The way we messed up…BIG TIME!

You came up with the following statements to summarise what we discovered last week about God's perfect plan for creation:
- God is INFINITE. He is ABOVE all. God is the CREATOR of the world.
- God was PLEASED with all that he had made.
- We were made in God’s IMAGE. God told us to RULE over what he had made.
- God RESTED on the 7th day.

Some words to describe the relationship between…
- God & human beings: love, protective, friend
- Man & woman: sexual partner, friend, marriage
- Humans & creation: looking after, rule


We focused on Genesis chapter 3 this week and learnt about how we messed up BIG TIME. We came up with the following points from the story of "the fall":

1. The serpent…
- Twisted God’s words. He made Eve doubt what God said.
- Satan lied about God’s intentions – it worked :(

2. Adam and Eve messed up because…
- They disobeyed God. They betrayed God's trust (This was a really nice answer from Winnie - betrayal is one of the most painful things we will ever experience - just think how God felt for a moment...)
- Gen 3:6 – they didn’t just break the ONLY rule that God made, the made up their own rules. They ignored God’s authority and broke away from a relationship with God.

Get this: God made ONE rule... and Adam and Eve managed to break it!!!!!!!

3. Adam and Eve’s sin affected their relationships immediately…
- They hid from God because they were afraid and ashamed – the perfect relationship was destroyed.
- The battle of the sexes started! Adam and Eve started squabbling, and blaming everyone else. They didn’t want to take responsibility for their own actions.

4. God’s punishment meant that…
- The woman would suffer pain in childbirth.
- The man would rule over the woman instead of leading and caring for her in a loving way.
- The woman would be driven by her sexual desire for her husband, and also a desire to control. They stop being a perfect team, working together.
- The man’s work becomes a struggle to control creation instead of the harmonious relationship with it intended by God.
- Death starts to affect human beings, physically and spiritually.

Think about this question then… How does sin affect your life?
Answer:.....?

Don't despair....there is hope, even in Genesis!
- We read v.15 – this already points to Jesus…
- We read 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 together. Just because us humans messed up, God wasn’t going to give up on us. In fact, his plan was to become a human and provide the perfect answer so that we could come back to him through Jesus Christ!

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Thanks to everyone who read the passage beforehand and prepared their answers to the questions. Special thanks to Gary who couldn’t make it, and emailed his answers!
May I encourage you all to read the passages in advance at home. Pray before you read, ask God to help you understand and quieten yourself down.
Put away everything that might distract you… The stories may be familiar, but the Bible isn't a textbook with lots of questions and then the correct answers at the back. God’s word is ALIVE and if you read it for yourself first and focus, don’t be surprised if God shows you something new...

We are looking forward to hearing how God’s been speaking to you this week. Yep – there is youth group this coming Sunday – even though it’s the first Sunday of the month!