God Works in History
In this 51-sermon series on the first book of the Bible, we focused on two themes:
- Blessing: God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring (Genesis 1-36, 2018-2019)
- Providence: God’s sovereign hand in all of history (Genesis 37-50, 2020)
The audio recordings for each sermon can be streamed or downloaded below. Reflection questions for each sermon are also included.
Listen
Reflection Questions
The questions below are great to use in a small group or for personal application. Click on the arrow or heading to expand and show the questions.
Genesis Series, Part 2 (2020)
Providence, Past and Future (Gen 50:15-26, November 22)
- Think of one relationship in your life that is strained. How can you be the one who pursues repentant reconciliation?
- Write down 5 things in your past that were marked by transgression, sin, and evil, and where you couldn’t see any “good” in it at the time. Reflect on how, in hindsight, you’ve seen God turn it for “good.”
- How does the end of Genesis, which points to Revelation, give you hope in God’s future providence?
Joseph Lives (Gen 49:19-50:14, November 15)
- How can you live in such a way that your neighbors will feel the loss?
- Why is it important to see the belief in resurrection in the OT? How does that change the way you think about the OT itself?
- Life, death, gathering to your people, burial, reunion. How can that sequence give you hope in death, versus the worldly fear of death-then-nothing?
Joseph's Prophecy (Gen 49:1-28, November 8)
- What are your top three concerns about the future right now?
- Point 1: Providence doesn’t always rescue us from the consequences of our choices
- Where do you need to think more about the possible consequences of your sin patterns on yourself or others?
- Point 2: Providence does make redemption possible
- Where have you seen God produce redemption even in your foolish choices?
- Point 3: Providence shows us that God’s blessings are secured through the service of a steadfast shepherd
- Where does God’s providence in your life comfort you…even when it’s not the plan you might write?
Dying in Faith (Gen 48, October 25)
- Promise: What promises of God are reflected in this passage? What promises do you find particularly comforting? How does clinging to God’s promises help you weather life’s storms?
- Provision: How has God shown himself in your life to be a God who provides for your needs? What blessings are represented by Christ himself, as the great provision of God?
- Presence: How does this passage reflect the “Immanuel Promise” that appears so often in Scripture? How is God’s ongoing presence, by his Spirit, a comfort to you?
Life as Exiles (Gen 47, October 18)
- Where do you struggle with the idea of the Christian life as one of being an “exile and sojourner” in a world that is not our own? (1 Pet. 1:1, 17; 2:11; Heb. 11:13). Where do you seek to build your identity in other ways rather than being an exile?
- Where has God planted you to bless others during your time of exile? What is one thing you can do this week to be a blessing to a non-Christian coworker or neighbor?
- When faced with the affliction or cost of your exile, where do you tend to turn to soften the blow? To find comfort in the things of this world? How can you fight against that to seek God as the one who does good work in you through the affliction of exile?
God Knows His People (Gen 46, October 11)
- How does God’s promise to Jacob that he would be with them in Egypt provide comfort to you now? How is your life a kind of Egyptian exile?
- Genealogies are often seen as boring. But how are they a great picture that God knows you by name? That individuals matter to God?
- How are you doing in letting yourself be known by others?
- Where can you seek to connect to other Christians and make sure others are included? What does “the ministry of the pew” look like?
You Sold Me, God Sent Me (Gen 45, October 4)
- How do you respond to the “problem of pain”?
- C.S. Lewis, “If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both. This is the problem of pain in its simplest form.”
- How do other worldviews’ responses fall short?
- Islam: Allah can do whatever he wants arbitrarily
- Hinduism: You get what you deserve (from a prior life)
- Buddhism: You need to escape this life
- Atheism: It’s all physics and chemistry, so suffering does not really exist
- Where do you most often question God’s purposes in your pain? Where have you, in hindsight, seen God use your pain for good?
- How do you often ignore God when times are good?
- Reflect on this passage’s picture of the gospel: God sends joseph to suffer to bring reconciliation and save his people.
Greater Love Has No Man Than This (Gen 44, September 27)
- Transformation: Reflect on Judah’s heart change in this passage (the “pledge” with Tamar vs. the “pledge” in this chapter). How does the Holy Spirit work conviction in your life?
- How has the gospel worked repentance and cleansing for you, both in the past and the present?
