Show Me the Gospel Discovering Christ and the Gospel Story

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1 Show Me the Gospel Discovering Christ and the Gospel Story A Family Devotional Guide Patrick Marrie

3 Separated from God (WEEK 2) Lesson 1 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die (Gen. 2:15-17). Adam and Eve lived in an amazingly wonderful place. Can you imagine? A perfect garden designed by the Creator of all things. It must have been beautiful! Adam and Eve had everything they needed, and best of all, they lived in perfect union with God. Under the care of God s watchful eye, they were so happy and could live forever. In his most wonderful place, God had only one command. They were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Even though there was only one command, it was very important that it was followed. The consequence for not obeying God s command would lead to death. Adam and Eve trusted God and understood his instructions, but in the days that followed, they would face their first challenge to God s word. 2

4 Big Picture: Questions God and Man. What do you imagine the garden to be like? Beautiful plants, fruits, vegetables! Peaceful & comfortable Safe Why do you think God gave Adam and Eve the command to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? God wanted to protect them. God had a greater understanding of the consequences. He knew that by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their relationship with him would be broken. He needed them to simply trust him. The Bible commands children to honor their father and mother. (Read Eph. 6:1-4) Why do you think God gave this command? (Discuss this as you close the lesson and we will touch on this idea later in the week). 3

5 Lesson 2 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:1-4). Eve thought about what the devil had said. Before long, she found herself picking fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. She handed some to Adam, and they each took a bite. At that very moment, they both felt something they had never felt before. They felt sadness, shame, and they were afraid. Later that day, as they heard God walking in the garden, they also did something they had never done before - they hid from God. God called to Adam, Where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me she 4

gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate (Gen. 3:9-13).

6 gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate (Gen. 3:9-13). God knew that they had believed the devil s lie and not trusted His word. The perfect relationship between God and man was broken. As a result, Adam and Eve would not live forever. They would one day die just as God had said. With a broken heart, God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden. But all was not lost; God had a plan! Big Picture: Questions Satan s Lie. How did Satan challenge God s Word? With a lie. In fact, he just made a small change to what God had said. Why do you think Adam and Eve were afraid after they disobeyed God? Sin separates us from God. They had never felt alone or lost before. (Isa 59:1-2) 5

Lesson 2 continued How have you felt after disobeying your parents? Sad, afraid, disappointed How do you think your parents feel after you disobey their rules?

7 Lesson 2 continued How have you felt after disobeying your parents? Sad, afraid, disappointed How do you think your parents feel after you disobey their rules? Disappointed, hurt, sad, angry Truth and Lies How can you tell if someone is honest or trustworthy? Can you imagine starting a relationship with someone you couldn t trust? What would that be like? How do we know that we can trust God? (Discuss these ideas as you close this lesson and we will touch on these ideas later in the week). 6

8 Lesson 3 So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel (Gen. 3:14-15). The devil was cursed, but Adam and Eve had also consequences of their own. As a result of Eve s sin, God increased the pains of childbirth and caused a woman s desire to be to be for her husband. As a result of Adam s sin, man would have to work by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life. Most tragic, the perfect relationship between God and man was broken. They would no longer live forever; they would die just as God s word had said. (Gen. 3:16-19) So the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the 7

9 way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:21-24). Big Picture: Questions The Consequence of Man s Sin. What curse did God declare to Satan? God promised that one day the child of woman would crush his head What was the woman s consequence for disobeying God? Pains were increased in childbirth A wife s desire would be for her husband What was man s consequence for disobeying God? To work by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life What was the worst result of Adam and Eve s sin? They were separated from God and had to leave the garden. They would no longer live forever, but would die. Have you ever been separated from your parents? How did you feel? If not, can you imagine how you would might feel? (Discuss this as you close the lesson and we will touch on this idea later in the week). 8

Lesson 4 Show Me the Gospel: Christ Connection! Man s Sin and God s Plan Our relationship with God was, from the beginning, designed to be perfect! So what went wrong?

10 Lesson 4 Show Me the Gospel: Christ Connection! Man s Sin and God s Plan Our relationship with God was, from the beginning, designed to be perfect! So what went wrong? As we work to answer this question, we want to focus our attention to three central ideas in this week s story: Man s disobedience, God s truth, and God s plan to save (the Gospel) and as always, keep an eye out for Jesus! Let s begin with man s disobedience. Man s Disobedience - God said, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. Why did you think God gave this command? Children, in their limited understanding, often ask, why? Sometimes parents give a reason as to why they instruct their children to do certain things, but then other times they may simply say, because I said so. 9

Lesson 4 continued As God gave Adam and Eve this command, He did not specify the reason, but instead the answer is grounded in who God is and who we are not.

11 Lesson 4 continued As God gave Adam and Eve this command, He did not specify the reason, but instead the answer is grounded in who God is and who we are not. God understood that it was not man s place to determine what is good or evil, but His alone. In fact, God knew that the very responsibility itself would have devastating consequences for man. As a parent desires a child s trust, God wanted man to trust His word. By its very nature, God s word provides and protects. However, Adam and Eve decided that they did not need God s word and they sought their own way. The Bible says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Prov. 14:12). And isn t that what God warned? Think of this: Satan told Eve if she would eat of the tree, You will be like God (Gen. 3:5). That was very tempting. She could choose to obey God, or ignore God and do whatever she wanted to do. In other words, she could be the one in charge. We have to decide if we want God to be in charge, or if we want to put ourselves in the place of God and make ourselves into our own gods. But if we try to be the ones in charge instead of listening to God, it always ends in sorrow and suffering. 10

Lesson 4 continued The consequence for man s disobedience is death (Rom. 6:23). However, this is not just a physical death, but eternal death and separation from God. That is the tragic result of sin!

