Spend some time this morning praising the Father for the creation
that you can see outside of your window.

He has been gracious to us for sure!

We began some reflection the other day about ways that we decide we
are better determiners of our own path than God is.

• Read the following: Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 16:25, & Proverbs 21:2

Reflect on these questions today:

• As you look back over your life, have there been forks in the road where you chose your own path? Times when you were your own leader?

• How did that work out for you?

• How can you begin today to commit to following God’s ways for you? What does this look like in your real life?

• Read Genesis 44-46:7

Watch the following video from our friends at the Bible Project:

• Has there been a time when you chose to eat from the life of Jesus and proclaim Him to be your Lord?

If this is something that you are confused about or have questions,
please reach out to a “leader around this place”: Keith, Andrew, Benji,
Cathy Shreve, or Susan. They would love to talk to you.

• Read Genesis 1-3

Consider the following questions:

• After the slow crawl through these chapters the past couple weeks, what pops out to you in today’s quick reading?

• Adam and Eve made a choice to take their lives into their own hands. Disbelieving that God had the best and wisest path for them, they took their own road. Where do you see, in your own life, you going your own way instead of God’s way?

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to you.

• Read Genesis 3:21-24

Reflect on these questions today:

• The first animals are killed on earth to make garments for Adam and Eve. Why is this significant as you think about the rest of the Bible?

• How does this simple act demonstrate God’s incredible care for this couple?

• I sometimes forget that Eden was a garden amidst the rest of creation. So the couple gets banished from the beautiful garden that was their home. How is God loving them in this decision?

• Read Genesis 3:17-20

I find it curious that the woman readily admits, “the serpent deceived
me,” but Adam doesn’t even speak about the serpent. He blames the
woman.

• How could the man have loved the woman better during the time of tempting? What choices do you see that he had?

• Why do you think God says “because you listened to your wife?” Why was this a bad thing that he did?

• Adam is primarily cursed in his work, the tasks around him that he had been given by God. How do you see this worked out either in your own life, or those around you?

• What implications do you see for the relationship between Adam and Eve going forward with all that’s happened?

• Read Genesis 3:16

Reflect on the following:

• Eve’s curse is very relational in nature. How do you see this worked out today? In your own sphere?

I had it explained to me once that the word translated desire here is
the same word used later in Genesis when God is telling Cain to resist
the desire to kill his brother, Abel. There it says, “sin is crouching at
your door and it desires to control you.”

• Do you see a desire for control in yourself?

• God creates them “side-by-side,” using a piece of the man’s side to create the woman, and now it has become a competition. I grieve this in so many ways. How do you see this competition in play in our world today?

• Are there examples in your life of a godly “side-by-side” relationship and serving?