The Promise Whispered

Genesis 3:1-19

November 25, 2007

Study Guide

New sermon series begins today: The Promise of Christmas

Why Christmas? Why this series?

I. To understand the ‘why’ of Christmas, you have to understand our problem.

Genesis 3:1-5

The problem comes when Satan tempts Adam and Eve to sin by challenging God's goodness and questioning his Word (v.1).

Satan follows up his questions with a lie that is disguised as a promise (v. 2-5).

Sin = question God’s good intent, question his Word and then fall for a lie disguised as a promise and end up regretting it?

II. To appreciate the ‘why’ of Christmas you have to be aware of the consequences of our problem (Genesis 3:6-13).

The most obvious consequence of their sin is estrangement (v. 16).

A second consequence is pain (v.17-19)

III. The ‘why’ of Christmas is whispered in the solution to our problem (Genesis 3:15).

Ironically, the promised solution to our sin problem is whispered in God's curse on Satan.

The “he” of this solution is the divine offspring of Mary, the Son of God, the Messiah who is Jesus.

Romans 5: 15-19 –“For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ....”

The reason for Jesus' coming into this world is the mercy of God in response to our sin.

It’s impossible to understand the full meaning of Christmas without understanding the full meaning of Jesus.