Christmas 1

Excite

Reading: Genesis 3:8-19

Theme: Why we need Christmas

The traditional Christmas carols and reading are a well known, as we build up to Christmas this year we are going to take time to work through the readings. Our hope is that this will help us to prayerfully prepare for Christmas and be challenge by the wonder of what it really means for us and the world. 

As you prepare for Sunday take time to read the start of Genesis, contemplate the two contrasting stories of the blessings and wonder of chapters 1 and 2 and the heartbreaking result of the fall in chapter 3.

Hopefully you will see why we need Christmas.

Engage 

God’s prefect creation 

• God made everything and it was good
• God created humans special and above everything else
• God gave humans tasksto be fruitful rule over the earth
• God walked and talked with humans

Evil appeared

• To destroy the relationship between God and human kind
• To destroy God’s creation
• Satan deceived humankindcausing doubt about God’s kindness, love and truthfulnesscausing desire for more and to be like God

The Fall  

• The broken heart of God
• The result for humansShameFearBlameGod’s blessings damagedpain in child birththe cursed earth death

The War

• Righteousness – Wickedness
• Sin
• In Able we see the seed of righteousness: He did what was right
• In Cain we see the serpents seed of evil:JealousyHatred MurderLying

We need Jesus 

• God on earth, walked and talkedbirth and life
• restored the relationship through death and resurrection

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”  

Timothy Keller

Extend

As we seek to apply this passage to our lives it is important that we try to grasp just how amazing the world that God created was, that humans had such an important position within it and the wonder of Adam and Eve’s intimate relationship with God.

We must also try to grasp the heart break that the fall caused God. His love rejected.

As Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s kindness, love and truthfulness can you see areas in your life and in the world around you, where Satan is still doing this? What are they? How can the church act against them?

With the Fall sin entered the world some of it results are shame, fear, blame, jealousy, hatred, murder and lying, reflect on how far these are from God’s plan for humans and reflect on the negative power of these in your life. What verses come to mind that help you counter them?

We need to be aware that Satan wants to deceive us and he is good at it. Read Ephesians 6:10-20 and 1 Peter 5:9-10, how can these help us to resist evil?

What do you think of Timothy Kellers ‘the gospel is this’ quote?

Have a go at writing your own summary.