SUNDAY PRAISE -- ADAM, EVE, AND THE FALL

 

Hello, friends!  Happy Sunday.  Hope you had a good day.  Mine wasn't all that good.  Joe and I went to church but I felt sicker and sicker.  After about 30 minutes I left and Joe stayed because we were having our annual meeting after church and since he's an elder he had a part in it.  Once I got home, I ate some crackers to settle my stomach and took my medicine.  Then I turned on the TV for some background noise, laid down on the sofa and halfway through "Leave It to Beaver" I fell asleep.  When I woke up I was feeling better.   That's when I turned on YouTube and watched Pastor Jesse's message from Paradise Bible Fellowship Church.  Pastor Jesse is a gifted speaker.  I had my Bible on my Kindle and followed along.  That was my church for today.

There was a luncheon after the business meeting.  Joe had made a beautiful green salad last night for it.  I had gotten four bottles of soda.  That was our contribution.  My friend Kathy brought potato salad and sent some home for me.  I was very hungry when Joe got home and ate it.  I didn't get sick, but had to run to the bathroom, so I guess I'm not out of the woods yet.

In any case, here is the Sunday Praise lesson for today.  And I'm sure you're all familiar with the story -- Adam, Eve, and the Fall.

The Garden of Eden was a beautiful place.  Adam and Eve enjoyed everything God had made.  One day, when Eve was walking through the garden she heard a snake calling her.  It was Satan in disguise.

Satan convinced Eve to try the fruit God warned them not to eat.  Eve thought the fruit was tasty, so she called Adam to taste it.  Adam liked the fruit and thought that it was good.

But then Adam and Eve began to feel unhappy.  They were ashamed.  They knew they had done something very bad.  When God came to speak to them, they hid from Him.

They covered themselves with leaves to hide their shame.  But they still felt sad.  They told God what happened.  God said that they would have to leave the perfect garden.  But God promised someone would come to save them.

Of course these stories I share with you are meant for children so they are very simplistic.  But we can still learn from them.  Think back to when God created the world.  He said over and over that things were good.  Then He made this beautiful garden and put man there.  It was perfect and Adam and Eve were happy there.  Best of all God came and walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening.  This could have gone on forever.  But then things changed.

The important thing we need to learn from this lesson is the consequences of the choices we make.  God did not make a bunch of robots.  We don't love and obey God because we have no choice.  God gave Adam and Eve a choice.  They could eat anything in the garden except for the fruit of one tree.  They could obey God or turn their backs on Him and disobey.

There are always consequences for our actions.  Everything we do will have either a good or bad consequence.

But even though God disciplined them, He did not stop loving them.  Just as we discipline our children but continue to love them.  In fact, God loved them so much that He promised to send a Savior.  This is the first promise in the Bible of the coming of Jesus.  Accepting Jesus as our Savior is the only way we can restore our relationship with God.

And that's the lesson for this week.  A lot to think about.

Have a great evening.  I'm going to get some more sleep.

Until later...

Kathy