Coming Up: Sonday June 29, 2014
Romans 5:12-21. The Origin of Sin.
Read Genesis 2:4-17
As the Australian bush fire brigade back burns in the local forest I can picture a little boy in the distance watching the smoke and quite nervously asking his father or mother why there’s smoke and why the bush is burning. Of course the mother and father are confident in the back burring and the ability of the bush fire brigade to maintain control.
Like that little boy, many people in the world wonder why the world is burning and smoking with evil. They cannot comprehend why God would allow such evil and suffering to smoulder. They are nervous and worried that something is out of control.
Do we as Christians have the answer? Can we present a logical and reasonable answer for the presence of evil and suffering? Can we show that evil and suffering are a part of God’s good purposes just like back burning is part of a good purpose and plan? Can we clearly and simply speak of Christ and His work in a discussion of evil and suffering? This week we will look at answers to this question concerning the origin of sin and why God would allow it.
First and foremost we must remember that evolution cannot tolerate evil and suffering. They simply cannot exist in an evolutionary mind set. Death and dying are good things in the evolutionary world view. The fact that someone is asking about evil and suffering is a positive thing because they have at least acknowledged the distinction between good and evil.
In the beginning God created a perfect world in which mankind lived in perfect
In this perfect world mankind's relationship with God was perfect. Harmony existed between humanity and its Creator. Mankind’s relationship with nature was also perfect. Tsunami’s, volcanic eruptions, disease and drought were unheard of. Mankinds relationship among mankind was also perfect. There were no wars, tensions or breakdowns.
As we zoom in on God’s original creation we see God’s desire and God’s plan. This is what God wants and this is what God will have. But as we all know, this is not the world we live in today. Come back tomorrow and see what went wrong and what God plans to do about it.
Prayer:
Use the bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Pray for the youth in your congregation namely for growth in godliness, increasing faith and knowledge of Christ and for a willingness to share their faith to all.
¥ Pray that the children in your congregation would grow and mature in their faith, that they would resemble more of Jesus and bring others to Christ.
Worship Moment:
Believers don’t worship creation. We worship the Creator. While we should enjoy creation and care for it, we can never worship it because we worship the one who made it!
1. Why should any explanation of evil and suffering start at creation?
2. After sharing about creation, what would you talk about with someone who wanted to know why we have evil and suffering in our world?
3. List as many other world views as you can and see if you can understand their view of evil and suffering.
Intro: Since we live in a world of broken relationships we can often think that we are not pretty or skinny enough. We often feel that we are not good enough.
Discuss how you feel about yourself.
Read Psalm 139:13-16
What does God think of you?
Is it ok for me to hate myself if God loves me? Explain.
Pray together for self acceptance and love.
Intro: To be accepted in the world today you need to have ripped muscles, handsome looks and a lot of money.
Discuss how you feel about yourself, more so your body.
Read Psalm 139:13-16
What does God think of you?
Is it ok for me to hate myself if God loves me? Explain.
Pray together for self acceptance and love.
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