March 10, 2024, Lent 4B: "Have No Faith in Unfaith!"

The story of Moses fashioning a bronze serpent on a pole is a strange one. It’s also ironic, considering we just heard God forbid such a thing in the Ten Commandments! But there’s a huge insight in this story—and in Jesus’s comparison of himself to the serpent in John’s Gospel: the triumph of faith over unfaith. So, how does this story show the power of faith? How is this faith different from the “name-it-and-claim-it”, prosperity gospel kind of faith? How is this faith good news for hurting human beings, at odds with God and neighbor? Pastor David preaches, “Have No Faith in Unfaith!” based on Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21.