The Compass. Leading Families Toward Spiritual Maturity. God the Seeker. Genesis 3:1-9

Transcription

1 First Family Church VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 FOR THE WEEK LEADING INTO SEPTEMBER 21 God the Seeker Genesis 3:1-9 Leading Families Toward Spiritual Maturity This week s R2R distinctive God the Father (Psalm 121:1 2): We believe God is personally involved in and cares about the daily lives of His children. Welcome to the start of a new school year at First Family Church. With the start of a new school year, we begin a new teaching series and a new Lighthouse season. This first week of the new year, I want to take the opportunity to re-aquaint you with our teaching process at First Family and the tools we make available on a weekly basis to help you in your own spiritual growth and to help you disciple your family. The Bible is Foundational The foundation of everything we teach at First Family is the Bible. We use the English Standard Version (ESV) because we believe it is the clearest English translation available today. Unless otherwise noted, all of the Scripture quoted in our weekly messages and our teaching materials will be from the ESV. (If you would like some additional help in selecting a Bible, visit Scripture-Based Lighthouses Our Lighthouses are all coordinated with our weekly teaching. The Lighthouse lesson is based out of the same text you will study throughout the week and during the weekly messages. Included in the Worship Folder you receive at the services is a handout with Sermon Notes for the sermon and the Lighthouse Discussion Guide. Use these to help you remember the key points from the weekly message and to prepare for your Lighthouse meeting. Each week we will publish a newsletter designed to help you get into the text for the week. The purpose for is based in a key principle for spiritual growth there is great advantage to immersing yourself and your family in the Bible text that will be the source text for the weekly message. By spending a few minutes with during the week, you will arrive on Sunday morning fully prepared and equipped to dig deeper into the meaning and application of the given text. Each week, the title of will coordinate with the sermon title for the weekly sermon along with the assigned Bible text. will be published one week in advance, so you can pick up a copy while you are at church, download a copy from our website, or receive a copy via each Monday morning. There are several parts to that will help you discover the meaning of the text, apply it to your life, and help you teach it to your children. Let me briefly explain each section and how to use it within your personal devotional life: Introduction Article each week will have an article (like this one) that will provide Continued on page 2...

2 Page 2 Continued from page 1... a brief overview of the weekly theme and the Scripture we will look at. Use this to help get context and initial understanding of the Bible principles encapsulated in text and the sermon to follow. Encounter God s Word this is an opportunity to read through the Bible text we will focus on each week and begin to meditate on it. Each week s Scripture will usually be relatively short. Use this as an opportunity to read the text several times. Look for words or phrases that stand out or that you have a question about, and circle these or underline them in the text. Enquire the Meaning we will provide some basic questions that will help you begin to study the text inductively. Focus on the Five Ws and the How of the text (who? what? where? why? when? and how?). When you complete the questions, take a minute to write a brief summary paragraph. This will help you cement the meaning of the text. Explore the Commentaries each week we will provide some basic explanation of the text from a commentary or two. Commentaries are biblical reference guides that offer insight and explanation on the Bible. For the greatest benefit, explore the commentaries after you do your own inductive study. Daily Bible Reading Plan First Family has a comprehensive Bible reading plan that will lead you through the entire Bible in a year. You can pick up a printed copy at the literature display near the front door, or you can download a copy by going to www. ffclife.com/biblereading. To help you stay connected, we have included each week s assigned Scripture reading as part of. Word Search Puzzle this is a fun way to focus on the key words used in each week s text. The puzzle is geared for kids of all ages. Connect the Family to help parents disciple their children, we have provided a simple page of interactive teaching that includes a brief devotional, a memory verse, and some basic questions for elementary-age children. Use this page to lead your family in a family devotional time two times each week. R2R Distinctives you will find R2R Distinctives woven throughout our teaching. These include 10 Core Beliefs, 10 Core Practices, and 10 Core Virtues that every believer should know and pursue. More Help Online If you need additional help with any of our resources, you can visit our website at com/grow for descriptions, samples, and links to each of the resources mentioned. Also, feel free to contact me with any questions at celler@ffclife.com. I look forward to growing together with you in our love for God s Word and our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Chris Eller Day 1 ENCOUNTER God s Word to put yourself in touch with him. Genesis 3:1-9 (ESV) 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. 4 But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, Where are you?

