Creation
Scriptures:
“In the beginning God created…” [genesis.1v1]
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” [genesis.1v27]
Questions:
Who or what has shaped you to be you?
Where did your story begin?
Do you believe that you were created good? Why or why not?
Fall
Scriptures:
“The the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord god as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God…” [genesis.3v7-8]
“There is no one righteous, not even one…There is not difference, for all have sinned and fall short…” [romans.3v10 & 22-23]
Questions:
When did you realize that you are not everything God created you to be?
Why are things and people not the way they are supposed to be and who is to blame for it?
When did shame become a voice in your story?
How would you describe the scratch on the record of your story…what’s the bad news that you hear playing over and over and over again in your head?
Redemption
Scriptures:
“But the Lord God called to the man.” [genesis.3v9]
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…From the fullness of his grace we have all received grace upon grace upon grace. through Jesus Christ.” [john.1v14,16]
“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” [john.3v16-17]
“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is truth for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” [romans.3v22]
“But god demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [romans.5v8]
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” [romans.8v1]
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our sin—it is by grace you have been saved.” [ephesians.2v4-5]
Questions:
Have you trusted this good news?
How would you articulate the good news of Jesus that you have experienced?
When did salvation through Jesus become a reality in your life?
How did that happen? Where?
Who was instrumental in your trusting the good news?
How is the good news that you have experienced better than the bad news that you are tempted to believe?
Wilderness
Scriptures:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he would be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God…” [matthew.4v1-3]
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. That is why the place is called Marah. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying “What are we to drink?” [exodus.15v22-24]
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Does and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” [exodus.16v1-3]
Questions:
When have you experienced a dry and barren season?
How did you respond to this season? Grumbling? Peace? Prayers? Blame? Victim?
Often times when we are experiencing the wilderness we are tempted to go back to our fallen identity, have you experienced this temptation?
Re-Creation
Scriptures:
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” [isaiah.43v19]
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” [john.13v34-35]
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come.” [2corinthians.5v17]
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [ephesians.2v10]
“Now the dwelling of God is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself with be with them and be their God.” [revelation.21v3]
Questions:
Who is God re-creating you to be?
What is He calling you to do?
What does it look like for you to walk in unison with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit today, tomorrow and next week?