Gathering

1. If you stumble across a snake on the path you are journeying, what is your typical reaction?

  1. I am startled and jump back.
  2. I scream in a pitch that is so high that nearby dogs start barking.
  3. I get down on my stomach to face the snake at eye level.
  4. I stomp on it to rid the world of this nasty serpent.
  5. Other __________.

Backstory

In Genesis, Chapter 1, the Creator God made the first humans in God’s image. (In Hebrew, “adam” are both man and woman together). Moving into Chapter 2, we get a surprisingly different take on human creation. First, we see the details of the human being created from the dust of the ground. Then, after naming the animals, the human realizes it is alone and needs a partner. So, finally, at the end of Chapter 2, the Creator God answers the human’s longing by creating the first woman from adam, then the man made whole, bringing them together as a new community. All is going well for this first couple in Paradise until… the Serpent enters. What happens next will change the world.

God’s Story

Have someone read aloud Genesis 3:1-24.

Finding My Story in God’s Story

2. In your imagination, step back into this story as the first man when you and your wife are literally caught, by God, with their pants down. How would you have responded to God’s question, “Hey man, where are you?”

3. Tell us about a time when somebody you loved tempted you with something they liked but somehow you suspected was not good for you. Did you give in? Why or why not?

4. Why do you think the serpent tempted the woman instead of the man in this story?

  1. He thought the woman was weaker than the man.
  2. He was afraid of the man and thought he might retaliate.
  3. He found the woman to be beautiful and wanted to seduce her.
  4. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  5. I’m clueless, seems a rather arbitrary choice.

5. Do you have empathy for the woman and the results that God declared they would experience for their disobedience, or do you feel they got what they deserved for yielding to temptation? Why?

6. Apart from juicy apples, what do you feel are the most detrimental temptations this world has to offer?

  1. Pornography and the exploitation of sex.
  2. Consumerism—the constant drive to accumulate more.
  3. Fast food, sugar, soda, and other unhealthy substances we consume.
  4. Drugs and alcohol.

7. What temptation in your life keeps you from being the man God is asking you to be? Why do you think it is so difficult to resist this temptation? Where do you need God’s specific help?

8. How can this group help you resist the temptations that come your way?

  1. Identify Bible passages where God’s followers resisted temptation.
  2. Pray for me.
  3. Tell me a real-life story about a time you gave into temptation and the results that followed.
  4. Other ____________.

Our Story

9. As a group, look carefully at Genesis 3:20 where the first man takes the name God gave both man and woman together (adam) for his own. And, like the human in Geneses 2 who named the animals, the man names the woman Eve, taking “possession” of her and declaring her future value to come from nursing and birthing children. How do you see the results of this painful verse being lived out in your world?

10. What first step do each of you need to take to live differently than the sin described in that verse (Geneses 3:20)?

Pray for one another in your group, silently or out loud, regarding the “next step” you will take this week to stand strong, resist temptation, and have faith in God.