- Read 1 Cor 6. Reflect on “such were some of you.”
- Substitution: Discuss how Judah replaces Benjamin here. Read 2 Cor. 5:21. How does Judah prefigure Christ? What does “substitution” mean in the Christian gospel?
- How are you called to lay down you rights and seek reconciliation with others right now? Who do you need to forgive in your life? What steps will you take to do that?
- Where do you need to repent of “canceling” others and instead see them as sinners who–like you–can be changed by the gospel?
Looking to the Promises of God (Gen 43, September 20)
- Where do you turn for hope when times of adversity hit?
- How have you seen God sustain you in adversity?
- Blessing #1: El Shaddai, God Almighty. How does this name of God show his ability to sustain you, your family, and the church in uncertain times? See Genesis 12, 28, and 35 for other instances of this name. Observe how the name is often used in contexts of multiplying and sustaining God’s people. What are the implications of that today?
- Blessing #2: The God of your Fathers. This name is often used on contexts of God’s promise to bless his people in times of fearing destruction at the hands of others. How is that relevant to you today, since we worship the same God?
- Blessing#3: May God be gracious to you. This is used when Jacob and Esau are reconciled, and now it is used to anticipate reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. How does God offer you reconciliation with others now?
- How can you stir up trust in God’s promises in challenging times like we’re in?
- Eternal life puts earthly life in perspective
- You are more valuable than birds and more special then lilies. God knows what you need.
- God’s Son reigns on the throne. Kings of the earth are temporary and will pass away. God laughs at those who oppose him.
I Fear God...Do You? (Gen 42, September 13)
- How does the Christian faith overturn the worldly impulse towards taking revenge on those who hurt you?
- When you see the negative consequences of your sin appear, how quick are you to admit fault? What’s your initial impulse: hide, lie, blame on someone else, or repent and take the hit? Why?
- What’s the difference between regret-that-you-got-caught and true repentance?
- When you get busted for sin, where do you see God’s hand in the consequences?
- Why is it gracious for God to orchestrate our lives to expose our sins and deserve a reckoning?
From the Pit to the Palace (Gen 41, September 6)
- How have you seen God’s sovereign providence at work during the last 5 months?
- Today, how does God’s providence humble the proud and powerful?
- Where has God placed you to speak up for the truth of the gospel (work, neighborhood, family, social media, etc.)?
- How does “famine” cause you to recognize and respond to God’s providence? Where do you see or not see God’s hand at work in times of prosperity and adversity?
- Where do you most struggle with God’s difficult providences, such as sending famines?
- Resource: Why Do Bad Things Happen? (Greg Lanier, Tabletalk)
Unforgotten Faithfulness (Gen 40, August 30)
- Is it wrong to expect your faithfulness (not legalism, but simply pursuing the will of God through godly living) to lead to fruitfulness and blessing?
- Where have you seen your faithfulness be forgotten or trampled on by the world? How do you respond when you are treated like a Christian “doormat”?
- Reflect on ways you’ve seen God turn your faithfulness, though you thought it did no good at the time, into an unforeseen result for the advancement of his kingdom.
- How can the truth that God never forgets your faithfulness (even if the world does) be a comfort to you this week?
Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake (Gen 39, August 23)
- What are some common situations where you find yourself tempted? How can you better “run away from temptation”?
- Where have you experienced your Christian faith make you subject to opposition or even persecution by the world? How did you respond?
Rebellion, Righteousness, Repentance (Gen 38, August 16)
- Reflect on ways you’ve seen God turn disastrous situations in your own life (or your family’s) into something he used for good.
- Where are areas where you need to come out of the dark and into the light, before sin hardens you?
- Retrace the connection from Judah, to Perez, to David (Ruth 4), to Jesus (Matthew 1). What does this teach you about God’s providence as well as the gospel?
Here Comes That Dreamer (Gen 37, August 9)
- Where do you sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that your family is so broken that nothing good or significant can come out of it?
- When you look at life circumstances — from COVID to unemployment to broken relationships — do you tend to think, “Where is God? He must not care.”
- How does Scripture, and the life of Joseph, help reorient you to see his hand working things mysteriously to advance his own will?
Genesis Series, Part 1 (2018-2019)
Making and Keeping Promises (Gen 35, July 28, 2019)
- What causes you to doubt God’s faithfulness to his word? Your own sin? The gravity of your circumstances? How does the reiteration of God’s promises minister to your doubts?
