Genesis: Under The Radar – Part 3

Genesis: Under The Radar – Part 3

Genesis: Under The Radar – Part 3 The World As We Know It… Genesis 3 September 24th, 2017

 

I. The STORY thus FAR… (Gen. 1-2)
A. Good GOD, Good CREATION. (Gen. 1-2)
B. CREATION as His TEMPLE. (Gen.1)
C. Humanity as his PRIESTLY REPRESENTATIVES. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:15)

We’ve spent 2 weeks on Genesis and really have only gotten though the first chapter. It was important to lay a solid foundation for what it is that God is doing in the work of creation. From here on out the speed picks up quite a bit, but we need to keep in mind the why that underlies it all.

1. Last week I asked you to read the two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 and look for differences and similarities. What did you find? What questions did this process raise?
2. How was your experience in seeking to live as a priest of God this week? What did you learn?

II. CORRUPT the Image, DESECRATE the Temple. (Gen. 3)
A. QUESTIONING the GOODNESS of God. (3:1-4)
B. Same DESTINATION, different PATHS. (3:5; Rom 8:29)
C. DEATH enters the TEMPLE. (2:17,25; 3:7,14-24)
D. The NEED for a new WAY. (3:22-24; Jn 6:51)
E. The MULTIPLYING power of EVIL. (Gen. 3-11)

The Temple of God’s perfect creation mocks Satan and his desire to rule. At the centre of this Temple is the image of God as created in humanity. That’s the place that Satan chooses to attack. Distort the image and you weaken the temple. The irony is that he tempts them with the same thing that God offers. He just wants them to “short-cut” the wisdom of God by seeking it his way and not God’s.

3. As you look back on your own life, what have been the hardest temptations for you to resist? Do those temptations have anything in common with what we see happening in Genesis 3?
4. “Every sin is an attempt to exalt ourselves over God.” Is that true? Why or why not?
5. In what areas of your life do you find yourself trying to take a short-cut to gain what God wants for you? Why is the short-cut tempting for you?
6. When have you seen evil multiply in your own life or in the lives of those around you? How do you stop evil from multiplying?

III. This EXPLAINS a LOT…
A. A life of “DEJA VU”… (Gen. 4, 6, 11…)
B. We live with 2 CHAPTERS in 1 HEART. (Gen. 2-3)
C. The HOPE of a new CREATION. (Gen. 3:15; II Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5)

Genesis 2 and 3 hold a lot of answers for the world as we see it today as well as the way that we feel about it. C.S. Lewis wrote, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” The world we live in is a shadow of what we were created for. Something inside of us knows that…and only the hope of the Good News of Jesus can ever lead us from where we are to where He is leading.

7. When have you experienced what Jeff called living with two chapters in one heart? What was that like for you and how did you deal (or how are you dealing) with it?
8. What are some practical ways you can nourish the hope of a new creation in your day to day life?