Finding Jesus: Creation – The Beginning of Life as We Know It

Genesis chapters 1-4; 6-9

During the Finding Jesus 30-week series, the Digging Deeper questions will have two sections. The first section will be questions related to the sermon delivered each week and the passages/content covered therein. The second section will be questions related to the larger sections of Scripture covered by The Story, which highlights 30 sections of Scripture to tell the one continuous story of the Bible, and serves as the outline for the series.

Elder Curtis Smith delivered the sermon and began by relating his message to two questions – Who is God? Who are we?

“And God said…” (Gen 1:3). Why might God have wanted it to be known that He spoke the world into existence instead of, say, shaping it or forming it or assembling it like a giant puzzle. Why speak it into existence?
Genesis 1:26 says, “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.” Who are the US/OUR in verse 26? Is it important or significant that all of them are the model for the creation of human beings? What about them do you see reflected in mankind?
Among all the good work of creation, God did admit there was one thing that was not good, Genesis 2:18 says, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” What was God’s solution? Why was it a good solution? How might someone benefit from having a spouse to share the workload of life?
With one act of disobedience (Genesis 3:1-5), mankind allowed sin to enter the world. The taint of sin is visible everywhere. What has sin tainted that you despise the most? Why does this bother you so much?
Only six chapters into Genesis and “the wickedness of man was great… every intention…was only evil continually.” Does it surprise you that mankind went from eating one bite of a forbidden apple to only being capable of evil so quickly? Given the state of mankind expressed in Genesis 6:5-7 are you surprised that God “was sorry that he made man…it grieved him to the heart” and decided to “blot out man”? Explain your answer.
Curtis noted that even amidst God’s grieving over man’s sin and desire to blot out mankind, he shows grace through both finding favor with Noah (Genesis 6:8), and leaving the door of the ark open for decades, plenty of time for others to repent and turn back to God. Has there been a time in your life where God gave you an opportunity to repent and turn back, but you didn’t take it? Why can it be difficult to either a) see these opportunities or b) take them when offered?
Curtis closed the sermon by reading Genesis 3:15, Revelation 19:11-16, and Revelation 20:10. How is the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 fulfilled in Revelation 19 and 20? What is your reaction to this? What most stands out to you in the description of the rider on the white horse?

The Story – Genesis chapters 1-4; 6-9

What repeated phrases do you see during the six days of creation? Is there a rhythm or pattern that develops? How does each day conclude? Why might God have arranged things in this manner?
After creating mankind, God gave him a mission. What was it? Put it in your own words. How do you live out this mission today?
What two things did God do on the seventh day? Why might God have finished the week of creation in this manner? How might we best honor/remember this seventh day?
God recognized that Adam needed a helper. Where did God first look for a helper? What was the conclusion of this search? What was God’s solution to this need for a helper? What was Adam’s reaction?
Why is it important that a man leaves his father and mother in order to be united with his wife and become one flesh? What are the various meanings/insinuations of the phrase “one flesh” and how does marriage address each of them?
The Serpent told Eve if she ate the forbidden apple, she would be like God, knowing good and evil. In addition to liking its appearance and edibility, the Bible says Eve thought the apple would be desirable for gaining wisdom. Was she right? Why might this wisdom be dangerous for mankind? Where could she have received true wisdom, the right way?
Genesis 3:15 is called the protoevangelium by fancy theology nerds. In Latin, it has the meaning “first good news” or “first gospel”. To which two parties does the phrase “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” refer? Why might this prophecy be called good news or gospel? How was this accomplished?
Adam and Eve did not go unpunished for their sin. What punishment did Eve receive? What punishment did Adam receive? How have you experienced their punishment in your own life? How might these punishments point them back to God?
Describe Cain and Abel’s respective offerings. Why might God have preferred Abel’s offering over Cain’s? How did Cain react? What was God’s response?
Abel was told that sin was crouching at his door, that it desired to have him, but he must rule over it. Have you experienced sin crouching at your door? How can we rule over sin?
Noah was told remarkably little about his mission. He was told to build a giant boat, load it with pairs of animals (and his family), and when told, to get in the giant boat. Noah exercised enormous amounts of faith in God. Has God ever called you to get in a boat with remarkably little information about its destination? Did you go willingly and faithfully, like Noah? When the waters receded and you were back on metaphorical dry land, what did you learn from the experience?
What was the covenant God made with Noah? What was the sign of the covenant? What were Noah’s responsibilities in keeping the covenant (this is a trick question)? What were God’s responsibilities in keeping the covenant? How does this covenant point to Jesus?