- What are the idols in your own heart that you need to remove? What are idols in your household that you need to remove?
- What is the temptation behind taking advantage of God’s grace? How do you find yourself wanting to take advantage of God’s grace? What steps can you take to stifle those sinful desires?
An Outrageous Thing (Gen 34, July 21, 2019)
- Discuss God’s pattern for sexual intimacy. How does the world’s pattern contradict God’s pattern? How has the world’s pattern influenced your thinking of sexual intimacy?
- Reflect on the statement: “the only real difference between the Covenant family and the Canaanite family is the unmerited grace of God.” What does believing this statement look like in daily living? How can you grow in dependence upon God’s unmerited grace?
- What is the biblical view of justice? How has your sense of justice been distorted by the world?
Reconciled: From Wrestling to Embrace (Gen 33, July 14, 2019)
- What are you unwilling to give up in order to be reconciled to others? Reputation, wealth, security, relationships? What are you unwilling to sacrifice to bring God’s will about?
- How does seeking reconciliation with others become a way of being an ambassador of Christ? How does it reveal a truly changed heart?
- How can your relationships bear witness to the fact that you are a worshiper of “God the God of Israel”?
God's Covenant Faithfulness to Wayward People (Gen 32, July 7, 2019)
- How have you experienced God’s covenant faithfulness through trials? Where do you need to be strengthened in your own covenant commitment to Christ?
- Where do you need to seek reconciliation with others? How does Christ’s reconciling work give you strength to do so?
- Resource: Limping Home to God
Conflict to Covenant (Gen 31:17-55, June 30, 2019)
- How do you tend to deal with the difficult relationships in your life? Ignore the problem? Ignore the person? Scheme to get even? Get angry?
- How does the world and culture tell you how to deal with difficult relationships? How has the world influenced your thinking?
- What are your obligations, as a child of God, toward even those whom you have a difficult relationship with? How can you cultivate better practices toward those whom are difficult for you?
- Resource: Avoiding Difficult People is Not Christlike Love
No Scheme of Man (Gen 30:25-31:16, June 23, 2019)
- When you feel you have been taken advantage of, how do you tend to respond? Scheme in return? Find something to control? Retreat? What causes you to respond this way?
- What does our response to being taken advantage of say about God?Do we respond how we do because we think God is mad at us? He is absent? He gave up?
- How does the promise of the presence of the Lord encourage us in facing the schemes of others? What false promises do we believe that discourage us when we face challenges? Financial prosperity? Health? Relational harmony?
- Resource: Understanding the Sovereignty of God
Family and Idolatry (Gen 29:31-30:24, June 16, 2019)
- What are some good things you tend to make ultimate things? What do you hope your idols will deliver to you? How do you respond when your idols fail to deliver?
- What are some ways your feelings undermine God’s standards? What makes following your feelings or to culture so tempting, even in light of God’s standards?
- How can you cultivate and develop patterns of repentance from idolatry? Patterns of faithful worship of the Giver of good things and not the things themselves?
- Resource: The Attraction of Idolatry
The Deceiver is Deceived (Gen 29, June 9, 2019)
- How have you seen the hand of God’s providence work in your life recently?
- Where do you find it hardest to recognize and confess your sin? And to take the next step of moving on from it (rather than dwelling on it)?
Promises, Pillars, Ladders (Gen 28, June 2, 2019)
- Discuss the three inadequate forms of genuine faith in God found in this passage and mentioned in the sermon (faith in parents, dramatic spiritual experience, and religious rituals).
- Which is most tempting for you to look to for your own spiritual standing?
- What makes that inadequate form so tempting to put your faith in? What makes it so inadequate?
- What makes Scripture the only adequate foundation for genuine faith in God? How does this impact how you understand Scripture? Family? Spiritual experiences? Religious rituals?
- Resource: You Become What You Eat
Jacob the Deceiver is Blessed (Gen 27, May 26, 2019)
- Has there been an area of your life that you have refused to humble before the Lord? What causes you to willfully reject God’s Word? What steps can you take to develop greater humility toward God’s Word?
- What are some ways you are tempted to make family an idol? What other idols do you tend to give greater allegiance to than Christ?
- Discuss what genuine repentance looks like, especially in light of Hebrews 12:17. Do you tend to care more about what you lost, or what you took from others when you sin against someone?
