eric Wall was here as our Fall Festival of Faith presenter last fall, he mentioned this hymn and we sang it together.
1. He pointed out the simple tune and the single verse that makes this hymn so powerful.
2. He directed us to explore the four verbs in the hymn:
Take,
summon
set
live
all verbs describing God’s actions.
3. We often make Lent about giving up something,
or maybe adding something.
Great way to grab out attention each day and demand our focus.
But, it also gives off the sense that the Lenten is primarily about what we can do.
4. As we explore this hymn, the emphasis will be on what God is doing in each of us and in the world
how God is shaping us so that we follow Jesus’s example from the wilderness and turn away from the temptation to seek power,
and instead follow Christlike path of serving others,
working for justice,
and living into our calling as disciples of Christ.
d. So here is the Lenten invitation:
focus on how God is shaping you in your life,
how God is working to change you
how God is calling you to new life,
a life modeled after Jesus Christ.
and, of course, how God is calling as a community of faith to act in the world as the body of Christ.
1. Each week, you will notice that we will sing,
or hear this hymn in different ways.
2. We will do this in part because this congregation loves music and we have so much musical talent to lead us, that we might as well use it,
but also because the different ways the hymn is presented in worship reminds us that each of us follow different paths,
that God is at work in different ways because each of us is different and God may be at work in very specific ways in each of our lives.
Conclusion: welcome to Lent. Let the journey of transformation begin.
Romans 5: 12-19
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13 for sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
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