LIGHTHOUSE MINISTRY LEADER S STUDY GUIDE MISSIONS: GOD S HEART FOR THE WORLD. God the Seeker

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LIGHTHOUSE MINISTRY LEADER S STUDY GUIDE MISSIONS: GOD S HEART FOR THE WORLD God the Seeker Genesis 3:1-9 R2R Distinctive: God the Father September 21, 2014 Week 01 of God s Heart for the World This

1 LIGHTHOUSE MINISTRY LEADER S STUDY GUIDE MISSIONS: GOD S HEART FOR THE WORLD God the Seeker Genesis 3:1-9 R2R Distinctive: God the Father September 21, 2014 Week 01 of God s Heart for the World This guide is designed to provide helpful hints in preparing and leading your Lighthouse discussion. If you need any assistance or further instruction on any part of this teaching lesson, don t hesitate to contact Chris at celler@ffclife.com. Announcements:! Take time to walk your Lighthouse through the curriculum we are providing. Stress the importance of reviewing the Discussion Guide before your Lighthouse meeting.! Remind your Lighthouse members that each week s Lighthouse discussion is based in the same text as the weekly message. It is important to listen to each week s message (they are available online if needed), and to take good notes.! Review the Fall 2014 Calendar of Events with your Lighthouse. Note the dates for events that will impact your regular Lighthouse meeting.! Review the Week 1 Agenda. This provides a simple overview of the Lighthouse Ministry at First Family and helps you better administer your group. If most of the members in your group are returning members, you can briefly review some of the highlights. If you have a new group, you may want to spend more time reviewing the key components of a group meeting and some of the game rules for how a group should properly function. Contents! Overview of this Lesson! Introduction! Read the Text! Digging Deeper! Concluding Thoughts! Passage Guide Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2014 Page 1 This study guide is produced to coordinate with the weekly sermon series Unhindered: God s Church Then & Now by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

2 Overview of this Lesson Purpose: To show that our outreach to others is based on God's loving character. We follow his example into a lost world, and we say, as his representatives, "Where are you? God wants you back." General note. This passage records the biblical account of the Fall, when human beings decided to listen to the lies of the deceiver rather than obey the mandates of their loving God. For the purposes of understanding our mission in the world-namely, imitating God's initiative toward lost people-we stick with just the first nine verses, although you're wise to read on so that you're not deterred by questions related to the consequences of the Fall (Gen 3:10). Introduction 1. Looking back at your notes from this week s sermon, was there anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged or confused you? 2. When you think of God, what comes to mind? What adjectives or images would you use to describe God's character? SERMON IN A SENTENCE Our understanding of missions is based on our understanding of God s loving character. We follow His example into a lost world as His representatives. Read the Text (Genesis 3:1-9) For the purposes of understanding our mission in the world-namely, imitating God's initiative toward lost people-we stick with just the first nine verses, although you're wise to read on so that you're not deterred by questions related to the consequences of the Fall (Gen 3:10). 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 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 2

3 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? 10 And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. Digging Deeper In this section, feel free to develop your own questions to help guide your group s discussion. Below are some suggestions. 3. What does the serpent do to undermine the harmony of Adam and Eve's relationship with God (vv. 1-5)? We learn from other passages of Scripture that the serpent is the deceiver (2 Cor 11:2), also called the devil and Satan (Rev 12:9). As the "father of lies" Jn 8:44) he undermines the harmony of Adam and Eve's relationship with God by questioning whether they heard God right: "Did God really say?" (v. 1). He entices them to "be like God" (3:4) and promises that they won't die. He sets God up as the jealous and insecure one, telling Adam and Eve that God simply doesn't want them to know what he knows. Why didn't Adam and Eve die after they ate the forbidden fruit? Although they did not drop dead immediately, sin entered the world through their disobedience, and so as a consequence did death (1 Cor 15:21-22). Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 3