- Resource: What is Providence?
Suffering, Then Glory (Gen 26, May 19, 2019)
- Where do you find yourself most experiencing the “crises of living in a fallen world”?
- When you faith falters, what kinds of patterns of sinful behavior/unbelief do you most easily fall into?
- Where are you experiencing rejection by the world for being a disciple of Christ?
- How the hope of future glory be a comfort amid today’s trials? How can you uses today’s trials as an opportunity to witness for Christ even now?
God's Sovereignty Over Imperfect Families (Gen 25, May 12, 2019)
- How does Abraham’s blessing, in spite of his own failures, impact how you think about your own parenting? How you think about your own parents? Discuss how you can use your own failures and sin to point your children toward the gospel.
- What extra-biblical expectations do you put upon God in prayer? How do you respond when God doesn’t meet your expectations?
- What keeps you from prayer? You think you’re in control? You think the situation is hopeless and God is impotent? You feel too guilty? How does this sermon/passage respond to our doubts?
Divine Plan, Ordinary Faithfulness (Gen 24, May 5, 2019)
- What are the biggest obstacles you face in trusting the Lord with his plan for your life? What are some ways you find yourself to be most tempted to “cut corners,” especially when things become difficult?
- Do you find yourself praying more for particular results, or for greater sensitivity and awareness to the Lord’s plan? Why? What affect can the content of our prayers have on living faithfully – especially during trying times?
- What challenges do you face in being faithful in the “ordinary” and “mundane” things of life? How has this text/sermon impacted how you think about the ordinary responsibilities of life?
- Resource: The Ordinary Christian Life
Aliens and Strangers (Gen 23, Mar 10, 2019)
- What kind of planning do you do for your eternal future? How much thought do you give toward evaluating your decisions of today in light of eternity? What would a faithful planning of your eternal future look like?
- Trying to take an objective look at your life, what would you say your priorities are? What do your purchases say about your priorities? What changes can you make to stress the priority of the Kingdom for your life?
- What lies are you currently believing about contentment in this life? How does living for eternity bring true contentment? (Luke 12:13-21)
- Resource: Why Think About Heaven
The Obedience of Faith (Gen 22, Mar 3, 2019)
- Testing: When undergoing trials or testing, how do you tend to immediately respond? Anger? Complaining? Indifference? Why do you think this is true? What have some of your recent tests been revealing to you about your character?
- Worship: Because worship is the posture of submission, and sacrifice is the expression, how does this affect how you think about corporate singing? Partaking of the sacraments?
- Provision: What are some areas of obedience that you tend to think are too unreasonable or hard for God to require you to do? How can God’s character strengthen your faith to obey? How can God’s promises strengthen your faith to obey?
Promises Made, Promises Kept (Gen 21, Feb 24, 2019)
- What are some clear examples of God keeping his promises to you in your life? What affect does the awareness of God’s faithfulness to his promises have on you?
- What are some false views of God’s faithfulness that you or others struggle with? Why are these false views so tempting? How is God glorified in your suffering?
- What is the temptation in wanting to add your own law-keeping to your being accepted by God (Gal. 4:21-31)? In what ways do you struggle with this?
- Discuss the statement, “Obedience to God’s Word, despite what you feel, is authentic faith.” Why can this be so hard to believe? How does this impact how you see Christian obedience?
- Resource: God Has Not Abandoned You
The Dangers of Deception (Gen 20, Feb 17, 2019)
- What do you think makes breaking habits of lying so difficult? What are some ways you find yourself trusting in deception rather than God? What is the enticement for you to lie?
- What prevents you from considering how your sin will affect others?
- What do patterns or moments of deceiving others communicate about your belief in God? How does truth-telling communicate what you believe about God? Discuss how God’s attributes (love, holiness, faithfulness, etc.) oppose deception.
- What can help you cultivate a greater fear of God? A smaller fear for man?
Sin is Contagious (Gen 19, Feb 10, 2019)
- What are some “small sins” you tend to overlook or justify in your own life? What are some ways these “small sins” can develop and fester into something much larger? What are some practices you can develop which can help you from allowing your sins to spiral and grow?
- What are some areas where you find yourself “lingering in Sodom” or “pulling up a chair at Sodom”? What are the dangers of this practice? What causes this desire to linger? How can you faithfully deal with this temptation?