12 Lesson 4 continued The consequence for man s disobedience is death (Rom. 6:23). However, this is not just a physical death, but eternal death and separation from God. That is the tragic result of sin! Like Adam and Eve, our sin separates us from God (Isa. 59:2) What a fearful thing to be separated from our loving God. Why does our sin separate us from God? (Read Isa. 6:3-5; Hab. 1:13a; 1 John 1:5-6) (Discuss this as you close the lesson and we will touch on this idea later in the week). 11

Lesson 5 Show Me the Gospel: Christ Connection! The Truth: This week s story began with God giving instruction to Adam and Eve. Soon after, Satan challenged God s word.

13 Lesson 5 Show Me the Gospel: Christ Connection! The Truth: This week s story began with God giving instruction to Adam and Eve. Soon after, Satan challenged God s word. Satan spoke words that were directly contrary to the word of God. At that moment, Adam and Eve had to determine whether they would trust God. At times we may question God s word; however, from the very beginning, God s word has been working to direct our steps and guide our way. (Ps 119:105) The Bible declares that God s word is truth. (Psalm 119:160). In fact, we read in Titus 1:1-2 that God cannot lie. We can always trust God s word! When we follow anything that is contrary to God s word, we exchange the truth of God for a lie. Isn t this exactly what Adam and Eve did? And as we learned, the consequences for straying from God s word are more than we can bear. How can we demonstrate trust in God s word? Read Matt 7:

Lesson 5 continued God s Plan to Save (The Gospel): As always, we want to be sure to connect Christ and the Gospel to our story. Did you see reference to Jesus this week?

14 Lesson 5 continued God s Plan to Save (The Gospel): As always, we want to be sure to connect Christ and the Gospel to our story. Did you see reference to Jesus this week? Here is an instance we definitely want to consider: God s curse to Satan promised that there would be hostility between the devil and the offspring of the woman. In fact, God said that Satan would bruise his heel, and in return, he would crush Satan s head (Gen. 3:14-15). Does this description sound familiar to other events in Scripture? (Read Isa. 53:5 and Matt. 1:18-23) Did you make the connection? The bruising of the heel of the offspring of the woman is a prophecy of the suffering of Jesus and his death on the cross. And the crushing of Satan s head is connected to the very promise of the Gospel itself. The death and resurrection of Jesus (which is the Gospel 1 Cor. 15:1-5) is the crushing blow that defeats Satan s attempt to destroy our fellowship with God. (Read 1 John 3:8!) Jesus sacrifice removes our sin, restoring an even more perfect relationship between us and God! 13

15 Lesson 5 continued Summary: What a powerful story this week! We have seen that God s word is truth. It is so important that we trust what God says. The truth of God s word is our guide, protection, and our salvation. Did you know that Jesus is portrayed in the Bible as Truth? Once again Jesus is central to making everything right between us and our God. In fact, Jesus said, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Wait a minute, another discovery! Jesus said he is the Life. Remember as Adam and Eve left the garden, they could no longer partake of the tree of life. Well, as we continue to look at God s word, we will see that we can have life with God, once again, through Jesus and have it more abundantly! (Read John 10:9-11.) In closing, we can t forget that we serve a holy God. A God that loves us! Yet, our sin separates us from our holy God. In order to have the perfect relationship we once had with our God, sin has to be removed. 14

God s plan to send Jesus (the Word, the Light, the Way, the Truth, and the Life) to the cross on our behalf was his plan from the beginning.

16 Lesson 5 continued This is something we are helpless to do on our own, but at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:6-8). God s plan to send Jesus (the Word, the Light, the Way, the Truth, and the Life) to the cross on our behalf was his plan from the beginning. No wonder this plan is called the Gospel, which means, good news. The story of God s love for us and how He can save us from sin through his Son Jesus is the best news that man has ever known! 15

Closing Prayer Dear heavenly Father, Thank you for your Truth. Your word is Truth!

Thank you for revealing to us that Jesus is the Word, the Way, the Truth, and the Life and He alone can

In Jesus name, Amen! Digging Deeper The Truth of God plays a most significant role in all of Scripture.

17 Closing Prayer Dear heavenly Father, Thank you for your Truth. Your word is Truth! We know you have shared your word with us because you love us. Thank you for revealing to us that Jesus is the Word, the Way, the Truth, and the Life and He alone can restore our relationship with you. Help us to allow your Truth to guide us all the days of our lives. In Jesus name, Amen! Digging Deeper The Truth of God plays a most significant role in all of Scripture. Here are a just a few passages on this: The Truth leads us to God. 1 John 5:20, John 8:31-32 John 17:17; John 18:37 Eph. 1:13; Psalm 86:11 God s Truth endures forever. Psalm 119:160 16

The First Sin. The First Sin

The First Sin. The First Sin The First Sin (Text from Genesis 3) A Booklet from www.hubbardscupboard.org and www.joyfulheartlearning,com 2016 Clipart Copyright @ Educlips Scripture quoted from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.