3 Page 3 Day 2 ENQUIRE the answer to these questions to better understand what the passage means. Use the questions below to guide your reading and to ensure you are grasping the key lessons and themes of the text. This is called Inductive Bible Study, in which you ask the questions, Who?, What?, Where?, Why?, When?, How? as you read the text. (Also known as the 5Ws and an H. ) 1. What did the serpent ask the woman, and how did she respond? (3:1-3) 2. Why did the serpent say that God did not want the woman to eat the forbidden fruit? (3:4-5) 3. *What happened when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit? (3:6-7) 4. What did Adam and Eve do when they heard God? Why? (3:8-10) Summary Notes Write a one paragraph summary of this week s text including key areas of interest and significant instruction. Consult the commentary on the text and the notes following this page for additional help.

4 Page 4 Day 4 EXPLORE the commentaries to answer the questions. The Temptation and Fall of Man (Genesis 3:1-9) 3:1 7. These verses provide both the record of the historical Fall of man and the archetypal temptation. This passage is a perfect case study of temptation, for sin cannot be blamed on environment or heredity. Genesis 1 2 recorded what God said; now the serpent (the devil, Rev. 20:2) spoke. The word of the Lord brought life and order; the word of the serpent brought chaos and death. Truth is older than falsehood; God s word came before Satan s lies. Genesis 3:1 is connected with 2:25 by a Hebrew wordplay: Adam and Eve were naked ( ărûmmîm); and the serpent was more crafty ( ārûm, shrewd ) than all. Their nakedness represented the fact that they were oblivious to evil, not knowing where the traps lay, whereas Satan did and would use his craftiness to take advantage of their integrity. That quality of shrewdness or subtleness is not evil in itself (indeed, one of the purposes of the Bible is to make believers so, according to Prov. 1:4, where ārmâh, shrewdness, is trans. prudence ). But it was used here for an evil purpose. The tempter was a serpent (Satan in the form of a snake), thus suggesting that temptation comes in disguise, quite unexpectedly, and that it often comes from a subordinate (someone over whom one should have exercised dominion; cf. Gen. 1:28). Also there may well be a polemical element here, for the serpent was worshiped by pagans. Their symbol of life was in fact the cause of death. Divinity is not achieved (the promise of Satan here; 3:5) by following pagan beliefs and symbols. That is the way of death, not of life. Eve either did not know God s command very well or did not want to remember it. By contrast, Christ gained victory over Satan by His precise knowledge of God s Word (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). (See the chart Satan s Temptations of Eve and of Jesus, near Matt. 4:3 11.) Eve disparaged the privileges, added to the prohibition, and weakened the penalty all seen by contrasting her words (Gen. 3:3) with God s original commands (2:16 17). After Satan heard this, he blatantly negated the penalty of death that God had given (3:4). Satan is a liar from the beginning (John 8:44), and this is his lie: one can sin and get away with it. But death is the penalty for sin (Gen. 2:17). The tempter also cast doubt over God s character, suggesting that God was jealous, holding them back from their destiny (3:5). They would become like God when they ate and God knew that, according to Satan. So Satan held out to them the promise of divinity knowing good and evil. With this the work of Satan was finished. The woman was then left to her natural desires and physical appetites. The word for desirable (nehmād, v. 6) is related to a word that appears later in the command, You shall not covet (tahmōd, Ex. 20:17). Physical practicality (good for food), aesthetic beauty (pleasing to the eye), and the potential for gaining wisdom to be in the know these draw a person over the brink once the barrier of punishment is supposedly removed. The results, of course, were anticlimactic. The promise of divine enlightenment did not come about. They both ate and saw, but they were spoiled by so doing. They were ill at ease with one another (mistrust and alienation) and they were ill at ease with God (fearful and hiding from Him). Satan s promises never come true. Wisdom is never attained by disobeying God s Word. Instead the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). 3:8 13. The remainder of this chapter falls into three sections: (a) the confrontation with the LORD in which the two sinners, hearing Him, feared and hid among the trees (vv. 8 13); (b) the oracles of the Lord in which new measures were given to the serpent, the woman, and the man (vv ); and (c) the clothing by the Lord as a provision for the new order (vv ).

