Te Paipera Tapu - A Story Leading to Jesus: Week 2
Garden, Garden, Garden
Opening Prayer:
Holy Lord,
We thank You for life and for love, Lord, all comes from You.
You love us enough to give us life within Your creation, a place within Your story, and Your Spirit to guide us as we guide others to You.
Help us tell Your story well, the story of all that You have done for us, and all that You will do for us as You welcome us into the redemptive story of Your love.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Key Scriptures:
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:4-25
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:41-42
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
John 20:11-18
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 22:1-5
Sermon Summary:
Here is a summary of Ameila Smith’s sermon “Garden, Garden, Garden”, the second in our Te Paipera Tapu series:
The Story of the Bible
We can stand back and look at the story of the Bible from a distance, taking it all in; the grand sweep of the entire story from beginning to end, the broad contours, the overall shape of the story, and so on, from Genesis to Revelation. We can also get right up close, nose to nose with it, focusing on key moments that capture the entire scale and scope of it in a small passage, for example John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” We can zoom in on a single verse like this, and then zoom out again to take in the full grandeur of the story.
Today we will be going from garden, to garden, to garden, from the very first page to the very last. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Everything that is came from God, and that includes us too. God created man and woman, and placed us on the earth in a garden, amidst the good creation He had made. This was a place where God and humanity would work together and enjoy each other in perfect harmony and love. To work, tend and rest together as they shepherded creation.
But then came the Fall. Adam and Eve had a choice to make; rely on God and follow the path of obedience and love He laid down for them, or make their own selfish choices, and go their own way. They took option two, sin entered the world, and God’s good creation was marred. Yet even though they turned their back on Him, God still loved them, still provided for them, and promised that one day a saviour, a rescuer, would come to save them from the power of sin and restore them and all creation. God began by calling a people; a people who followed His call, rebelled and turned away, only to turn back again. They continued this seemingly endless cycle again and again, until His people were yearning for Him to send the promised Saviour to them. This is the story of the first garden.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus is the promised Saviour, the one who vanquished sin and death and restored the relationship between God and humanity. Just as God walked in the first garden with Adam and Eve, so Jesus walked alongside us on the earth, showing us how humanity can live again side by side with God. He spoke new life into being, and new possibilities of living as God wants. He took the cost of death upon Himself in order to bring us new life. He died but rose again, something that one of His closest followers first discovered in a second garden at the empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday. A second garden that undid the sin and damage that occurred in the first garden.
Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to continue the work He began on earth, the work that, through the Spirit, we are to continue in partnership with Him. One day He will return to inaugurate His kingdom among us; He will bring all things to the glorious conclusion that He has always intended, that He has always worked for, and that He has redeemed to be a part of. The book of Revelation speaks of the heavenly city of God and describes part of it like this - “The angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
A third garden, where all hurts are healed, where all things are restored, where God’s creation is fully restored, and His plan for His people and His creation finds fulfillment and flourishing. From garden, to garden, to garden. This is the full story of the Bible.
Questions to Consider:
How would you describe the overarching story of the Bible to someone unfamiliar with it?
How are you participating in God’s story?
What is the gospel?
What are your favourite parts of the story? Why?
What parts of the story do you struggle with? Why?
What do the beginning and the end of the story tell us about God?
What does the Bible tell us about ourselves?
What areas of your life do you wish to see redeemed and restored?
Practices to Consider:
How would you tell the story of the gospel? Can you summarise the gospel story in five sentences, and look for opportunities to share this with others this week?
Send your gospel summary to the Gatherings team.
Prayer Prompts:
Pray for God to continue His work making all things new and that He would reveal to us a part that we can play.
Additional Resources:
Recommended Reading:
