Summary: Last week we looked at why Jesus must be resurrected; how His resurrection brought faith to completion, and how Christ was the perfecter of faith by submitting to God’s will completely. This week we explore how the original sin, in the garden, was a choice to determine good and evil for ourselves independent of what God says is good and evil. We see how that conflict of wills is displayed by Peter when he tries to rebuke Jesus. Finally, we look at how that conflict continues in our life, and can be reflected in our reliance on self or anything else that is not God.
Break the Ice
- What is your favorite secular topic to discuss?
Bring the Word
Read Matthew 16:13-23
- How do our concerns reflect our will?
- Why is Jesus chastising Peter?
- What concerns did Peter have in mind?
- How does Peter’s perspective affect his concerns?
- What limits are on Peter’s perspective?
- Do we have the same limits? If so, how do they affect our perspective?
- Does God’s perspective have any limits?
- Does God’s perspective encompass ours?
- What are some instances where we put our concerns or will before Gods?
Read Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-5
- What are the two possible outcomes presented for eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Who presents them?
- Why is this a conflict of reliance on God verses reliance on self?
- What did God determine after creating all that He had made in Genesis 1:31?
- What sense is used to determine that it was good?
- What does Satan say will happen to make them like God?
Read Genesis 3:6-8
- Why did Eve make the decision to eat the fruit?
- Where was Adam?
- Do you think he heard the conversation between Eve and the serpent?
- What did Eve have to do for her husband to eat it?
- Why does the scripture state that their eyes were opened?
- Do they become more or less like God? Why or why not?
Bring it Home
Read Romans 11:33-12:2
- What attributes of God are described, and how are they described?
- How is God’s will described?
- What does it look like to conform to the world?
- What does it look like to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice?
- What does it take to renew our mind?
- How is our choice to offer ourselves as living sacrifices or conform to the world similar to the choice Adam and Eve had?
- How can we pray for you?
Begin a Discipline
Prayer: Psalm 143:10 Continue to transform your mind through daily prayer with God.
Reading: Continue to transform your mind through reading God’s Word daily.
Reflection: Continue to transform your mind through reflecting on His Word throughout the day.
Journaling: Journal what you learned from Scripture about God, Jesus, and yourself.