Memorable Beginnings – February 27, 2023

Read: Genesis 3:1-15

And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3:15

Memorable Beginnings

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Some of the best stories have memorable beginnings. Can you guess which movie or book the following come from?

• “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” (Star Wars)
• “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.” (The Cat in the Hat)
• “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

Our story, the story of mankind, also has a memorable beginning: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Our story begins in a beautiful garden. Our story begins with two people, Adam and Eve. God created them in his image. It means they were perfect and holy.

But our story quickly took a tragic turn. Adam and Eve listened to the lies of the devil. They disobeyed God. They ate forbidden fruit.

God knew what they had done. They knew what they had done. They knew that they deserved God’s punishment. They deserved to die. They deserved to go to hell. They were so afraid.

So they hid.

But God never stopped loving Adam and Eve. So he went and found them. He made them a promise. One day, a descendant of Eve would come and crush the head of that old serpent, the devil. Her descendant would destroy the power of the devil and rescue all mankind from the death and hell we deserve. But that Savior would have to suffer and die to save us.

Sometimes we like to blame Adam and Eve for bringing sin into the world. If they hadn’t eaten that fruit, we wouldn’t be born sinful.

It’s their fault.

But we all need to remember that we are the authors of our own tragedies. Every day, like Adam and Eve, we have the choice between doing what is right and doing what is wrong, and every day we too make poor choices. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Like Adam and Eve, we deserve God’s punishment.

But God never stopped loving us. He kept his promise to Adam and Eve. Eve’s great, great, great, great … grandson—Jesus—came and suffered the punishment we deserve in our place on the cross. By suffering our punishment in our place, Jesus crushed the devil forever and rescued us from the tragic end we deserve in hell.

Even though our story has a truly tragic beginning, we have the happy ending of heaven waiting for us because of Jesus.

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, you know the bad choices I have made. I know the bad choices I have made. Thank you for sending Jesus to suffer my punishment in my place. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• What was the beginning to the story of mankind?
• Sadly, who did Adam and Eve decide to listen to before they ate forbidden fruit?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• Instead of running away or hiding our bad choices, what should we do?
• Why did the promised Savior have to be a descendant of Eve in order to save us?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• A friend tells you, “I had to cheat on the test at school. I had no choice. The teacher is completely unfair, and I would have failed the class if I didn’t.” Based on today’s devotion, how would you respond?
• Genesis 3:15 is the very first promise of a Savior. Try to explain that verse in a way in which a five-year-old could understand it.