5 Page 5 The effects of sin are punishment and provision. Whereas the man and the woman had life, they now had death; whereas pleasure, now pain; whereas abundance, now a meager subsistence by toil; whereas perfect fellowship, now alienation and conflict. The motifs in chapter 3 death, toil, sweat, thorns, the tree, the struggle, and the seed all were later traced to Christ. He is the other Adam, who became the curse, who sweat great drops of blood in bitter agony, who wore a crown of thorns, who was hanged on a tree until He was dead, and who was placed in the dust of death. [Allen P. Ross, Genesis, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), ] Sin Is A Choice What is it in human nature a nature which God created that makes us temptable, or vulnerable to sin? Adam and Eve were created apart from sin, and without the need to sin, yet some characteristic in their makeup allowed sin to enter their lives (Gen. 3:6 7). What was that characteristic? Scripture offers two answers to this question. For Eve, the choice to believe a lie was the doorway through which sin entered her life (3:13; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14). For Adam, it was the choice to ignore God s voice of authority (Gen. 3:17). These two choices self-deception and self-will are actually two sides of the same coin. Both remain as complicating realities in our own lives today, allowing sin to continue to take root and bear its deadly fruit in us until Christ enters our lives and breaks the bonds of sin, empowering us to resist it. Temptation is sin s call to our basic needs and desires to be satisfied in self-serving or perverted ways. It is also a call to practice self-deception, finding ways to justify doing as we please, even though we know in our heart of hearts that it is wrong. For this reason, Scripture frequently speaks of blindness as a willful act in which we choose to practice rebellion and self-deception. But when Christ enters our life, He regenerates our heart and sets us free to choose what is true and righteous (1 Cor. 6:9 11; James 1:26 27; 1 John 3:7 9). [Word in Life Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996), Ge 3:6.] The Serpant Contradicts God 3:4 5 The serpent not only directly contradicts what God has said but goes on to present the fruit of the tree as something worth obtaining: by eating it, the couple will be like God, knowing good and evil. The irony of the serpent s remarks should not be overlooked. The couple, unlike the serpent, has been made in the image of God (1:26 27). In this way they are already like God. Moreover, being in the image of God, they are expected to exercise authority over all the beasts of the field, which includes the serpent. By obeying the serpent, however, they betray the trust placed in them by God. This is not merely an act of disobedience; it is an act of treachery. Those who were meant to govern the earth on God s behalf instead rebel against their divine King and obey one of his creatures. You will not surely die. It is sometimes claimed that the serpent is correct when he says these things to the couple, for they do not die ; Adam lives to be 930 years old (5:5). Further, their eyes are opened (3:7) and God acknowledges in v. 22 that the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Yet the serpent speaks half-truths, promising much but delivering little. Their eyes are indeed opened, and they come to know something, but it is only that they are naked. They know good and evil by experience, but their sense of guilt makes them afraid to meet God; they have become slaves to evil. And while they do not cease to exist physically, they are expelled from the garden-sanctuary and God s presence. Cut off from the source of life and the tree of life, they are in the realm of the dead. What they experience outside of Eden is not life as God intended, but spiritual death. [The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 55.]

