Thanks for all the questions submitted so far...keep them coming...if your question isn't answered right away, know that we are getting to it. Some questions have to be answered first - questions about God creating the world, how sin came in - before we can answer other questions, like do animals go to heaven.
1. "Bad things" entered the world when Adam & Eve "fell" ("The Fall" = the first sin, the first act of disobedience to God)
Q: "What 'bad stuff' came into the world after the Fall?"
- Adam & Eve could no longer live in the Garden of Eden (Q: Do we know where it was? No, not exactly. Clues from the name of the river, probably Iraq, but it wasn't found.)
- Adam would have to work the ground and there would be thorns and thistles
- Eve would have to submit to her husband rather than be his equal
- Eve would experience pain in giving birth
- The serpent (Satan) would be cursed (but, the same verse talks about Jesus coming to win!)
- People would die
As we talked about last week, God could not have created us to have choices unless there was also the choice to disobey. Love for him that is not chosen wouldn't mean anything.
Remember Teacher Mr. X and Teacher Mr. Y? In Teacher Mr. X's world, there was no misbehavior, but there were also no choices. In Teacher Mr. Y's class, wrong things probably would happen.
Bonus: Where is Jesus mentioned in the passage? Verse 15 - her offspring will crush his (Satan's) head
2. Because there is sin, we have suffering
- Caused by ourselves - ex: we get grounded, we fail tests, we get yelled at, we lose friends
- Caused by others - ex: all the evil things kids do to each other
Ex: Logan's white jeans at dusty summer camp! It didn't matter if he was trying to stay clean or get dirty, he was going to get dirty!
If I want something good to happen, and it doesn't happen, is that a bad thing?
Ex: It rains on my birthday, so I can't have the party in the park. Evil? No - inconvenient & bad, yes - for me.
Ex: I get grounded for lying to my parents. Evil? No. A bad thing? Yes, for me.
Ex: I (Mark) swam out too far and almost drowned. Very scary. Was it an evil thing? No, but uncomfortable and horrible.
Part of "growing up" is being able to look at things the way someone else sees them - including God. When we can see ALL there is so see of something, we understand it better. Ex: 3-D glasses.
4. Evil is being overcome.
When Jesus came out of the grave, the process of evil being defeated began (like when Aslan rose in Narnia - and started to undo all the evil). More on that next week.
5. Sometimes good can come from evil - God works through things to make us better, stronger, and to change us.
Read Romans 8:28-32. Does verse 28 mean:
A. Only good things will happen to people who love God
B. God causes bad things to happen because they're good for us
C. Everything that happens to us turns out good in the end
D. No matter what happens, God is always working to make us like his son, Jesus
D is the best choice - as verse 31 says, "If God is on our side, who can be against us?" Nothing can happen that will derail God's good plan for us.
Ex: I'm not glad that the drowning incident almost happened, but I learned valuable lessons from it.
What have you been through that's been hard, but your own good has come from it?
Into small groups (each group take one passage):
John 9:1 - Jesus heals a man born blind
Philippians 1:7-14 - Paul in chains for the gospel
1 Peter 1:5-7
2 Corinthians 1:8-11
Who was suffering in this passage?
What was the suffering?
What reason was given for why the person suffered?
Why is that "good"?