4 4. Imagine yourself as Eve. What factors would you have been weighing as you decided whether or not to eat the fruit? What do you think entered into Adam's decision to eat the fruit? Many draw a parallel between the threefold attractiveness of the fruit and John's description of the temptations of "the world" in 1 John 2: In this case, "good for food" parallels "the cravings of sinful man"; "pleasing to the eye" parallels "the lust of his eyes"; "desirable for gaining wisdom" parallels "the boasting of what he has" ("pride of life" in some translations). Was it wrong for them to desire to know good and evil (Gen 3:5)? In keeping with other passages which urge us to gain wisdom and flee from evil, we must conclude that their sin was simply that of disobedience. God knew that their pure and innocent fellowship in a sin-free environment would be destroyed forever by their rebellion. God had commanded them to abstain from that tree because he had a view of the long-term ramifications of their action. 5. Do you think it was wrong for them to know good and evil (v. 5)? Explain. 6. How does Adam and Eve's action affect their relationship with each other (compare Genesis 2:25 with 3:7)? The Bible teaches that when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's rebellion, multiple relationships were severed: (1) our relationship with God-sin causes a great rift between us and God (Is 59:2), and we come under the curse of death (Gen 3:19; Rom 6:23); (2) our relationship with each other, symbolized by Adam and Eve's sudden awareness of nakedness as well as their tendency to start blaming each other (Gen 3:11-12); (3) our relationship with nature, indicated by the curse on the soil with pain, thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17-18) in place of what must have been pre-fall ease. 7. How does Adam and Eve's action affect their relationship with God (v. 8)? The Bible does indeed teach God's omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. Therefore, God knew where Adam and Eve were hiding. His question in Genesis 3:9 is obviously uttered for Adam and Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 4

5 Eve's sake (and ours!). He knew where they were, but he wanted them to know that in spite of their sin he was now looking for them. The question previews the grace of God expressed through Jesus Christ that while we were still sinners (in hiding) Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). God came looking for Adam and Eve in the garden. God came looking for us in Jesus Christ. You might draw from the action of God in grace toward Adam and Eve in verse 21. Without stretching the analogy, it's obvious that in order to create garments of skin to cover their nakedness, an animal had to dieto cover the effect of their sin. In the same way, God sent Jesus as the Lamb of God to die-to cover the effects of our sins (Is 53:6). 8. Consider God's actions in verses What do these verses reveal about him? God exemplifies initiative-taking love. God knew where they were, what they had done and why they had done it; nevertheless, he still came looking. 9. In a world of people who are rebelling against God, how might we imitate God's action toward Adam and Eve? We go out into the world because we're following his example to go out in search of these who are lost-regardless of how they got there. Here you might add to the study by taking five to ten minutes for people to thumb through some popular magazines and tear out commercials (or even articles) which build on lies designed to entice us toward something that promises to make us wiser, better looking, richer or more self-sufficient. Coca-Cola s Open Happiness Campaign In 2009, Coca-Cola rolled out a new global marketing campaign called Open Happiness. Like many advertisements, Coke s Open Happiness, was built on the lyrics of a catchy song that promised: C'mon and lift me up it's a brand new day Open up a little happiness today So I can be someone new (so I can be someone new) C'mon and lift me up to a better way Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 5

Open up a smile on another face So I can feel something new 10. What difference does it make in your life to know that God came looking for you-even when you were still a lost sinner?

6 Open up a smile on another face So I can feel something new 10. What difference does it make in your life to know that God came looking for you-even when you were still a lost sinner? It might be useful either to share your own testimony at this juncture or to ask another group member (in advance) to share his or hers. 11. Adam and Eve walked away from God because they listened to lies (or at least half-truths). What lies do you see people believing today which separate them from each other and from God? This question might provoke some intense discussion, especially from people who have been sinned against by abusive parents or a painful past. Try to direct the conversation toward the awesomeness of God's Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 6