- How does God’s pursuit of you impact how your think about God? About yourself? How does it affect how you live as a Christian?
A Lesson in God's Righteousness (Gen 18, Feb 3, 2019)
- What does deserved justice imply about God and about you? What are some ways you ignore the justice of God? What does the life that is aware of and sensitive to the justice of God look like?
- How have you thought of yourself as righteous, merely because of your proximity to righteous people/practices?
- Why is there so much injustice? Talk about your own wrestling with this question. What has helped? What do you think is contributing to your own wrestling?
- Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just? Do you believe this? What is contributing to your doubts?
- Resource: How Do You Reconcile God’s Justice with His Mercy?
The Sign of the Covenant (Gen 17, Jan 27, 2019)
- What are some ways that you exercise impatience with God’s timing on his promises? How can you cultivate a greater attitude of patience?
- “Live in His presence with an eye to His pleasure.” What does this look like in your life? Is this a goal of yours?
- Are you currently neglecting God’s signs of his covenant to you? How does the circumcision of Abraham and his household impact how you think about baptism and the Lord’s Supper?
- Is there an example in your life of a time that God waited so long to answer your prayer, in order to show He is the One who is working? Is there a situation in your life right now where you feel like you are merely waiting on the Lord?
- Resource: A Brief Defense of Infant Baptism
When Faith Fails, God Prevails (Gen 16, Jan 20, 2019)
- Why does it seem we can be so much more vulnerable to acting faithlessly immediately following times of great victory (events of chapter 16 follow from God’s covenant with Abraham in chapter 15)? How can you guard yourself from falling into times of doubt and sin, directly on the heels of victory?
- What are some ways you find yourself pursuing sinful solutions and shortcuts to alleviate trials? What motivates you to pursue those shortcuts? What is the solution to this, and how can you employ the solution?
- Share a time in your life where you experience genuine sorrow or suffering, and were able to see God’s blessing follow.
- What truth about God do you think you most need to remind yourself? (God is faithful? True? He loves me? Will not abandon me? Etc.) What can you do to remind yourself of these truths about God?
- Resource: God Hears the Sighs No One Hears
Faith in the Promises of God (Gen 15, Jan 13, 2019)
- Since faith must be preceded by the Word of God, how does this effect your view of the Word of God? How should this effect your practices? What does this mean about how you respond when in seasons of doubt? How do you typically respond to doubt?
- Respond to the statement, “faith is not inherited or conjured up, but a gift through God’s promises.” What are some ways your understanding of biblical faith has been impacted by this text and sermon?
- If faith in God is considering him trustworthy to do what he says, what are some areas of your life that you struggle to exercise faith? What does your doubt say about God?
- What does the fact that God gives his people signs for his promises (stars in the sky) teach us about God? About man?
Blessed be the God Most High (Gen 14, Nov 11, 2018)
- What are some ways you’ve noticed this rebellion manifested in your flesh? How does the gospel affect and change this human desire for power in how we see ourselves? In how we see others?
- In light of Jesus saying there will be conflict until he returns (Mk. 13:7-8), how should we respond to the inevitability of the church suffering in the midst of global conflict?
- How should the church respond to the church around the world who is presently enduring suffering? What does belief in this promise of conflict look like in the life of a 21st century American Christian?
- What are some promises of God that you find it difficult to live out your belief in them? What does belief in the promises of God look like in the context of your home? Your workplace? Your neighborhood?
- Who or what are some of the idols which we tend to give our praise to for the blessings in our life? Our own wisdom? Our leaders?
The Generosity of Faith (Gen 13, Oct 28, 2018)
- How does covetousness seem to manifest itself within you? What relationships does this affect? How?
- What are some obstacles in your life which prevent you from being more open-handed? Given your present financial situation, how can you become more open-handed?
- Discuss the promises Abram believed which motivated his generosity. What promises do you need to believe to stir up a greater generosity? What does this faith look like?
- What does a greater generosity look like in your home? At church? In your community?
Against All Odds (Gen 11:27-12:9, Oct 20, 2018)
- Discuss some of the odds God went against to bring you to salvation and repentance. How has God shown his power by saving you “against all odds?” How has this passage/sermon challenged some of your understandings of God’s providence and sovereignty?
