”The Promised Redeemer” Sunday Morning November 30th

This Christmas sermon traces the theme of redemption from its first promise in Genesis 3, demonstrating that Christ's coming was purposeful and prophesied from humanity's fall. Pastor Joe Fant establishes that before we can accept a rescuer, we must recognize our need to be rescued. Through the account of the fall, four critical needs for a redeemer are revealed: the need for accurate revelation of God's word in a world that twists truth, the reminder to walk by faith rather than sight, the necessity of God seeking us out when we hide in sin, and the reversal of the curse that affects all creation. The sermon culminates in the promise that the Redeemer will conquer Satan, provide protection through covering (symbolized by God clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins), and give eternal life through death. Multiple shadows of grace appear throughout Genesis 3, including God cursing the ground rather than humanity directly, God seeking out Adam and Eve rather than abandoning them, and God preventing eternal life in a sinful state by removing access to the tree of life. The message connects the manger to the cross, showing that the Christ child came with the specific purpose to seek and save the lost.

Key Points:

• We need a redeemer to accurately reveal the word of God, as both Satan and humans twist Scripture to their own ends
• We need a redeemer to remind us to walk by faith and not by sight, as sin promises satisfaction through what we see but delivers only consequences
• We need a redeemer to seek us out, because left to ourselves we will continue running from God and trying to cover our own sin
• We need a redeemer to reverse the curse that affects all creation, bringing pain in childbearing, toil in work, and ultimately death
• The promised redeemer will conquer Satan (crushing the serpent's head while having his heel bruised)
• The promised redeemer will provide protection through covering (pictured in God clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins requiring sacrifice)
• The promised redeemer will give life through death (God's mercy in preventing eternal life in a sinful state)
• Sin produces hiding, fear, and shame—emotions leveraged by Satan but never used by God for good
• Grace appears throughout the fall narrative: God curses the serpent and ground but not humanity directly, dialogues with his children, and protects them from eternal sinfulness

Scripture Reference:

• Genesis 3 (primary focus—the entire chapter)
• Genesis 1:26-27, 31 (creation of humanity in God's image)
• Genesis 2:15-17 (the command regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil)
• Luke 19:10 (the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost)
• John 1 (Jesus as the Word)
• Hebrews 1 (Jesus as the exact imprint of God's nature)
• John 3 (Nicodemus and the need for new birth)
• James 1 (each person's own designer lust)
• Isaiah 61 (being clothed in righteousness)
• 1 Timothy (creation order and gender roles)