Tag: Genesis 1:26-28

Art of Relationships // Wk 6 Made Beautiful

Art of Rel

Message Recap

Sex is a gift from God! Let that sink in a minute. He gave us the gift of sex for our enjoyment and so that we could fulfill his command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Yet this wonderful gift has caused so much hurt and brokenness. You don’t have to look far to see the damage that a low view of sex and sexuality can cause. Theologian Christopher West said it best when he said that…”to find that which is most sacred in the world look to that which is most profaned.” Our sexuality, like all things on this earth is in the process of renewal. We have “been” made new in Christ and we are “being” made new. God, in His word, has shown us the design, meaning and purpose of sex. As we trust and surrender, He will bring healing, hope and freedom!

Guiding Verses

Genesis 1:26-28

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

1 Corinthians 6:15-20

 

15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Discussion Questions

  1. Tell the story about one of your scars.
  2. What do you learn about God’s intent for sex from the message/guiding verses?
  3. What does culture tell us about the purpose of sex?
  4. What does it look like to live out those beliefs?
  5. Where have you experienced brokenness in your sexuality, where have you experienced healing?
  6. What would it look like to trust God to continue to bring healing?

Moving Forward

As we did in this weekend’s service you may want to spend more focused time praying with one-another for healing, hope and freedom. If it seems appropriate for your group consider breaking off male and female to facilitate greater sharing. Let 2 Corinthians 5:17 guide your prayer in the belief “that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Part of embracing that new life may also meaning walking in that healing in community and care. Visit the care & recovery section of our website for a complete list of resources and groups design to provide next steps towards healing.

To learn more about the Art of Relationships series, including how to join or host an Art of Relationships Series Group click here.

Genesis 1:26-28, 2:2-9 // Desire or Design: Beautiful Mess Wk 1

Introduction // 10 minutes

Spend the first moments of your time together this week recapping the holidays

Leader Note:  Be on the look out for stories that connect to this weeks topic of relationships.  Chances are the majority of your group members spent time with family.  Listen for examples of challenging family dynamics to help set up your discussion. 

Observation // 15 minutes

Read Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7-9

What do we share in common with God?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • The ability to create (v 1:26, 28)
  • Capacity for relationships. “Let us make…” is a reference to the persons of the trinity (v 1:26)
  • Image and likeness, carry His nature and ability to reflect His glory (v 1:26)
  • Authority and rule over creation (v1: 26,28)
  • Created out of and for relationship (v 1:27)
  • Man and woman are given relationship as a partnership to exercise rule and express creativity (v 1:27-28)
  • Not only created by God but carries of His life (v 2:7)
  • In carrying God’s life we are thinking, rational, able to evaluate life’s purpose and morality (v 2:8-9)

Leader Note:  Lead your group to see that the foundational commonality between humans and God is that we are His image bears. All that God is; loving, creative, self-giving, holy ect… we carry because His life is in us.  We not only carry these things but we are called to express them, especially through our relationships.

Understanding // 15 minutes

What does it look like when people display the image of God in their relationships?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • We’re self giving, put others before ourselves
  • Partner with one another, caring for what we have been entrusted with
  • The relationship will be rooted in love and sacrifice
  • Produces good things, it’s life giving for all involved

What does it look like when they don’t? 

Sample Answers May Include…

  • Abuse, self-seeking
  • Self-promoting
  • Fails to consider the other persons concerns and needs
  • Uses people for own agenda
  • It’s draining and not life giving
  • Lack of trust, full of suspicion

Application // 20 minutes

Where in your relationships do you struggle to display God’s image?

Leader Note: Use care in asking this question as the other party on the receiving end of the person’s struggles may be in the room.  Now is not the time to counsel or solve.  Simply let the person take inventory and wrestle with the question then ask the follow up Application Question below.

What could it look like to be free from those things?

Leader Note: The first step for many is too allow for vulnerability in our relationships.  When we become vulnerable we often become more honest with our selves and with others.  Honesty and vulnerability lead to trust and increases our willingness to live sacrificially in relationship with others.

Live It Out // 5 minutes

What if God’s image became more visible in our relationships?  What might the impact be?

Commentary: Our world is starving for something different.  With brokenness and self-fishiness becoming the norm in relationships dream together about the possibility of allowing your relationships to become one of the greatest and most effective testimonies for God’s grace and presence in our world.