Mountain Life ChurchMountain Life Church

Message #4 in the series, “Beginnings”Message #4 in the series, “Beginnings” March 20, 2011March 20, 2011

The Good,The Good,

the Bad the Bad

& &

the Uglythe Ugly

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The Good, The Bad and the Ugly I. Introducing –The Serpent!

A. The ancient audience knew this guy. 1. The origins of Satan. Isaiah

12: 12-20, and Ezekiel 28: 12-19. Like many Old Testament prophesies, these statements have a double meaning. They are aimed not only at earthly kings, but at Satan.

2. Note that from his introduction, the serpent is poetically called, “a beast.” In Revelation13: 3 and following, the Anti Christ is called, “The Beast.”

B. Did God Create Evil?

1. According to Genesis, everything God created was Good.

2. According to the passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel, Satan was a high ranking angel who sunk into pride, thinking he could overthrow the throne of God.

3. We have NO idea when Satan was cast to the earth, along with a third of heaven (Revelation 12: 3-4)

4. Darkness and evil are the absence of light and of good. 5. A choice was made by Satan, and by man. Evil was cho-

sen. 6. Love cannot be love if it is not free. A choice had to be

made. 7. Like Adam and Eve, our tendency is to blame. We

blame God for the evil on the earth. 8. John said, “This is the message we have heard from Him

and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

9. James said, “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

James 1:17

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II. The Three Big Lies in Life:

A. “Has God Really Said This?” • Satan continually tempts us not to believe God. • Our nature is to NOT believe his Word or his character.

B. “You Shall NOT Die!” • The enticement behind every lie is that there will be NO

consequences. • Or, the consequences will not be what God says they

are! C. “You Shall Be as God!”

• This is not the desire to be like Jesus, but rather the arrogant desire to be worshiped and adored.

• This is a rebellious desire to rule apart from God!

III. The Fall of Man A. Adam traded his authority on earth for spiritual

death. B. Satan became the “Prince of the Power of the Air.” C. Subsequent Shame

• Ever since the fall, man has tried to cover his shame. • We hide from God, and we hide from each other. • We become posers. • Spiritual Death. Ephesians 2

IV. The Curse

A. The Serpent • The MOST CURSED! • Crawl on the ground. • Enmity between the Serpent and the woman. • The first promise of the Messiah (Genesis 3: 15).

B. The Woman • Pain in childbirth. • “Your desire will be for your husband.” • Man will rule over you.

C. The Man • The ground is cursed. • Toil. (More than work, HARD WORK, with little mean-

ing). D. The Angel and the Tree of Life.

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Life Group Questions for Week #3-

“Beginnings” Ice Breaker: Tell the group about a moment when you did some-thing wrong or deceitful and were caught, bringing a lot of embar-rassment to you. (This is a funny, light story, no need to get heavy here!) Read Genesis 3: 1-12 1. Talk about the observations you make as you read the passage. 2. What lies did the serpent tell to Eve? Have you ever heard these

lies in your life? Can you talk about any examples? 3. Where was the man when Eve was having the conversation with

the serpent? What do you think was his responsibility when he heard the conversation?

4. Read Romans 5: 16-20. Talk about what you observe about the

two Adams. Who are the two Adams anyway? What has hap-pened because of the death of the second Adam?

5. Verse 19 says that through Adam’s sin we all became sinners.

How does this explain evil in the world to you? 6. Read Genesis 3: 12-13. What was Adam and Eve’s first attitude

toward God when He confronted them? Are you much of a blamer? Do you tend to blame others first, or yourself? Based on this, where does blaming others come from?

7. Read Genesis 3: 14-19. Talk about what you observe or inter-

pret about the curse put on the serpent, the woman, and the man.

Pray for one another, and pray for people you know who don’t know the Lord.

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Personal Devotion Pages The following pages are designed to help you to enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relation-ship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom. LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God. BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol: INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol: ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their walk with God. These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a daily basis. There are no rules here. Please don’t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in bet-ter than cramming. Enjoy!

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1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God, and then to praise Him and thank Him for whatever comes to your mind.

2. Read through Genesis 3: 1-10. RE-read the passage slowly, and

ask God to give you insight into these three things: • What were the lies Satan said to Eve? What lies did you

hear yesterday or today? • Have you found yourself hiding from God lately? Write

down what causes you to hide from Him.

• In what way have you hidden your true self from others this week? Write down why you think you’ve done this.

Meditate on and memorize Romans 5: 17 this week

Meditate on and memorize Romans 5: 17-20 this week.

