SermonStudio

Prelude

Introit: "Softly And Tenderly Jesus Is Calling" verse 1

Call To Worship: 1 Corinthians 10:13a
L: No temptation has seized you except what is common to
man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond
what you can bear.
P: Thanks be to God!

Hymn: "God Of Grace And God Of Glory" verses 1, 3 and 4

Call To Prayer
L: The Lord be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Let us pray.

Prayer Of Confession (In Unison)
Precious Lord, we confess that we have sinned against you in
so many ways, both by what we have done, and by what we have left
undone. In our weakness, we have tried to rationalize and excuse
our actions by blaming others for our sins. We have comforted
ourselves by saying that circumstances forced us to stray from
your path.
Forgive us Father. Give us the strength to take responsibility
for our sins. Help us to truly repent, so that we may be cleansed
by your redeeming grace. We pray in the name of your dear Son,
our Lord, who taught us to pray ...

The Lord's Prayer (In Unison)

The Psalter: Psalm 15
L: O Lord, who shall abide in your tent? Who shall dwell
in your holy hill?
P: The one who walks blamelessly, and does what is right,
and speaks truth from the heart;
L: Who does not slander with the tongue, and does no evil
to a friend, nor takes up a reproach against a neighbor;
P: In whose eyes a reproach is despised, but who honors
those who fear the Lord;
L: Who does not put out money at interest, and does not
take a bribe against the innocent.
P: The one who does these things shall never be moved.

Gloria Patri

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 3:8-13

Anthem

Offering

Doxology

Hymn: "Alas And Did My Savior Bleed"

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 4:1-11

Witness To The Word: "The Burden Of Freedom"

Pastoral Prayer

Silent Prayer

Hymn: "Just As I Am, Without One Plea"

Benediction

Postlude


Dialogue 5

The Burden Of Freedom

CAST
Everyperson -- Male or female, modern dress, may be played by the
liturgist
Eve -- First woman, period dress

NOTES
As this dialogue begins, Everyperson stands at the pulpit as
though ready to give a sermon. Eve may be situated in either the
congregation or the choir loft, or she may enter from the back of
the sanctuary. At her first line she stands and proceeds to the
lectern. Again, it would be best if Eve's first few lines were
memorized. Once she gets to the lectern, her lines may be read.
The Burden Of Freedom should directly follow the reading of
the Gospel Lesson, Matthew 4:1-11.
Production time is approximately eight minutes.

Everyperson: Today's gospel is an example of how truly human
Jesus was. He suffered all the pains and joys of life, just as we
do. And just as we are, Christ was tempted by the Devil. The
Devil tempts us every day. He lies in wait for us, ready to trap
us. Satan's agents are all over the world, luring us into the
paths of sin and death.
We Christians know that we must always be on guard. We must be
very careful, for Satan is very clever and very powerful! If we
are not, he will tempt and trick us. If we let down our guard for
a minute, he will pounce on us and drag us away into eternal
damnation!

Eve: (Standing) Don't you think you're giving the Devil a little
too much credit?

Everyperson: I beg your pardon?

Eve: You make it sound like we're helpless little lambs in danger
of being dragged off by the big bad wolf! That's not exactly an
accurate picture of the way things are.

Everyperson: Isn't it? Why should we listen to you anyway?

Eve: I'm an expert on the subject. I've dealt with the Devil face
to face. I know all about sin and damnation.

Everyperson: Oh really? And who, may I ask, are you?

Eve: You mean to tell me that you don't know?

Everyperson: Why? Should I?

Eve: Yes you should. You all should. I'm your mother. I am the
mother of all mankind, the wife of Adam, the mother of Cain and
Able. I am Eve.

Everyperson: Do you actually expect us to believe that?

Eve: Frankly, I don't care whether you do or not. The fact
remains that the picture you have painted about Satan's
relationship to sin is simply not accurate.

Everyperson: Surely you're not suggesting that there is no Devil!

Eve: Oh no! Not at all! I've dealt with him face to face. Don't
you know the story of the garden of Eden?

Everyperson: Sure. God gave the garden of Eden to you and Adam,
for you to live in.

Eve: Yes. In it he put everything we needed: fruits, grains,
vegetables, anything that we could desire. But in one corner of
the garden God placed a special tree. From it hung the most
beautiful fruit you have ever seen! God told us that we could eat
anything in the garden except the fruit from that tree.

Everyperson: Yes, we know. You were forbidden to eat the fruit
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but Satan
tricked you into eating it anyway.

Eve: Not exactly. Once again you're giving Satan too much credit.
Besides, you're getting ahead of my story.
At first, Adam and I were very happy in the garden. We had
everything we needed. We should have stayed that way, but there
was that one forbidden tree with its beautiful fruit. The more we
reminded ourselves that we must not eat it, the more our mouths
watered for that ripe, red fruit.

Everyperson: Now that's something we do understand! We've all
wanted something that we couldn't have, and not being able to
have it, only made us want it more!

Eve: (Smiling) Like mother, like daughter (son).

Everyperson: Yes, I guess you're right, but isn't that just
another example of Satan's power?

