INDRODUCTION–5 MINUTES
When is the moment you thought, “I am officially an adult?”
Leader Tip: This lesson focuses on the points of decision that separate the way things were from the way things are. In the shift between the beginning and the present there is always a point when things changed. Get people to talk about moments. Ex: The moment I moved out. The moment I first bought toilet paper.
OBSERVATION—20 MINUTES
Read Genesis 3:1-9 12-17
How is Eden depicted?
- Utopia—characterized by order and beauty
- Everything was peaceful—life was harmonious
- Humans were walking with God
- Adam and Eve—perfect relationship with each other
- Stewards over creation
- Shalom, the way things are meant to be
How does Satan entice Adam and Eve to sin?
Leader tip—Coach your group to see these three devices Satan uses:
- He denies God’s truthfulness—God is lying to you. “You will not certainly die.”
- He denies God’s goodness—God is withholding the things you deserve. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened.”
- He denies our need for God—We can have God’s power. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
What are the results of giving into temptation?
Shame—Before sin there is total innocence. Adam and Eve were completely unaware of themselves and were unconcerned with the perspectives of others. The first thing we do after the fall is to look at ourselves. “They realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Hiding—Adam and Eve cover themselves and run from God. “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Blame—Adam points fingers and does not accept responsibility for his passivity and compliance. “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
UNDERSTANDING—20 MINUTES
How are people today tempted to doubt God’s truthfulness? God’s goodness? Their own need for God?
Truthfulness—
You may hear examples like:
- Denying or rebelling against consequences
- We make excuses by labeling truth, “intolerant”
- We decide truth for ourselves
- We claim:
- “It doesn’t hurt anybody else.”
- “I have freedom of choice.”
- “It is my body and my happiness.”
Goodness—
You may hear examples like:
- We think that if God is good, He would want us to have things like satisfaction, pleasure, and contentment. We are inclined to justify all things.
- Suspicion:
- If God is so good, why are there people who are hurting?
- If God is not good, then I don’t have to believe him.
- If we feel like God is ignoring our prayers.
Need for God—
You may hear examples like:
- If we don’t need God, we are the center of our own lives.
- We get to be our own gods—we decide what we want and make decisions based on what we think is best
- We think we don’t need to be dependent on God or be humbled before him
- We feel entitled to our own sense of power
Can you think of a time when you saw someone tempted to believe that God is not truthful, good, and needed?
Leader tip—We are still looking out into the world around us. How have the people in your group seen how Satan tempts those around them with pernicious lies about God?
You may hear answers like:
My family struggled to remember the goodness of God when my uncle died. Our church community had rallied around us in his illness, earnestly praying with us for him to be restored. When he died, it felt like a betrayal from God. It was easy to question our own faith.
My friend was at the top of the corporate world. He had worked to build himself a kingdom that he could control. Consequently, his pride caused him to disregard the blessings God had bestowed on his life. He was the god over his possessions.
How do we struggle with shame, hiding, and blame in the wake of sin?
Some answers you might hear:
- Indignant that God doesn’t bless us
- We don’t take responsibility—fight for control
- Mask our shame—possessions, image management, superstructures of control
- Healthy shame
- We run from God—Avoid, deny, spiral into addiction
APPLICATION—20 MINUTES
Describe a time when you trusted in the truthfulness, goodness, and necessity of God in your own life.
Leader tip—because of the fall, we are all tempted to disobey the commands of God. We think that we know better, deserve more, or don’t need Him, but there are times when we choose to see the lies of the serpent and run into the arms of God. Think of a time when you chose faithfulness over temptation. What did God prove about his own power and compassion in that season?
How do the truthfulness, goodness, and need for God help us explain suffering in the world?
Leader tip—Understanding the transformation of the creation story helps us to see why there is hardship, corruption, broken marriages, injustice, pain and death. As a consequence of the fall, there will always be pain in the world. Believing in the truthfulness, goodness, and need for God encourages us to remember the redemption of the gospel. The God of all creation rebuilds and restores all things that sin works to destroy; he is the only hope.
Pray over your group
Our gracious God, thank you for the story of your Creation. We eagerly await the day when we will be free from the bondage of sin and are able to fully engage in perfect relationship. Enter into the places where we pragmatically participate in sin. Help us to shed light on the ways we are enticed by evil, where we buy into the lies that cause us to doubt about your love for us. We live in a fallen world, but do not allow us to hide with our shame. Help us to remember the ways that you have been faithful and encourage us to trust in your guidance and authority. Help us to overcome temptation, so that we may bear your image in a broken world.
LIVE IT OUT—5 MINUTES
How would the world be different if we fully embraced our need for the truth and goodness of God and invited Him into the places where we hide and blame others for our shame?