Meditate on Romans 5, and memorize Romans 5: 17-20, and Ephesians 2: 1-9

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Candace was perhaps one of the most beautiful girls in her high school. She was smart, athletic, and in love with God. She went to a Bible school right out of school in order to draw nearer to God before taking on a college career. There she met a passionate, brilliant young man who was going into the pastorate. She married him and thought she was on her way to a fairy tale life. Then he hit her. He beat her, and he controlled her every action. It was not until she divorced the man that she became free of a life controlled and manipulated by him. Another woman named Angie went to a well known Christian Uni-versity where she fell in love with a gregarious, fun loving man who had memorized more of the scriptures than any of his peers. After they married, he began to control her, beat her, and domi-nate her every thought. These two husbands represent a common malady in today’s world. They were both trained and skilled posers. Posing started just three chapters into the Bible when Adam and Eve sinned, and then covered up their nakedness out of shame. Shame motivates us to be hypocrites. We don’t want people to know how evil we really are. Underneath, it ain’t purdy. Jesus provides a way out of posing. He has cleared the way for us to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will re-ceive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” (Hebrews 4: 16) All my shame was put on Jesus. All my guilt was nailed to the cross with Him. I’m free to be His child, and free to be who I truly am “in Christ.” Put your mask away and come boldly, without shame to the throne of grace.

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1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God, and then to praise Him and thank Him for whatever comes to your mind.

2. Read slowly through Romans 5. Write down what you hear God

saying to you through this passage. 3. Take some time to pray for friends and loved ones who need to

be reconciled with the Creator. Use the space provided to write down their names.

4. Continue memorizing the verse or

verses for the week.

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We cannot understand our need for a Savior until we see the depth of our sin. In Romans 5, Paul graphically reveals our dilemma. We are children of Adam, and Adam was a sinner. Just as a dog cannot produce chicks, and squirrels cannot produce puppies, a sinner cannot produce righteous children.

Romans 5 tells us that through the “First Adam” we all became sin-ners, and we all were separated from God. Like a skilful lawyer, Paul lays out the case, “because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God’s sight.” (Romans 5: 19) Thus, the “Second Adam” (Jesus) reversed the curse of sin. I used to be a child of Adam, a child of sin, death and selfishness, but Jesus’ death and resurrection paved the way for me to become a child of the LIVING GOD!

Then Paul throws out the kicker: For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteous-ness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17, emphasis mine)

The trend has been reversed. I used to be stuck in self, sin, and defeat. Now, through Christ, I reign in life. I have been equipped by His marvelous power to reign over my cir-cumstances, over my sin, over my pride, and over my past.

A pastor friend of mine used to ask people, “How are you doing?” “Well, under the circumstances, I’m doing well,” would be the reply. My friend would immediately ask, “What are you doing under there?”

Go reign in life today! Look at your challenges through Christ, and live OVER your circumstances!

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1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God, and then to praise Him and thank Him for whatever comes to your mind.

2. Read Genesis 3: 11-24. Write down your observations and what

you hear God saying to you about the passage as you meditate on it.

3. Ask the Creator what he is doing around you today and how

you can get in on what He is doing. Write down what you think God is doing.

4. Continue memorizing the verse or verses for this week.

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For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. (Romans 8: 19-21.

The caretakers and rulers of all the earth sinned, and Adam and Eve put all of creation under a curse of “sin and death.” The Bible gives us a glimpse into the created order before the curse. No animals died. No people died. Animals were vegetarians. “Where does it say this,” you ask?

Isaiah paints the best picture for us. He shows us what nature will do when God’s kids are completely redeemed and God returns the earth to its original order. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and year-lings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Isaiah 11: 67.

Most scholars believe this is a picture of what the garden of Eden was like, and God’s ultimate plan is to return the created order to it’s original blueprint.

So, what to do in the meantime? Our plan needs to be this: Pursue Jesus so passionately and wholly that when He comes again, there will be no big change in me. I will have already been changed by His life living in my life.

Lay down the sins that so easily entangle you today, and repent. Go after God like a man on fire.

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1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God, and then to praise Him and thank Him for whatever comes to your mind.

2. Read slowly and repetitively over Romans 8: 18-25. Write

down your observations and questions below. 3. Write down one thing you think God is asking you to do, then do

it today. 4. Three weeks ago, we began praying for three people who don’t

know the Lord. Lift up those people to God by name and ask Him how you could practically love them this week.

5. Continue memorizing the verse or verses for this week.

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Ever since the Fall of Man, we can’t seem to find satis-faction. Even followers of Jesus have something groaning inside of us, yearning for a big change. Paul described this in Romans 8: 22-23: For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

So, there’s a lot of groaning going on. The Creation groans, we groan, the Spirit within us groans. The funny thing is, the more we feed on the Word, and the more we obey God, the more we groan.