Eve: Oh, I don't know about that! I suspect that it has more to
do with human nature than it does with the Devil. But back to my
story.
Adam and I had everything we needed, but we were still
attracted to the fruit of the forbidden tree. One day, as I was
walking in that part of the garden, I came upon the tree. As I
studied its beautiful fruit, a voice whispered in my ear. It was
the serpent, the most subtle creature in the garden. The serpent
talked about how sweet and juicy the fruit tasted, but I replied
that we were forbidden to eat it. "If we do," I said, "we shall
die!"
"Ye shall not die," the serpent hissed, "for God doth know
that on the day you eat there of, then your eyes will be opened,
and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

Everyperson: So Satan, in the form of the serpent, tricked you
into eating the fruit! He trapped you, just like I said!

Eve: Not exactly. The serpent's words did make the fruit even
more attractive. That much is true. Not only was the fruit
obviously delicious, but it would also give me great wisdom! I
would be like a god! My pride, combined with my desire for the
fruit, overcame my judgment. I picked one of the plump, scarlet
fruits. Closing my eyes, to block out all distractions, I sunk my
teeth into it. It was wonderful, so sweet and juicy!
As I ate, Adam came along. Shocked filled his eyes when he saw
me. "You have eaten the forbidden fruit!" he cried, "You will
surely die!"
The sweetness of the fruit filled me with pleasure. I smiled
and continued to eat. Then I tempted Adam as the serpent had
tempted me. I told him how rich and sweet the fruit tasted. I
also told him that eating it would make him wise, like a god!
Then I smiled and held the fruit out to him. His eyes sparkled.
He took the fruit from my hand, and ate it. Ecstasy filled his

eyes, but as we ate, we began to realize that we had sinned. The
sweetness of the fruit began to fade as horror and shame filled
our souls.

Everyperson: And God came into the garden because he knew what
you had done, but you hid from him like naughty children.

Eve: Yes. We hid, but God found us. You see, you can't hide from
God, no matter how hard you try. God asked Adam what had
happened. He knew of course. He was just testing us. When God
asked Adam why he had eaten the forbidden fruit, Adam replied
that it wasn't his fault. My mate said that he only ate the fruit
because I told him to. Then God turned to me, and asked why I ate
it. I blamed the serpent. "The serpent beguiled me," I said.

Everyperson: And God kicked you both out of the garden because
you had eaten the fruit. Because you and Adam sinned, you and all
people who came after you must die eventually.

Eve: Yes.

Everyperson: See! I was right! Satan tricked you into sinning
through the serpent, and then he used you to gain control over
Adam! Satan made you sin, and because of that sin, you and all of
your children were punished with death!

Eve: You still don't see! You're blaming Satan just as I blamed
the serpent, and Adam blamed me!

Everyperson: But you just said that the serpent tempted you!

Eve: Yes. He tempted me, but he did not force me to eat the
fruit. He did not raise it to my lips. He did not force its juicy
sweetness into my mouth. I did all of that of my own free will! I
could have, as Jesus did in the Gospel Lesson, turned my

back on temptation. But I didn't. I stayed. I listened to the
serpent. I ate the forbidden fruit. I and only I was responsible,
not Satan, and not the serpent!

Everyperson: But you did act as the agent of Satan when you gave
Adam the apple. Satan used you to make Adam sin!

Eve: You still don't get it, do you? Perhaps I was the agent of
temptation when I offered Adam the fruit, but he could have
turned his back. He could have rejected my offer like Jesus
rejected the Devil's temptations, but he didn't. He chose to
stay! He chose to eat, just like I did, of his own free will!

Everyperson: Yea, but Satan tempted both of you! He tempted Jesus
in the wilderness. He tempts us today, in 100 different ways!

Eve: Yes. He tempts us, but we choose to sin. You see, God gave
us the gift of free will, and when Adam and I ate the fruit we
gained the knowledge of good and evil. So if we sin, it is our
fault, not Satan's, and not anybody else's! Don't get me wrong.
It's not easy by a long shot. We are surrounded by temptation.
The treasures of this world sparkle all around us, and we are
bound to stumble from time to time. But when we do, we must not
blame Satan or others for our actions. We must take
responsibility for our sins.
If we do, if we repent, God is ready and eager to forgive us.
If, on the other hand, we make excuses, blame others, or blame
circumstances, we condemn ourselves to the shadows of sin.
So you see, blaming Satan for our sins ultimately gives him
the victory.
Jesus holds out his arms to us, offering us forgiveness and
salvation, but we must make the choice to repent and to embrace
him!
I saw a painting once of Jesus standing at the door. It's one
of my favorites, because it reminds me that he wants to

come into my heart. The really interesting thing about the door
in the painting is that there is no door knob on the outside of
the door. Like our hearts, the door can only be opened from the
inside. The painting reminds me that only I can open the door of
my heart to the Lord.
My dear children, please, open the door of your hearts to
Jesus. He is knocking. He is waiting for you. Please don't keep
the door closed in order to hide your sins. Jesus can see them
anyway. Don't hide behind excuses! Don't blame Satan for your
sins! Repent! Open your hearts to the Lord and you will be saved!