Week 1

GENESIS 3:6-15

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?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

SYNOPSIS

• Eve eats the fruit of the tree in the garden of Eden
• Adam eats the fruit given to him by Eve
• Adam and Eve realized they were naked
• Adam and Eve hide from the Lord
• The Lord comes looking for Adam and Eve
• Eve informs the Lord that the serpent has deceived her
• The Lord curses the serpent

TALKING POINTS

• Why is the tree in the garden to begin with?
• It is all about free will
• God wants us to choose Him; He does not want to force His love upon us
• Why hide from the Lord? 
• Do we hide our struggles?
• How do we keep others and ourselves from hiding?
• Be intentional
• Be honest
• What is the tone of God's voice?
• Frustration surrounded by love
• Heartbroken
• Gentle
• The roar in God's tone when addressing the serpent only further illustrates the gentleness in tone when addressing Adam and Eve
• God never asks "why" Adam and Eve ate the fruit
• Asking "why" would have only given Adam and Eve the opportunity to justify inappropriate actions
• God presents Adam and Eve several opportunities to come clean
• First round of the Blame Game
• God's perspective of us does not change; Adam changes the way he sees himself

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

BLUEBERRY

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Line the muffin tin with paper liners and grease. Cream butter until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar and mix. Add eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt and mix. Beat in flour and milk alternately. Fold in blueberries. Stir together remaining sugar and cinnamon. Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin tin 3/4 full. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each muffin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.