Archive for year: 2020

Featured Passage: Genesis 2–3:6; 1 John 2:16

---

God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and placed them in a beautiful garden filled with beautiful plants and trees. However, God placed two trees that had special significance in the midst of the garden, and He gave Adam special instructions about them. The name of one tree was the tree of life and the name of the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that he could eat of the tree of life, but he was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because in the day he ate of it, he would die. The instructions about the trees and the consequences for disobedience were clearly stated. God gave mankind free will to choose, but He wants us to choose to do as He says. The two trees were used to test whether mankind would obey God.

 

Discuss:

• Remind your child that these were literal trees in a literal garden even though they symbolized choosing the way that leads to life or the way to death.
• Discuss the implications for the way of “knowledge of good and evil”. How do we see “good and evil” played out in our society today?
• Examine Eve’s excuse for disobeying God. Note how the lust of the eyes and the pride of life played a part in her decision.
• God often tests His people with trying or tempting situations. Ask your child why they think God does this. Be sure to inject that making choices builds character.
• Discuss the two trees – that there are always two choices, God’s way and the wrong way. Note that both trees looked good but only one was good.

 

Memory Challenge:

Deuteronomy 30:19–20

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days….”

---

Featured Passage: Genesis 11:10–32; 12:1–4; Hebrews 11:8–10

---

After the flood, the earth began to be repopulated by Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Abram was born 292 years after the flood, the youngest son of Terah, who was of Shem’s lineage. An interesting fact is that Noah and Shem were still alive during Abram’s lifetime. Abram was born in the city of Ur. He married his half-sister Sarai. His father Terah left Ur for Canaan and took his family, including Abram, with him. They stopped in Haran where Terah died, and perhaps Abram would have remained there. However, God spoke to Abram and told him to leave his family and go to an undisclosed place. God promised to make Abram a great nation and his name great. He promised to bless those who blessed Abram and curse those who cursed him, and that all nations would be blessed through his seed. Abram believed God, and without hesitation, he left Haran.

 

Discuss:

• Explain to your child that marriage between relatives was common in the earlier years after the flood. Remember, everyone was closely related initially. However, God forbade such relationships later (Leviticus 18:6–18).
• Point out that God’s promises to Abram were conditional. He first had to obey God.  Remind them that obedience must always come first.
• Abram was already quite wealthy; he had servants and animals. He was comfortable where he was. Ask your child if they could see themselves leaving the comfort of home to embrace the unknown? Point out that Abram had a very difficult choice to make, but he did it without hesitation.
• Explain that the promise to bless all nations through his seed is stating that the Messiah would come from Abram’s lineage. Clearly God taught Abram the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

 

Memory Challenge:

Genesis 18:19

“For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

 

---

Featured Passage: Genesis 4:3–5, Hebrews 11:4

---

Cain and Abel were sons of Adam and Eve. As the brothers grew, God talked to them and taught them, just as He did to their parents. Cain and Abel were learning that they were supposed to obey God and love God. In this lesson, we will see how we must put God first in all we do. We must have a good attitude towards God and show it by doing what He tells us to do.

 

Discuss:

• Help your child understand that Cain and Abel were coming before the Creator to offer gifts to Him and that only the very best is suitable to offer God.
• Explain how Abel’s righteous attitude was reflected in his offering to God; Abel gave the best he had.
• Explain that God loved Cain, but his offering was not pleasing to God.
• Ask your child what Cain’s attitude was toward God and his brother when he was corrected.
• Ask your child what might be an action that would come from a bad attitude.

 

Memory Challenge:

Genesis 4:4–5

“The LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

---

Featured Passage: Genesis 7:1–16; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 2:5, 9

---

Noah was a man who obeyed God and was faithful to Him. Noah had faith that God would do what He promised. God told Noah how to build a very large boat, called an “ark.”  Noah built it just like God told him to. Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, worked on building the ark for about one hundred years. While the people made fun of Noah for building an ark, Noah would tell people that God was not pleased with their disobedience to Him. He warned them to repent and obey God. But the people did not listen. God told Noah to bring seven male and female pairs of clean animals and birds into the ark. And He also said to bring one male and female of the unclean animals to repopulate the earth after the flood. The animals came to the ark two by two, and Noah saved them. When the rains came, only Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives—eight people—believed God and were saved.

 

Discuss:

• Explain to your child that people lived longer before the flood than they do today; so, taking one hundred years to build an ark is not unrealistic. (See Genesis 5.)
• Some Christian groups wrongly believe that dinosaurs were aboard the ark because they think the earth is only 6,000 years old. Help your child see that there is a large time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. God created the earth in perfection, not in chaos (Isaiah 45:18). Satan’s rebellion caused devastation, and a restoration of the earth is described in Genesis 1.
• Many people think that laws concerning clean and unclean foods were only part of the Old Covenant. Point out to your child that Genesis 7 shows that Noah knew that there were clean and unclean animals, which was a long time before the Old Covenant and the time of Moses.
• Explain that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5).  Righteousness just means obeying God and keeping His commandments (see Psalm 119:172). Ask, is the Living Church of God teaching people to be righteous today as well?

 

Memory Challenge:

2 Peter 2:5

“[God] did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly…”

---