East of Eden

Genesis 4

Sermon Notes:

1) Sin Wins | 1-7

2) Blood Cries Out | 8-11

3) Curse Carries On | 11-14

4) Vengeance Saves | 15-17

5) Culture Advances | 16-24

6) Remnant Calls | 25-26

Reflections questions:

1. Does it ever feel like sin or sinners are winning in this life? See Psalm 73; how did Asaph wrestle with that same feeling?

2. Does it ever feel like sin is winning in your life? Read Romans 7:1-8:1 (just like last week), but also read James 1:14-15. How does sin gain the victory over us? What are some of the preliminary steps? Does God provide a way out? Also see 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

3. Why doesn’t God wipe out all sinners the minute they sin? Is this a sign of His weakness, slowness, or some kind of idle threat? Or is it good news? See 2 Peter 3:8-10 and Romans 2:3-5.

The First Gospel

Genesis 3:8-24

Sermon Notes:

1) The Presence that Exposes | 8-13

2) The Promise that Sustains | 14-15

3) The Punishment that Reminds | 14-19

4) The Propitiation that Covers | 20-21

5) The Protector that Foreshadows | 22-24

Reflection questions:

1. Do God’s attributes (His presence/omnipresence, omniscience, holiness and more) cause you to run from Him, or to invite Him in? Compare Genesis 3:1-13 to Isaiah 6, Luke 5 (especially v8), and Psalm 139. What does David see in Psalm 139 that causes Him to invite God in (vv23-24)?

2. How is Genesis 3:15 a promise to God’s people and not simply bad news for Satan? Trace the promise through the following passages: Galatians 3:13, 16; 4:4; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12 and 20.

3. How do the continuing effects of sin, the fall, and the curse remind us of our need of (and provision of!) a Savior? See Romans 7:1-8:1.

4. How does God offer us a better covering than the one we can make for ourselves? See Genesis 3:7-8, 21; also see Isaiah 61:10; 64:6; Revelation 19:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:6-9.

Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-12

Sermon Notes:

1) Naked Aggression | 1-5

2) Naked Ambition | 5-6

3) Naked and Afraid | 7-12

Reflection questions:

1. How does Eve mishandle/misremember/misstate the Word of God when talking with the serpent? (Compare Genesis 2:16-17 to 3:1-3.) How might an accurate remembering of the Word of God have helped her? See Psalm 119 (Especially vv. 9, 105) and Revelation 22:18-19.

2. Read I John 2:15-17. How do you see Eve being tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life in Genesis 3:6? Now read Matthew 4:1- 11. How is Jesus tempted by the same temptations (and by the same tempter)? How does Jesus defeat those temptations?

3. How does Adam respond (v.12) when God directly confronts him about his sin in v.11? Does his reaction show us anything about our own natural tendency to run from God when confronted with our sin? How does confidence of God’s love counteract this natural/SINFUL tendency to run? See Psalm 139; compare vv.1-7 to vv.23-24.

At Last!

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon Notes:

1) Mankind’s Paradise | 4-14

2) Mankind’s Purpose | 15-17

3) Man’s Partner | 18-25

Reflection questions:

1) How do you see hints of God’s goodness in creation in Genesis 2:4-14? What does mankind need that he doesn’t have in the home that God created? How will God one day restore all that we need in our future home?

2) Was man’s obedience to God (see God’s purpose for and command to man in Gen 2:15-17) an act of worship? How should our whole lives be lived in worship to God even now, on this side of the Fall? See Romans 12:1-2.

3) How can the first marriage (and the institution of marriage) inform our conduct today in our own marriage relationships? What does verse 23 (as well as v18, 20, 24-25) teach us about how we are each made for the other? (Also compare them to Ephesians 5:21-33.) How is it instructive even for those who are currently single? (Compare Genesis 2:18a to Hebrews 10:24-25 as one example.)

Male and Female He Created Them

Genesis 1:26-28

Sermon Notes:

1) Created by God | 26

2) Created male and female | 27

3) Created for glory and honor | 28

4) Re-Created in Christ | See: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 7; Philippians 1:6; 3:20- 21; I John 3:2-3; 1 Cor. 15:49

Reflection Questions:

1. Are all mankind made in God’s image? What is one implication of being made in God’s image? See Genesis 1:26-28.

2. Has our sin marred the image of God in man? Has it been completely destroyed; is it irrecoverable? Can the image of God be redeemed in Christ? See Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 8:29; Col 3:9-10; Eph 4:24; 2 Cor 3:17-18; Col 1:15- 20; I John 3:2-3 and 1 Cor 15:49.

3. In heaven, will God only redeem our souls (the spiritual, immaterial part of us), or will He also redeem our bodies? See Philippians 3:20-21; I John 3:2-3.

Very Good

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon Notes:

1) God is Creator | 1:1

2) God is Trinitarian | 1:1-3, 26-27

3) God is Extraordinary | 1:3, 5-7, 14

4) God is a Detailed Designer | 1:26-28

5) God is a Delegator | 1:28-30

6) God is Good | 1:31-2:3

Reflection questions:

1. If God created all things, then why is mankind so tempted to create meaning and purpose outside of God’s Word? Why are you tempted to do this?

2. Loneliness is mentioned in Genesis 1-2, but was God ever lonely? Why/why not? (See John 1:1-5; Acts 17:23-26.)

3. Do you ever struggle with the thought that God’s promises are too good to be true? How is that thought similar to the way that Satan would tempt Adam and Eve? (Cf Gen 3:1.) What would you tell a friend if they said that (His promises are too good to be true) to you?

Far As the Curse is Found

Genesis 3

Sermon Notes:

1) Why is man cursed?

2) What does the curse mean?

3) How will the curse be reversed?

Reflection questions:

1) What happened to the Garden of Eden? How can I find it today? See Revelation 22:1-5.

2) How do I know that Jesus is the seed/offspring/he that is mentioned in Genesis 3:15? See Galatians 3:16. Also see Galatians 3:13-14.

3) What does it mean (see Gal 3:13, above) that Christ became a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse? Read Numbers 6:24-26. Think about each blessing in this list; think about what the opposite might be; now think about what Christ experienced on the cross. Compare Matthew 27:45-50.