Scripture: Genesis 3:1-9 (NIV)
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
From Pastor Mark:
The serpent in the garden was successful in convincing Adam and Eve that God didn't really love them. Unfortunately they believed this terrible lie which lead to run away from God in shame. This same lie has crept into our world ever since and has led many people to think of God as an angry old man with a stick ready to punish those who don't follow his rules. Fortunately for us that is not who God is, and that is not the image that the Bible portrays of who God is. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation shows us that God is always looking for us and inviting us back into a loving relationship with Him. In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve sinned and hid in the garden. God went out looking for them. God has never stopped looking for the lost. The Bible tells us that He is on a search and rescue mission because of how deeply he loves us. The world needs to hear this Good News! That God has not given up on us and He never will.
Join us 10:30am in-person or online and we’ll take a closer look at this scripture and what it says about the God who is always searching for us.
Peace,
Pastor Mark Nsimbi