Snakespeak

Children’s Sermon

22 February 2026

Hey, guys. I’ve got a question for you. What do you think about snakes?

I’ve always liked them, myself. My mom didn’t, but I did. I even had a pet snake for a little while. Her name was Sarah. She used to curl up in my hand because she enjoyed the warmth. She never once bit me. Sarah was a good snake.

You don’t even have venomous snakes out here, which is nice. We had copperheads and rattlers where I grew up. But even then, I couldn’t much complain. You know why? Because rattlers are polite. No, really. They’ll warn you. They’ll give you the chance to walk away. Rather decent of them.

But you know what I’ve never seen a snake do? Talk. Never seen a talking snake. Have you? Well, one of the stories that we read this morning, from the book of Genesis, has a talking snake. He convinces Adam and Eve to disobey God’s warning. That’s another thing that I’ve never seen a snake do, is lie. Animals are pretty honest.

So what do you think that story means? Whom is the snake supposed to represent? That’s right; he’s the devil. The spirit of pride. And do you know how we know that? Who taught us to understand the snake in the story as the devil? That’s right: Jesus.

Jesus taught us that some stories have to be interpreted, that they mean a little more than just what they look like on the surface. And this is very important for us, when we read our Bibles. Because the Bible has all sorts of stories, doesn’t it? History and poetry and mythology and music and letters and everything in between. And what ties them all together, for us, is Jesus.

The way we read the Bible is to look to Jesus. We wonder, “What might Jesus say about this story?” or, “Where might we find Jesus in this story?” That sort of thing. Because Christians really ought to know our Bibles. But the real Word of God is Jesus Christ. When we keep Him as the center of our faith, all the other stories soon make sense.

Sound good? Okay. Let’s pray.