Blame Game Session 1 Unit 1: Essential Obedience Unit Worship Truth: God wants us to follow him through obedience. Unit Memory Verse: “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 13:4). Session Scripture: Genesis 3:8-24; Romans 3:22-24 Session Worship Truth: Man’s disobedience brought sin into the world, but God restores us.

BIBLE BACKGROUND: GONNA DISCOVER! This is a familiar story—a story of disobedience, blame, and punishment. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Immediately they realized they were naked. They were no longer innocent. They had a new awareness of themselves and were experiencing a new feeling: shame. Adam and Eve attempted to hide their shame by making clothes for themselves and hiding. Blame followed. Then punishment. We are really no different today than Adam and Eve were then. Fast forward several thousand years to Jesus Christ, who offers atonement for sin by his death on the cross. Romans 3:22-24 reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Jesus died to pay the price for our sin and lived a life of perfect righteous- ness that can in turn be given to us. It starts with obedience, the obedience of following God, which is where we will focus this unit. But it is not by our obedience alone that we are declared righteous. Righteousness is granted to us when we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior. For some children, this may be the first time they hear about sin and about God’s forgiveness. For others, this may be the time when the understanding of sin and forgiveness all comes together. And yet for other children, this may be a good review of a well-known Bible story. This les- son may be a good opportunity to present the ABC’s of Salvation to your students (see Session 1’s Reflection article on the enhanced DVD). Be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading during today’s lesson.

11 Remember that small group time during worship is the opportunity to discuss God’s truth, and share together in purposeful prayer, sharing requests and praises.

GONNA EXPERIENCE! 24: The Lord put a cherubim to guard the tree of life. Sermon Outline Romans 3:22-24 Genesis 3:8-24 22: Faith in Jesus brings righteous- 8: Adam and his wife heard God in the ness. garden and hid from him. 23: Everyone has sinned. 9-10: When God asked, “Where are you?” Adam admitted that he was 24: Redemption and freedom from sin afraid and hiding because of his comes by Jesus. nakedness. OBJECT LESSON 11: God asked if he had eaten from the forbidden tree. Adam Says Divide the children into three even 12-13: Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed teams. One team will be “dogs,” an- the serpent. other team will be “cats,” and the third team will be “ducks.” 14-15: The Lord punished the serpent. Say, We’re going to play a game today that you have played many 16: The Lord punished the woman. times before (Simon Says). But to- day we’re going to mix things up a 17-19: The Lord punished the man. bit and make it more difficult. Each team has been given a role to play. 20: Adam named his wife Eve. Dogs bark and beg, cats meow and pretend to lick their paws, and ducks quack and waddle. I am 21: The Lord clothed Adam and Eve. going to play the role of Adam, the first person God created. Some of 22-23: The Lord said that man would the time I will say, “Adam says,” and not be allowed to eat of the tree of then give you an instruction. For ex- life and live forever. Then he banished ample, if I say, “Adam says meow,” them from the garden. you will all meow, no matter which animal you are.