6 Page 6 Daily Bible Reading Plan SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 9/14 9/15 9/16 9/17 9/18 9/19 9/20 Is. 15:1-18:7 Is. 19:1-21:17 Is. 22:1-24:23 Is. 25:1-28:13 Is. 28:14-30:11 Is. 30:12-33:9 Is. 33:10-36:22 Gal. 1:1-24 Gal. 2:1-16 Gal. 2:17-3:9 Gal. 3:10-22 Gal. 3:23-4:31 Gal. 5:1-12 Gal. 5:13-26 Ps. 58:1-11 Ps. 59:1-17 Ps. 60:1-12 Ps. 61:1-8 Ps. 62:1-12 Ps. 63:1-11 Ps. 64:1-10 Prov. 23:12 Prov. 23:13-14 Prov. 23:15-16 Prov. 23:17-18 Prov Prov. 23:22 Prov. 23:23 For complete details on First Family s Daily Bible Reading Plan, visit our website at WORDSEARCH all the words come from this week s text or lesson. God the Seeker Genesis 3:1-9 J W C X Y O U L S I V Y F F T H E L O R D G O D J K H B E A S T O F T H E F I E L D Y E A N I T Y F A E V I D E L I G H T T O T H E E Y E S U A U T Z Y R B Q G J Q Q U M X L W C R J R R G K W I H X Z K E Y M A A W G X I A L H Z D S Y Q J A G K Q S Z T A N O H Z R I O R Q R Z Q J P Y U F R D W W U G C R X D U B F D T O I U S M N L D F I C E Z T H G O E Y K U W X F E T D Q D X F S C A G F S W H Z B U Y Y N Z R I X U N J A E K B S D V L Q I K E O M O O R X T A M L L P L K N Q Y E K D E J R H S R T N U H S V P W K L L L Q W D K B F F A O A X E N H K E R C R A F T Y D J N N A E Y U X V Y B M R U E O I D B F R U I T T I K N H I V P K E Z L L P T W A D M Z E R O T R E E E Y G G C I D S I E Z E V O Z V H U S B A N D M Y F H V M B N L X H B C N M M J M S Z J Q M B H F S O L E U U O T Z J V J T N A Q A U D K E H H J L O I N C L O T H S B X O A M N The Serpent husband crafty garden fruit where are you beast of the field loincloths delight to the eyes tree the woman desirable naked fig leaves good and evil you will die the Lord God To see the answers to the puzzle, go to

7 Page 7 Connect the Family the children s ministry of first family church Where Are You? When David considered the greatness of God, the Creator, he marvelled that such a God was mindful of mere man, or visited him. Genesis chapter 3 tells of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Did He do this habitually to enjoy with Adam the paradise He had created? On this occasion there could be no sharing with Adam, for he had disobeyed the one prohibition given him by God. So Adam was afraid to walk with God, and he hid. God s call, Where are you? is not a request for information. God knew exactly where Adam was. But God was not satisfied to abandon him, even when he had failed. Adam must realize where his sin had placed him. Amazingly, God always takes the initiative in seeking the lost. We would never act first, so He acts to bring us to Himself. He does seek us! Amazing grace! Adam must be confronted with his plight. He must ask himself where he is. It is good that we habitually take stock of where we are in relation to walking with God Ḣe confesses that he hid because he was afraid. Psalm 139 tells us that we cannot get away from God s presence. As our Judge, He sees our sins, but as our Saviour He watches to bring us into blessing. We see God s care in His question. Adam s first reaction to his sin was to involve, perhaps even to blame, Eve she gave him the forbidden fruit. But he finally confessed, And I did eat. He had taken the first positive step toward recovery. In John chapter 4 the Lord Jesus wanted to create in the Samaritan woman a thirst for living water. It was the gift of God, and Jesus, the Son of God, delighted to give the gift. But first, there was the awkward question of her husbands. Her sin must be brought to her conscience so that she will be ready to be forgiven. Adam s sin brought in a curse, but the Genesis story is of blessing at the end. Adam would have a coat of skin. Are we prepared today to ask, Where am I? It may be the first step to spiritual recovery of lost fellowship with our loving God. He who sees us where we are hiding from Him has plans for us of grace and blessing beyond our imagining. Wesley Ferguson Memory Time Memory Verse 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? Gen. 3:8-9 R2R Life Distinctive God the Father (Psalm 121:1 2): We believe God is personally involved in and cares about the daily lives of His children. Family Devotions Set aside two times this week for family devotions centered around this week s text. Session 1: Read through this week s text (Genesis 3:1-9). If you have children old enough to read, let one of them read the text. Did Eve recognize the snake as evil? Why or why not? Share with your children how to recognize evil today? What is the best response to evil? (See 2 Tim. 2:22) Session 2: Re-read this week s text (Gen. 3:1-9). Why did Adam and Eve hide from God? What does this week s text tell us about God? Explain to your children that God loves us in spite of our sin, and that even today, He is seeking the lost and calling them to Salvation in Jesus. (See John 3:16)

