Connections
Class 2014-2015
August 31 – In
the Beginning
Lesson 02 – Sin
and Separation
Comments and
Questions
Chapter
3 conveys to us the origin of sin in the world. Adam and Eve disobey God’s
instruction and suffer the consequences of their sinful choice.
When
God confronts them with their sin, they blame each other, and even the serpent.
Adam also comes very close to actually blaming God.
Sin
creates a gap between God and the human beings. Although God graciously clothes
them, He also curses all of the participants in the act of disobedience and
they are banished from the holy Garden of Eden.
The
whole story is a means of communicating to people of faith that sin causes us
to separate ourselves from God. As our sinning continues, that gap becomes
immense, putting us in danger of never being able to reach God ever again.
The
definition of ‘sin’ is different for each culture, nation, and generation on
Earth. Different religions and denominations also have differing views of what
sin is. This creates a dilemma for each generation of Christians when defining ‘sin,’
because the consequences of getting it wrong could mean that we again create a
gap and drift away from God.
Questions for
discussion
Do I believe that Adam and Eve actually existed?
Why/why not?
What is the purpose of this story? How does it
relate to our own wrong doing in the eye of God?
Why did God create the two trees with forbidden
fruit? Why did He not want Adam and Eve to eat the fruit?
Why does the serpent represent evil in this story?
How does he persuade Eve to eat the fruit?
Where was Adam when Eve was being tempted? Where was
God?
How does Eve tempt Adam? What is the initial outcome
of their sin?
Why do they hide from God? What causes them to lie
to Him?
How does God deal with the situation? What does this
convey to us about His judgment?
How often do we sin? What do we do about it? What
does God do about it?
Any other comments/ questions?
Unison Prayer
Heavenly
Father, we lower our heads before You and we confess that we have too often
forgotten that we are Yours. Sometimes we carry on our lives as if there was no
God and we fall short of being a credible witness to You. For these things we
ask Your forgiveness and we also ask for Your strength.
Give
us clear minds and open hearts so we may witness to You in our world. Remind us
to be who You would have us to be, regardless of what we are doing or who we
are with. Hold us to You and build our relationship with You, as well as with
those You have given us on Earth. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK:
GENESIS 4 – THE CURSE OF CAIN
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