The Breath, the Bite, and the Blessing

The Breath, the Bite, and the Blessing

Sermon notes for February 22, 2026

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
2:15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
2:16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden,
2:17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
3:2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3:3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'”
3:4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die,
3:5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
3:6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
3:7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
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Psalm 32
32:1Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
32:2Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
32:3While I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
32:4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
32:5Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
32:6Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
32:7You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
32:9Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
32:10Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
32:11Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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Romans 5:12-19

5:12Therefore, 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-
5:13for sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.
5:14Yet 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.
5:15But 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.
5:16And 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.
5:17If, 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.
5:18Therefore 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.
5:19For 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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The Breath, the Bite, and the Blessing
Let us pray: Lord, create in me a clean heart, O God. Open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your words. Open our ears to Your truths. Amen.
Good morning, friends. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I welcome you to the first Sunday of Lent. From Ash Wednesday until Resurrection Sunday, we enter a season of reflection—a time to look in the mirror of the soul and examine what we find there.
Our study today draws from Genesis 2 and 3, Psalm 32, and Romans 5. I’ve titled this message: The Breath, the Bite, and the Blessing.
The “Software Update” of Sin
I’ll be covering familiar ground—Adam, Eve, a serpent, and a piece of fruit—but I pray you find a new perspective in this ancient story.
You see, in Genesis, the serpent didn’t show up with a “Team Evil” T-shirt. He was subtle. Temptation rarely looks like a villain; it looks benign like a … Software Update.
The serpent approached Eve like a tech support scammer. He convinced her that her “Life 1.0” operating system was glitchy and that she was missing out on a vital “God-Mode” plug-in.
He didn’t mention that the update would crash the entire hard drive of humanity or that there was no “Restore to Factory Settings” button hidden in the bushes.
The “death” God warned about was immediate, yet invisible. When they took that bite, they didn’t drop dead physically; instead, their relationship with reality died.
From Immersion to Observation
Now, I want to go a bit deeper here. I feel a bit like the author of Hebrews, wishing I could offer you the “meat” of the word while I’m still navigating the “baby food” myself. But I’m hungry for steak, so let’s attempt to describe a concept that shifted the very fabric of the universe.
Before the “bite,” Adam and Eve existed in a state of pure, transcendent presence. There was no “I” to stand apart from “God.” They didn’t just have a relationship with the Divine; they were immersed in the Divine. But the “bite” represents the birth of dualistic consciousness—the moment we began to perceive the world as “me” vs. “not me.”
Suddenly, the “immersion” was replaced by “observation.” God became an external “Other” to be feared. This is why they hid. Hiding among the trees represents the birth of the Shadow. We began to believe that parts of our nature must be kept in the dark to stay safe. We stopped being with the Source and started trying to manage our image before it.
The Blame Game and the DIY ß
Once we see ourselves as separate from God, we inevitably see others as separate, too. The union is shattered. Notice how quickly the “we” becomes “me vs. you.”
Even though the command was given to Adam before Eve was even formed, Adam immediately projects his failure onto her.
Eve then deflects to the serpent. Both are attempting to protect a fragile new ego from the weight of its own choices.
The “Other” is no longer a partner, but a target for unresolved guilt. Love, once an effortless flow, becomes a contract fraught with defensiveness.
This brings us to the second tragedy: Shame. Guilt says, “I did something bad.” Shame says, “I am bad.”
To fix this, they reached for leaves. Adam and Eve’s attempt to fix their own shame with foliage is the ultimate DIY disaster.
Just imagine Adam trying to look dignified in a wilting, itchy suit of leaves. And honestly, it isn’t hiding anything from the Creator of the Universe!
We do the same today with our “modern fig leaves”—projecting images of success or perfection to mask the fear that we are unworthy.
The Heavy Hand of Pursuit
This “human effort” is the beginning of the religion of self, and it leads to the “wasting away” mentioned in Psalm 32.
The Psalmist describes a physical reaction to a spiritual problem. He speaks of God’s “heavy hand,” but I don’t think that’s a hand of punishment. It’s a hand of pursuit to get our attention. He’s saying, “Whoa!” to our mule-headedness.
God is trying to lead us, but we can be like the horse or the mule mentioned in verse 9. Some of us treat God like a GPS that we’ve muted because we think we know a shortcut.
Come on, I know I’m not the only one who does that, right?
We’re like a stubborn mule that is so sure of itself. God is trying to lead us to a lush pasture, but we’re standing with our feet firmly planted on the path that leads to destruction.
The Great Exchange: Federal Headship
This brings us to the “Much More” of the Gospel in Romans 5. Paul introduces a concept that I understand. But until very recently I didn’t know that it was called Federal Headship. It means one person’s actions can represent an entire group like a union boss or congressman.
Through the First Adam, we inherited a spiritual bank account that was $50 trillion in the red. We didn’t even spend the money; we just woke up with the debt.
But then comes the Second Adam (Jesus) who performs the ultimate debt resolution. He pays off our debt and gives us full access to His limitless resources.
In the Romans passage Paul uses the phrase “much more” many times. He is highlighting that the solution is vastly more powerful than the problem.
Adam’s disobedience was a taking.
Christ’s obedience is a giving.
The resulting justification isn’t just a “not guilty” verdict. The Greek word (dee-kai-OH-mah) dikaiōma implies a restoration to the status of a son or daughter. It’s like trading in a 1973 Pinto with no wheels for a brand-new Rolls Royce, and the salesman says, “Don’t worry, the previous owner already paid the insurance and will cover the fuel for eternity.”
Conclusion: Back to the “You May”
In the Garden, the original command was, “You may freely eat.” After the fall, life became a series of “You must or must not” But through Christ, we are invited back into the “You May.”
We don’t obey the leading of the Lord to avoid death; we obey because we have been given life. The “reign” we are promised isn’t power over people, but power over the sin and shame that has kept us shivering in the bushes.
It’s time to shed the foliage. Drop the masks. Step out from the trees and embrace the freedom that Christ has won for us.
Amen.