8 Page 8 R2R Life! Becoming Ready to Reproduce Disciples of Jesus 10 R2R Core Beliefs The Bible (2 Timothy 3:16 17): We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God, and the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. God the Father (Psalm 121:1 2): We believe God is personally involved in and cares about the daily lives of His children. Jesus Christ (John 1:12): We believe in Jesus Christ, His deity, virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial and bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return in power and glory. We are significant only because of our position as children of God. The Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14): We believe the God of the Bible is the only true God and is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Humanity (John 3:16): We believe all people are born separated from God by sin, but God in his love sent his Son Jesus Christ as their savior. Eternity (John 14:1 4): We believe there is a heaven and a hell and that Jesus Christ is returning to judge the earth and to establish his kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the dead: the believer to life everlasting and the unbeliever to the resurrection of judgment. The Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:15-16): We believe in the church as the body of Christ, which is composed of all believers who have accepted Christ as Savior. We believe the church is God s primary way to accomplish His purposes on earth today. Stewardship (1 Timothy 6:17-19): We believe that everything we have, including our very life, belongs to God. Salvation by Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-25; 8:38-39): We believe a person has a right relationship with God only by His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. This makes believers eternally secure in Jesus Christ. Compassion (Psalm 82:3-4): We believe God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need. 10 R2R Core Practices Worship (Psalm 95:1-7): I worship God for who He is and what He has done for me. Bible Study (Hebrews 4:12): I study the Bible diligently to know God, to become like Christ, and to discern His will for my life. Service (Colossians 3:17): I give away my time to fulfill God s purposes. Witness (Matthew 28:18-20): I live to tell the story of Jesus and to make disciples of Him even to the ends of the earth, knowing he is with me always. Biblical Community (Acts 2:44-47): I fellowship with other believers in a small group to accomplish God s purposes in my life, others lives, and in the world. Prayer (Psalm 66:16-20): I pray to God to know Him, to lay my request before Him and to find direction for my daily life. Spiritual Gifts (Romans 12:4-6): I know and use my spiritual gifts to accomplish God s purposes. Authenticity (John 13:33-34): I know and understand biblical truths and transfer these truths into everyday life. Who I am on the inside and outside is a pure reflection of Christ and His Word. Simplicity (Matthew 6:33): I seek to live a simple life focused on God and his priorities for my life. Possessions (Luke 16:11 12): I seek to maintain an eternal perspective on money and possessions, realizing God has give me all that I have, and that he expects me to manage it wisely for His glory. 10 R2R Core Virtues Gentleness (Philippians 4:5): I am thoughtful, considerate and calm in dealing with others. Faithfulness (Proverbs 3:3-4): I have established a good name with God and with others based on my long-term loyalty to those relationships. Hope (Hebrews 6:19-20): I can cope with the hardships of life and with death because of the hope I have in Jesus Christ. Joy (John 15:11): I have inner contentment and purpose in spite of my circumstances. Love (1 John 4:10-12): I sacrificially and unconditionally love and forgive others. Peace (Philippians 4:6-7): I am free from anxiety because things are right between God, myself and others. Self-Control (Titus 2:11-13): I have the power, through Christ, to control myself. Humility (Philippians 2:3-4): I choose to esteem others above myself. Patience (Proverbs 14:29): I take a long time to overheat and endure patiently under the unavoidable pressures of life. Kindness/Goodness (1 Thessalonians 5:15): I choose to do the right things in my relationships with others. About is produced throughout the school year to help you connect with the Word of God on a daily basis and to study and meditate on the specific biblical text that will be the focus of the upcoming weekend services. also helps tie-in the principles of discipleship found in 10 Core Beliefs (doctrine) 10 Core Practices (disciplines), and 10 Core Virtues (spiritual fruit). Together, we call these R2R Distinctives, or becoming a Ready to Reproduce Disciple of Jesus Christ. If you would like delivered each week to your box, you can to to compass and register.