- What are some areas in your life that you recognize you aren’t satisfied with just God’s Word and character? Where are you looking for further confirmation? What do you need to do before making a decision? How does that connect with trusting God?
- How does “bringing the presence of God to bear wherever you set foot” affect your daily life? What does this look like in your home? Your workplace? Your relationship to your neighbors? What steps can you take to cultivate this?
Rebellion (Gen 10-11, Oct 14, 2018)
- What are some blessings which you tend to misuse for your own destruction? How can you cultivate a better relationship with God’s blessings?
- How would you respond to today’s question of “Do I want my child to follow the pattern of life I am living now?” What are some of the lies we tell ourselves to justify our generational sins? What steps can you take to break the patterns of generational sin in your life?
- What are some of the areas in your life that you recognize your desire to wrongfully “make a name for yourself”? What name has God given to you? (for just a mere sample of this, consider: John 1:12, 15:15; I Corinthians 1:2, 6:19; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:10; etc.) In light of this, why do you still sense a need to “make a name for yourself”?
- Resource: When God Mercifully Ruins our Plans
Remembered (Gen 8-9, Oct 7, 2018)
- Discuss the foresight of God (contra the Mesopotamian gods). What is the value of the foresight of God to your daily life? What does ignoring or not believing the foresight of God look like in your life?
- What does human flourishing look like? What are some ways you can promote and encourage the human flourishing of others? What are some ways we can act as obstacles to our own or other’s flourishing?
- Discuss how you would have felt the first time it rained after the flood. What role does the sign of the rainbow have to mitigate any fears? How does this impact the way you think about the other signs God has given to the church (baptism and communion)? What fears do you have which God graciously assuages with his signs?
- Resource: Psalm 19 and Human Flourishing
Ruined (Gen 6, Sept 30, 2018)
- What are some of the clearest ways you see your sin as “exercising independence from God?” How can you develop a greater dependence on God?
- How has this passage and sermon affected your thinking of God’s justice? About your significance? What are some of the false notions of God’s justice which influences your thinking?
- Knowing that sin matters this much to God, what are some areas where you have subconsciously stated, “sin doesn’t matter” or “it doesn’t matter that much”?
- Do you genuinely express sorrow and grief over your own sin? What are some ways you can cultivate a greater sorrow and grief over your sin?
- Resource: The Better Version of Noah’s Ark
Life After Eden (Gen 4-5, Sept 23, 2018)
- In what ways do you feel and sense your offerings (giving/obedience/prayer/etc.) to God is still affected by the Fall (although Christ is interceding for us – Hebrews 7:25)? How are you tempted to bring an offering not in faith?
- In what ways are you most aware of the corruption in you still present in your relationships with others? What are some ways God is restoring that corruption? What are some ways we identify and recognize ourselves with Cain?
- How can we have a will more conformed into the will God wants us to have? What are the obstacles which prevent us from pursuing a will conformed to God’s will?
- What are circumstances where you find yourself most likely to doubt God’s promises? What are some of God’s promises that most comfort you in times of distress?
- Resource: True Worship, Brotherly Peace
East of Eden (Gen 3:14-24, Sept 16, 2018)
- In what ways has Satan already been defeated (Colossians 2:15, I John 3:8)? How does this affect the Christian life? How does this affect your Christian life? What are some of the dangers of ignoring the defeat which Satan has already received?
- What are some judgments and warnings which God gives to us in Scripture which you do not believe as you ought? What does your unbelief look like? What does believing that “God does not make idle threats” look like in your life?
- Because Christ has come, how does this transform how we think about God’s judgement and death?
- Resource: Make Satan Know His Defeat
Deception, Temptation, Rebellion (Gen 3:1-13, Sept 9, 2018)
- What are the ways and vehicles through which you hear Satan’s lies? What are some of the lies which you are most tempted to believe? How can you develop greater awareness to Satan’s lies?
- What are some ways which you see yourself giving in to the same lies which Eve believed in Eden? How do you doubt God’s goodness? In what ways do you believe that God won’t do what he’s threatened to do?
- How has Christ delivered you from the shame and alienation of sin? (see Hebrews 12:2 and II Corinthians 5:17-21) In what ways do you still attempt to make your own fig leaves to deal with the feeling of sin?
- What does your “running” or “hiding” from God look like? What are some ways which God graciously calls out to you in the midst of your hiding?
- Resource: Breaking the Power of Shame