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Call to Worship
(Based on Genesis 3 and Psalm 32)
Leader: The voice of the Lord echoes in the garden, calling out: “Where are you?”
People: We are here, Lord, often hiding in the shadows of our own making.
Leader: Why do you hide behind masks of perfection and leaves that will surely wilt?
People: Because we are afraid; we have seen our nakedness and felt the weight of our own choices.
Leader: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered by the “Much More” of God’s grace!
People: We will no longer stay silent. We will pour out our hearts to the One who is our hiding place.
Leader: The First Adam took, but the Second Adam gives. The old reign of death is over; the new reign of life has begun.
People: Let us step out from the bushes! Let us lay down our defenses!
Leader: Come, let us worship the God of restoration and Shalom.
All: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and let our mouths declare Your praise!
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Opening Prayer
“Gracious and Holy God, we come before You this morning at the threshold of Lent. We thank You for the breath in our lungs—a gift from Your very Spirit. Lord, we admit that we often enter Your presence wearing masks and clutching our ‘fig leaves,’ trying to hide the parts of ourselves we think are unlovable. Today, we ask for the courage to be seen. Quiet the noise of our own egos so that we might hear Your still, small voice. Open our hearts to the reality of Your ‘Much More’ grace, and help us move from being observers of Your Word to being fully immersed in Your love. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

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Closing Prayer
“Lord God, we thank You for the ‘Glitch in the System’—for the radical obedience of Jesus that deleted our debt and restored our inheritance. We confess that we have often been like the stubborn mule, chewing on the cardboard of our own self-effort while You offered us the feast of Your Kingdom. As we leave this place, help us to stop running the marathon with a backpack full of bricks. Teach us to trust Your ‘righteous verdict’ over the whispers of our own shame. May the truth of our identity as Your sons and daughters be the ground we walk on this week. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.”
Benediction
“May the peace of God, which is the true Shalom—the wholeness that was lost in the Garden and won back at the Cross—guard your hearts and minds today.
Go forth now:
Step out from the bushes of hiding,
Shed the wilting leaves of self-justification,
And walk in the ‘Much More’ abundance of His grace.
May the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you now and forevermore. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
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Possible hymn selections:
1. Opening Hymn: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (UMH 57)
2. Hymn of Response: Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (UMH 340)
3. Scripture Hymn: Of the Father’s Love Begotten (UMH 184)
4. Closing Hymn: Grace Greater than Our Sin (UMH 365)
Bonus: A “Psalm 32” Selection
“Happy the Man Whose Filthy Stain” (UMH 416 – O Come, Loud Antiphons)