7 initiative toward us. The following biblical stories illustrate God's grace stimulating people to imitate his outgoing, forgiving spirit toward others: (1) Joseph forgiving his brothers for selling him into slavery (Gen 45:4-11 and 50:15-21); (2) Stephen, while being stoned to death, imitating Jesus by asking that God forgive his murderers (Acts 7:60); (3) Paul and Silas, reaching out with care to the jailer who held them in captivity (Acts 16:22-30). Familiarizing yourself with the great missionary story of Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint's return to work with the Auca (now called Waorani) Indians in Ecuador might be useful as you discuss this question. In January 1956, Elisabeth's husband, Jim, and Rachel's brother, Nate, were part of a group of five killed by the Auca warriors. A year later Rachel and Elisabeth (with Elisabeth's two-year-old daughter, Valerie) returned to the Aucas to be God's visible "Where are you?" to these people. (Elisabeth's books Through Gates of Splendor and The Savage My Kinsman describe this great story.) 12. Adam and Eve made the choice to sin, yet God, the sinnedagainst one in this case, still came looking for them. What is our responsibility for taking the initiative in going out after others, even those who have intentionally wronged us or sinned against God? Is there a sin that God cannot forgive?" arises often from the inquiring minds of new Christians. In reassuring group members of God's grace, keep two truths in balance: (1) The only sin Jesus calls "unforgivable" is the sin against or blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:31), which is the complete and lifelong rejection of the saving power and love of Jesus Christ. (2) When God forgives us, he removes our sins "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps 103:12). Through Jesus Christ he grants us forgiveness and a fresh start. It is the overwhelming gratitude of being forgiven that motivates us to go out and declare his forgiveness to others. (3) But we should never take sin lightly or take forgiveness for granted. Remember that although Adam and Eve were pursued and forgiven by God, they still lived out the consequences of their sins (Gen 3:16-19). 13. Imagine that you're talking with a friend who insists, "God could never forgive me after all that I've done." How would you use this passage to introduce that person to God's grace? Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 7

8 Ask God to give you the opportunity today to reach out and be his voice, saying to an alienated person, "God loves you; he is looking for you." Concluding Thoughts In this section, feel free to develop your own questions to help guide your group s discussion. Below are some suggestions. 14. Reflect on a time-either past or present-when something in your life made you want to hide from God. Hear God's voice saying, "Where are you?" and rejoice that he never gives up in his pursuit. 15. Luke's Gospel focuses on God's pursuit of things lost. In Luke 15, Jesus tells us of the pursuit of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son, all as analogies of the loving God looking for us. Read Luke 19:1-10 and observe Jesus saying, "Where are you?" to Zacchaeus. Celebrate your own found-ness as Zacchaeus did, and memorize Luke 19:10 as your mission. Concluding Thoughts for this week focuses on Jesus' New Testament mission in seeking lost things. In the three parables of Luke 15 (lost coin, lost son, lost sheep), Jesus depicts God as the active seeker. Then Jesus illustrates this through his own life by seeking after Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus had perhaps already heard that this Jesus was the "friend" of tax collectors (Lk 7:34), so he wanted to meet this man. Perhaps Zacchaeus felt condemned by all of the other religious leaders of the day; but Jesus was different and welcomed sinners. See Luke 18:9-14 as an example of the Pharisee's attitude toward tax collectors. The story speaks for itself, with Luke 19:10 being the culmination of God's seeking heart manifested in Jesus. This continuation study might provoke some good discussion on how we refer to the spiritual state of those outside of Christ. In our age of political correctness, we call people "seekers" or say they are "on the spiritual journey." Jesus called them "lost." Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 8

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10 God the Seeker (Passage Guide) The Passage Guide is a quick reference to all of the Scripture referenced in this week s lesson. Use it to provide a quick overview of the various passages that support the teaching of this week s lesson. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is in the English Standard Version. Genesis 3: 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? 10 And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. 2 Corinthians 11:2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 10

11 1 Corinthians 15: For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 John 2: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Genesis 2:25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Genesis 3: He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 12 The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. Genesis 3: And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 11

12 Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Genesis 45: So Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me, please. And they came near. And he said, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty. Genesis 50:15 15 When Joseph s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, It 21 may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him. 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, Your father gave this command before he died: 17 Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you. And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, Behold, we are your servants. 19 But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Acts 7:60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 12

13 Acts 16: The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Matthew 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Genesis 3: To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Fall 2014 Page 13

THE STORY: FINDING OUR PLACE IN GOD S STORY

THE STORY: FINDING OUR PLACE IN GOD S STORY The Fall Delight The more we know God and his plans the more we will trust and love. Genesis 2:15-17 (ESV) The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the