12 However, if I do not say, “Adam the knowledge of good and evil, for says,” then only some of you can do when you eat of it you will surely die” the instruction. For example, if I say, (Genesis 2:16b-17). Adam and Eve “Meow,” only the cats can meow. knew God’s rule. But they disobeyed If you do not follow the command anyway, and ate the fruit God told correctly, you have to sit out the them not to eat. Then, they got rest of the game. The team with the scared. They thought, “What happens last remaining player wins. now that we’ve disobeyed?” Play as many rounds of the game Adam and Eve committed the very as time allows. At the end of the first sin. You’ve probably heard about game say, This game reminds me sin before. Sin is rebellion against of obedience. Obeying our parents, God. It’s when a person puts his or our teachers, and even God can be her own will above God’s will and difficult at times. We need to obey chooses to disobey God.† Any time God in everything we do. When we you do something that you know you disobey, we are punished. In this should not do, you have sinned. And game, when you didn’t follow the any time you do not do something instructions, you had to sit out. But that you know you should do, you when you obeyed the instructions have sinned. and did just what they said, you And that brings us back to the very stayed in the game and had fun! It first time people did something they was better to obey in the game. And knew they should not do. Adam and it is always best to obey God. Sin Eve ate from the tree that God had is what leads us down the wrong told them was forbidden. way. God will never lead us astray, God asked Adam, “Have you eaten or away from him. Obeying God is from the tree that I commanded you always the right choice. not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:11b) Adam was quick to respond, “The woman made me do it!” Then God GONNA EXPLORE! asked Eve, “What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13b) The woman Sermon quickly placed blame on someone else, too, when she said, “The serpent Our story today is one of the sad- tricked me and made me eat it.” dest stories in the Bible. In Genesis— Adam and his wife were playing the the first book of the Bible—after the blame game. Have you ever played beautiful story of creation, we find the blame game? Have you ever the man Adam and the woman Eve done something that you knew you scared and hiding from God. They shouldn’t do and when your dad or had just eaten the fruit from the tree grandma or teacher asked you about of the knowledge of good and evil. it, you quickly blamed someone else? This tree stood in the middle of the “My brother made me do it!” “My beautiful Garden of Eden. When God friend told me to!” “It’s not my fault!” created Adam, God was very clear: It’s easy to get caught up in the blame Adam and Eve were not to eat the game. We don’t want to take respon- fruit from this tree. God said, “You are sibility for the sin we have done. We free to eat from any tree in the garden; don’t want to get in trouble. But we all but you must not eat from the tree of

13 have the choice to obey or to sin. And sinned, you have sinned, everyone that choice is ours and ours alone. No has sinned. Remember, sin is rebellion blaming others. against God. Our sin hurts God and Both the man and the woman had separates us from him. made the choice to disobey God’s But wait! There is good news! God commands. Sure, someone else is a God of grace as well as justice. talked them into it—the serpent talked That means God still loves us. Isn’t the woman into disobeying and the that amazing? And, because God woman talked Adam into disobeying— loves us, he has made a way for but they both had a choice. And they us to be right with him once again, both chose to disobey. to be forgiven. That way is through What happens if you choose to dis- Jesus Christ, God’s Son. The book of obey? Do you get away with it? Maybe Romans tells us that we are “justified it seems like you do sometimes. freely by his grace through the re- Maybe Mom or Dad or Grandma or demption that came by Christ Jesus.” your teacher never find out about Whoa! Those are some big words! your disobedience. But you know. Basically, this means that God can for- God knows. And more often than not, give you because Jesus died for your someone eventually finds out. Then sins. And when God does forgive you, what happens? You get in trouble. You he no longer holds your sin against get punished. you.† When you ask for forgiveness Because of their disobedience, from your sin and you choose to obey Adam and Eve and the serpent had to God, you will be forgiven! Then you be punished. The serpent was made can begin a life of obeying God. to crawl on his belly. The woman (Option: display the Session 1 mem- would have pain in childbirth. The ory verse slide, found in the “Worship man would have to work for his food. Schedule” section on the DVD.) And the man and woman would both This month we’re going to take a someday physically die because of look at what it means to their sin. through obedience. Our memory verse Then, God sent Adam and Eve out for the month is from Deuteronomy of the Garden of Eden. They could not 13:4. “It is the Lord your God you must stay there any longer. When Adam and follow, and him you must revere. Keep Eve sinned, they brought sin into the his commands and obey him; serve world and upon all people. Because of him and hold fast to him.” Adam and Eve’s sin, we live in a world I want to challenge you to learn that is broken. It is filled with crime, Deuteronomy 13:4 and repeat it every broken families, war, starvation . . . all morning when you wake up. Start your these are a part of our world because day off right, by following God’s com- people sin and have sinned since the mands and obeying him! Praise God beginning. that, even if we sin, he is loving and The Bible tells us, in the book of forgiving. Romans, that “all have sinned.” I have

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