Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria Va

From the story of Creation to Jesus’s calling the Pharisees a “brood of vipers,” the serpent in the Bible is not the most inviting of creatures. Yet their rep is not always disreputable—in various cultures and religions, serpents are symbols for fertility and rebirth, guardianship of temples and sacred places, and medicinal healing. As in history and mythology, the association of serpents with the cross is a mixed bag. Larry Hayward preaches from Numbers 21:5-9 and John 3:11-15.