Jesus planted a hunger within us when we gave our lives to Him. It was a hunger to share his likeness. The more we pur-sue Him, the greater our hunger. Paul defines this hunger as hope - a hope to be completely consumed by Him!

The earth and all of Creation is personified by Paul when he says that “creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth…” Though our earth is a beautiful and majestic place, it is still fallen and corrupt until Jesus returns to redeem us and to re-make the earth. Did you know heaven will be on a recreated and improved earth? Read Revelation 21: 1-7 and see how things turn out in the end.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tab-ernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nei-ther shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21: 3-4)

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1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God, and then to praise Him and thank Him for whatever comes to your mind.

2. Read Genesis 2: 9, and 3: 22-24. Write down what you notice

about the two major trees in the Garden. Do they represent something? Why did God not want man to eat from the Tree of Life after they sinned?

3. Are there any addictions or slaveries in your life? Write them

down here and ask God to give you the grace to leave them with Him today.

4. Finish memorizing your verse or verses today. See if you can

quote your memory verses or passage to a friend or spouse.

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There were two major trees in the garden of Eden. The Tree of Life was a picture of Jesus. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a picture of man choosing his own way – choos-ing rebellion. God put man and woman in the midst of this luxuri-ous garden with two major trees. Just think, they were welcome to eat of ANY tree in the garden, including the Tree of Life! They just needed to avoid the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave man a choice to love Him. The way to Jesus, the Tree of Life, was wide open; but we rejected Him. We went our own way. Have you ever thought of this passage: And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (KJV Revelation 13:8) Just think, Jesus is the lamb slain before creation’s foundation was laid! God knew man would choose his own way. He knew the cost would be exorbitant to purchase them back from Satan. It would cost the life of His dear Son, Jesus the Righteous. God doesn’t just understand the pain and suffering we feel as a result of living under the curse of sin. He chose to take our suffering upon Himself on the cross. Creation and the Fall of Man was not a trifle in the heart of a playful God. This was for keeps. The pain, misery, loneliness and suffering all mankind feels because of the Fall is - as we all know - very real! Before He even created the earth, God had a plan to redeem us all from the pain. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.' Revelation 2:7

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This section of our curriculum is aimed at helping parents disciple their own children. We hope you will take a few evenings a week to open the scriptures and talk to your kids about kingdom things. You can mix and match these ideas to meet the needs of your family’s children.

Babies through preschool: Table Talk: Read or tell your children the story of Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil after God told them that was forbidden. Who must we obey? God, parents, grandparents and teachers etc. Why must we obey? God wants us to obey because he loves us and wants us safe, also parents, grandparents, and teachers love us and want us to be safe. Who told Adam and Eve not to obey God? The serpent

Bible Verse: “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.” Proverbs 8:33

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, be with me today, and help me in all I think, do and say. Amen.

Activity: Make a snake from construction paper or draw one on a paper. Cut it out and hang it from a tree or plant (inside if pos-sible). Talk with your child about how this is a reminder to obey God.

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Elementary: Meal 1: Read Genesis 3:1-7 as a family. Talk about how sneaky the serpent was. Relate this to how sneaky Satan can be in our lives when he is trying to lead us astray. Talk about different ways you can recognize if you are being “tricked” by Satan. Meal 2: Talk about the punishment that the serpent, woman and man received because of what they did. Discuss the dif-ferent punishments that are in place in your family and house-hold. Compare these; talk about how they are the same and how they are different. Ask children to think about why God punished Adam, Eve and the serpent and why parents punish their children. Meal 3: Ask children to think of a time that they did some-thing wrong, did they try to blame what they did on someone else? Talk about how even though Adam ate the fruit because Eve gave it to him, Adam is still guilty. Even though we are sometimes deceived into sinning we are still guilty. Talk about ways that we can take responsibility for our own actions.

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Teens Meal One: As a family read Genesis 3, then ask these questions: Describe in your own opinion what it means to be tempted by things you know are wrong. Even though God loves both Adam and Eve, in Genesis 3 there were consequences for Adam and Eve’s actions. When you do something wrong, do you feel there should be consequence for your actions? Meal Two: In verse 3:9, God called to the man, “where are you?” How do you feel when you do something you know isn’t right? Do you want to run and hide from God or do you run to him and confess? Read Genesis 3:16-19, what do you think of the challenges we face now as men and women because of sin? Meal Three: What do you think our life would be like if Eve had never eaten the apple and there was no evil in the world? Memory Verse: “But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

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Write any notes from the week here

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