The Serpentine Sandwich

The Terrible Lie.  That is the title of the chapter about the Fall in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  I like that she changed the name from the fall to the terrible lie, not because the fall is a bad name, but because it makes us think of the story anew, maybe it could become a story not just a long time ago in a land that is now lost - but it may be our story.
So I decided to offer another name - The Serpentine Sandwich.
The Serpentine Sandwich describes the serpent's art of deception.  The Serpentine Sandwich has three main layers.  First, the top piece of bread - this is the truth (twisted).  Genesis 3:1  "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"  God said something about not eating from a tree, so the serpent takes this truth and twists it into all the trees.   The next layer is the meat (serpent meat) - the lie.  Genesis 3:4  "You will not surely die."  Adam and Eve died in many ways, maybe one of the most was when their son killed their other son, let along being expelled from the presence of God, let alone their hearts eventually stopping.  Bold-faced lie.  The next layer is the bottom piece of bread - the truth, spoken in a lying tone of voice.   Genesis 3:5   For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  Their eyes were opened, but to what?  They knew good.  Genesis 1 was filled with "good."  They knew the extreme goodness of God's creation.  What they did not know was evil.  Having one's eyes opened to evil is spoken of by the serpent as something to be coveted.
There are not only too many examples of Serpentine Sandwiches to add another, but it is a very dangerous thing to spend too much time on the lies of the enemy - they get enough time as it is.
It is better to spend time in what the lies of the enemy are the horrid counterfiet of - the truth of God in the word of God.
God is our DAD.  If you balk at this, ask if it because you are yourself believing a lie of the enemy that there cannot be a good dad.  D.A.D. is our acronym for our battle against the Serpentine Sandwich.
D.  Defense against the Serpentine Sandwich.  This fights the first layer of bread, the truth, twisted.  When the Serpent come to Eve with the truth twisted, she does something most of us wish we did - she quotes the word of God.  But she adds a little part "neither shall you touch it," which is like adding mayo to the serpentine sandwich.  The Serpentine Sandwich cannot stand up against the word of God, but your words it can slither all over.  Eve could also call out, "Dad!"
A.  Antidote for the Serpentine Sandwich.  This exposes the inner layer, the meat, the lie.  Once someone has swallowed the Serpentine Sandwich the antidote is the Word of God coming as questions.  "Where are you?"  "What have you done?"  Adam and Eve are much more heroic than I am - they answer his questions.  Often we just keep hiding or keep running away.  May we also, once we swallow the lie, but quick to answer God's questions.  We could also call out, "Dad!"
D. Destruction of the Serpentine Sandwich.  This deals with the sandwich as a whole - all the layers, including our mayo.  The offspring of the woman will bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent with bruise his heel.  The serpent bruised Jesus Christ's heel by striking him with death and sin.  Christ was wounded by sin and took on the sin of humanity.  How is the serpent's head bruised?  The head is where the serpent speaks.  Christ on the cross is the ultimate display of the love of God - it is impossible for the darkness of the lie that God does not love us to stand up to the light of the love of God on the cross.  Does God love us?  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. . . Picture Christ calling out to his Father, "Dad!" and let the lie that he does not love you finally die.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Watch this video in the light of who our true Dad is - God Almighty.

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study

This method of Bible Study is developed from Robert Traina’s Methodical Bible Study, both in the book itself and from the videos from ThriveU Asbury Theological Seminary, and most important for my purposes, from his student and co-laborer, David Bauer, who was my professor during my time at Asbury.  While the original steps are:

I.            Pray

II.           Observe and Ask

III.         Answer questions (Interpret)

IV.       Evaluate and Apply

V.         Coorrelate

I find these steps to be lacking, not in the content of what they are – NO!  But lacking in my ability to remember them for myself, and also for helping others to remember them.  Although Robert Traina is no longer with us, but is with the Lord, I believe that he would encourage, in fact, did encourage, all of us to use and adapt these steps and methods for those whom we teach and minister to.  I also believe, were my professor David Bauer to read through this P.O.W.E.R. Bible study method, that though he would certainly find errors and inconsistancies, he would be pleased at my attempt, or any of his students’ attempts, at teaching people to study the Bible.

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study is a Bible study method with 5 steps.  This is not copyrighted or owned by anyone but our Good Lord, so feel free to use this – in fact, I hope that it could be used over and over again.

1. Pray – come to the One who inspired the very Scripture that you are reading.  Talk to Him.  Listen to Him.  Ask for help.  “Open my eyes to see, Lord.”

2.  Observe – try to notice things like a birdwatcher notices a bird.  “It’s flying south.”  “It flies in a bouncy up and down way.”  “It has a thick bill.”  Begin to notice things from what you read – not noticing what others have told you about the text, but from what you yourself observe.

3. Who? What? When? Where? Why? – asking these questions turns us into children again.  Do not assume you know it all – ask questions.  If it is hard to ask these kind of questions, ask a child for help.  “Who is the Christ?”  What does the term Christ mean?”  “Why did the Christ have to suffer?”

4.  Explain – Begin to try to explain the answers to these questions from the text itself.  This may necessitate more of steps 1-3.  “Christ means Anointed One.”  The eplanations may lead to more questions.  “What does Anointed One mean?”  Eventually this can lead to being able to explain the passage – even better, the book as a whole.

5.  Relate – Relate the explanations to life here and now.  In what ways to the explanations relate to our life today?  This is truly the hope of Bible Study – that it would be for us the word of God today, and that it could be our food.

Pray

Observe

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Explain

Relate