Text Study for Sunday, September 14, 2025.

Series Theme: First Things

Reading: Genesis 3:1-7, 21-24

CONNECTING QUESTIONS

Good manners matter. What is one manner that people have “lost?”

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Loving God, as I see Your great wisdom reflected in Your wonderful creation, I want to praise You with my whole being. Thank you for the creative Word of God. Who not only spoke the world into being from nothing but died for me so that I could have life – everlasting life and life more abundantly. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN.

CONTEXT

Let us focus on some of the firsts from Genesis and Exodus, in all these stories God does something new! God takes the time to show the people more than they expected. Our series, First Things, will question what this means for us as we prepare to do something new here at Easter. What is God doing in our familiar things? September is a time when Easter returns to certain elements of programming, let’s look at those things in a new light. A light where God is up to something new with Easter, our community, and each of us!

From Dr Terry Fretheim at EntertheBible.org:

In all of these stories, however, God’s response to humanity’s sin leans toward mercy. Though Adam and Eve are told that “in the day you eat of it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall die” (2:17), that is not, in fact, what happens. God has mercy, banishing them from Eden but providing them with clothing and with the means to live. In other words, Genesis (like the rest of the Bible) takes sin and its consequences seriously. There are no rose-colored glasses here. But it also speaks of God’s mercy and faithfulness in the face of humanity’s sin. God will remain faithful to God’s promises and will act to preserve life.

LOOK AT THE BOOK

How is it with your spirit this week?
Our series is named “First Things.” What is a “first thing” in your life? Or, what is a “first thing” in your daily life?
What was one take-away from listening to the Carry On Cast podcast that connects with this Grow Guide?
Open to Genesis 3. Genesis means beginnings. What is a beginning to celebrate in your life this week? If none come to mind, what faithfulness of God in your life can you celebrate?
In Genesis 3, we hear the story of sin. In your own words, what is sin?
Does sin only belong to people, or can groups of people or institutions sin? How so?
Who are the central characters in Genesis 3?
Where is God in Genesis 3:1-7? What might that be saying about sin that God is excluded from this conversation?
Read John 3:16-17. How does God respond to sin in John? Why?
Genesis 3 has been used to vilify women. Why?
How we interpret scripture becomes a key task for a Christian. In Lutheran thinking about interpreting scripture, we talk about “law” and “gospel,” or commands and promises. That is the lens through which we see scripture. The law is meant to reveal our sin and push us to trust Jesus. What does Genesis 3 “reveal” to you about the origins of sin?
Verse 21 is powerful. What is happening?
Despite sin, how does God choose to act in verse 21? What does that say about God’s character?
What is God’s concern in verse 22?
Tell about a time you wanted to be like “god”, and it backfired on you.
In what places does Easter take sin seriously and respond with love?
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?

TAKING IT HOME

Pick one outreach ministry at Easter that you do not know much about and learn more this week. Easter.org/outreach

Sending Prayer

God of the promise, you call your people together into your one mission in Christ’s name. Make us brave, grant us peace, challenge our expectations, and empower us to truly follow your Spirit’s lead. You are our one God who calls us together as one people, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grow Guide | Sept 14, 2025