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This month we have been looking together at the story of Adam and Eve and the snake in the garden of Eden. It is a story to help us think about how the “very good” world that God created ended up with so much pain and suffering, ended up so broken.
In The Jesus Storybook by Sally Lloyd-Jones, she has these words in the story of The Terrible Lie: “Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?” God asked them. Adam said, “Eve made me do it!” “What have you done?” God asked. Eve said, “The serpent made me do it!” And terrible pain came into God’s heart. His children hadn’t just broken the one rule; they had broken God’s heart. They had broken their wonderful relationship with him. And now he knew everything else would break. “You will have to leave the garden now,” God told his children, his eyes filling with tears. “This is no longer your true home, it’s not the place for you anymore.” Before they left the garden, God whispered a promise to Adam and Eve: “It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you! And when I do, I’m going to do battle against the snake. I’ll get rid of the sin and the dark and the sadness you let in here. I’m coming back for you!” And he would. One day, God himself would come. Can you think of a time when you have been caught doing something wrong and blamed it on someone else? Why did you do that? How did you feel? Do you ever think about God being affected by your sin? How do you respond to the phrase, “they had broken God’s heart”? Do you think you can break God’s heart? Describe or draw a picture of “home”. What is included in that picture? What does it do to a relationship when someone lies? When someone says they are sorry? Do you see a relationship between this and the Confession and Forgiveness that we do in worship? This week, pray the following prayer: All that we ought to have thought and have not thought, All that we ought to have said and have not said, All that we ought to have done and have not done, All that we ought not to have spoken and yet have spoken, All that we ought not to have done, and yet have done, For these words, and works, we pray, O God, for forgiveness. Amen. Pastor Mary
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This month our Bible story (Genesis 3) examines the origins of sin in the world. How would you define “sin”? Does the story of a snake tempting Eve and Adam to disbelieve God, help you make sense of how sin entered the world? Why or why not?
What do you find hard to believe about God? Do you think of yourself as someone who depends on God more or yourself more? Sometimes the church has taught that original sin is something that we are “born with” almost like a hereditary trait. What if original sin is more like "I do not begin evil, I continue it”. Does this help you think about the presence of evil in the world? Make note of your insights and responses to these questions. Please bring them with you to church on October 31 when we will spend worship and education time talking together about this important topic of “sin”. Peace, Pastor Mary Our Bible story for this month is about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the snake who tempted them to disobey God. This enemy of God—that is the meaning of the word, Satan,—plays a role in causing God’s good creation to “fall”.
What are three things that you see in our world that show you that the world is no longer all good? Try and identify the causes of these three things. How would things be different if God’s will was being done? In The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, part of the story goes like this: Eve picked the fruit and ate some. And Adam ate some, too. And a terrible lie came into the world. It would never leave. It would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God’s children: “God doesn’t love me.” Are there times you feel as if God doesn’t love you? What if this message really is a “terrible lie”? This week, pray every day that you will be able to trust that God loves you. Keep track of any insights or questions you have about this story and bring them with you when you come to worship and Sunday school on October 31! There will be treats on this Halloween morning! Add comments below! Enjoy wrestling with this story! Pastor Mary Welcome to October’s Learning Together! Our Story for October is “The Terrible Lie”. For this first week of October I have included 2 versions of the story. The first one is read by Aidan and called the “Sneaky Snake” and the second one is the story taken from The Storybook Bible By Sally Lloyd-Jones. Please listen to both versions together as a family and do 2 things:
Finally, I found this prayer that would be a good one to pray together as a family: God, keep me focused today on the things that are of you. Amen. Have a great week, Melissa Leighton |
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