COMMUNITY GROUPS DISCUSSION
Week of 09-21-14
IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
GENESIS 3:1-13
Scripture Memorization:
“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loincloths.” – Genesis 3:7
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the L
ORD
God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the
woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not
eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the
serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will
be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one
wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he
ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden
in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God
among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are
you?”[d] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and
I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I
commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me
fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORDGod said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The
woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
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Prayer: Father, we thank you for your grace. Thank you for that your commandments are a grace for our
lives. When we think you are restricting us from something that will bring us joy, it is actually in your grace
that you restrict us from things that will steal our true joy. We thank you that even though Adam & Eve
sinned and passed down a sinful nature to all humanity you had already planned the course of humanity’s
redemption. Father, as Jesus prayed, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, we pray that you
would protect us in our times of temptation and that you would deliver us from the schemes of the devil as
we willingly, with the power of your Holy Spirit denounce sin in our lives and lies that we may be prone to
believe. Help us not be tossed to and fro by the cunning of the enemy but rather let us walk daily in your
Word, growing in the knowledge of your Word so that when temptation arises within us we may boldly,
declare as Jesus did in the desert, “It is written!” Help us not hide in our sin like Adam and Eve did, but
instead help us by faith put on the covering you have provided in Jesus. Should we sin, remind us that we
have an advocate in Jesus who is interceding and remind us that he has already defeated the sin we so
desire within. Thank you for pointing us to Jesus in the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve.
Summary:
In chapter 3 of Genesis some time has passed since Adam and Eve were married – perhaps, a day, or a
week or a month – we do not know, but what we do know if that their bliss came to an end abruptly. The
serpent, Satan himself, approached Eve directly. As he slithered like a coil on a branch of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, he strikes up a conversation with Eve. “Did God actually, ‘You shall not eat of
any tree in the garden?’” Satan was trying to twist God’s words. Eve replied correctly, “We may eat of the
fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the
garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Eve answered correctly, however after giving the correct
answer, she added words to God’s commandment. The serpent knows she is now confused and moves
from vague questioning to outright lying. “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve has now been enticed by the
serpent and begins the idea of being like God starts to sound reasonable. Sin is irrational but our sinful
desires make sin look rational. Eve eats the fruit and gives it to her man, Adam, who was most likely with her
at the time, and he also ate. Their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. They felt shame and
sought to cover themselves with fig leaves. They hid as they heard God walking in the garden. When God
questioned Adam about the fruit, Adam blamed his wife, Eve. When God asked Eve what she had done, she
blamed the serpent.
DISCUSSION:
BIG IDEA: THE FALL OF MAN SHOWS THE GRACE OF GOD
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Community Group Gathering Objectives
Community group members should understand that Satan is a real, dangerous, and serious adversary for
the believer.
Community group members should understand that man’s greatest idol is himself and that man’s greatest
desire is to become like God and take his place.
Community Group members should realize that while humans feel shame and want to hide their sin, God
sees it and wants to cover it with his grace.
THE SERPENT (V.1)
1. Do you believe Satan a real, dangerous, and serious adversary? Read 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 11:3,
2 Corinthians 11:14, John 10:10.
2. Do you believe that as a believer you are in a spiritual war with the enemy? Read Ephesians 6:12-13
3. How does Satan distract us?
MANKIND’S GREATEST IDOL (V.1b - 7)
1. How does Satan tempt Eve? See verse 1b & verse 4.
2. How can we fight the enemy when he tempts us and tells us half-truths and blatantly lies to us about
what God says? How did Jesus fight Satan in the desert?
3. Why is it so tempting for us to want to be like God in many aspects?
GOD PURSUES (V. 8 – 13)
1. Why did Adam & Eve want to hide from God and hide their nakedness after they sinned? Why do we
attempt to hide from God and hide our sin with our own methods? Are very similar or very different
from Adam & Eve?
2. Adam blamed his wife for his sin. Eve blamed the serpent for her sin. Recalling what we have
learned in Genesis 2 regarding our God given roles, how did Adam fail Eve? How did Eve fail Adam?
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APPLICATION
1. Acknowledge that Satan is a serious adversary. Do not underestimate his power to lure you into sin.
Do not overestimate your ability to fight sin that is rooted deep in your heart.
Open up yourself to the correction of your brothers and sisters in Christ in your local church body who
can point out blind spots in your life that you cannot see.
Fight daily to live in real authentic community where you can be open about your struggles and ask for
help.
2. Do you know God’s Word well enough to catch lies, half-truths, and blatant false teachings that will
keep you from truly knowing God? Do you know His word and promises well enough to preach them
to yourself when your soul is downcast and disheartened?
If you haven’t already done so, start a daily Bible reading plan so you can be in God’s Word daily and
be able to use the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) when temptation comes from the outside or
within.
3. When you sin, rather than run away from God and hide, expose your sin and run to Him. If we
confess our sins he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all wickedness (1 John 1:9).
When you sin, rather than seek to blame others, own your sin. Take comfort in the fact that Christ
took the blame for you already when he died for you and that your sin is already forgiven. Repent,
move on, and ask for accountability from your brothers and sisters so that you may continue to walk
in the light.
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