This message explores the ways in which all of creation has been impacted by the Fall into sin, including our bodies, love, the chance for a more-thoughtful engagement with the questions of singleness and what it means to live for God’s glory in the body as a single Christian. This message will address topics such as: do you need to be married to be fulfilled or ‘complete’?, how do you deal with singleness after divorce or the death of a spouse?, is being single more holy?, how should the Christian community make meaningful space for both married and single people?, and more.
Texts: Genesis 3; Matthew 5:27-28; 19:8; Romans 1:24-32; 6:1-23
SERMON OUTLINE
“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.” (Genesis 3:8)
Humanity and Sin’s Disruption
The Tension Between Creational Goodness and Sin’s Disruption
Sin’s Disruption and Disordered Love
Sin’s Disruption and Disordered Bodies
Sin’s Disruption and Disordered Sexuality
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- When or how have you ever experienced the limitations of your body? What happened? How did that make you feel?
- We continue our series, “Love – Sex – Body,” this week by looking at how the Fall into sin impacts love, sexuality, and the body. Before you begin this study, pray that God would draw you into divine grace and truth.
- The story of the Fall occurs in Genesis 3. Whether you are alone or in a group, read that chapter aloud. What are some ways this story tells us about sin’s impact upon the following areas: human love, human relationship with God and with one another, and the functioning of the human body and sexuality?
- From a theological level we can say that sin impacts every level of human experience, not only our nature and our experience, but also the world systems and biological realities of human existence. How might this relate to the debate about whether certain sexual identities, orientations, or activities were caused by “nature” or “nurture”; that is, by biological predisposition or social conditioning?
- Last week we explored the creational goodness of love, sexuality, and the body, but sin creates a sense of tension or disorder within all of these areas of our lives. According to Genesis 3:7-9, one of those areas of tension is shame related to our bodies and sexuality. How do Adam and Eve deal with their shame?
- In what ways do you think shame still affects the broken human approach to love, sexuality, and the body?
- Read Matthew 5:27-28; 19:8; and Romans 1:24-32. Identify some of the ways that Jesus and the Apostle Paul recognize how sin works into human action, causing disorder in love, sexuality, and the body. What do they say is at the root of these ways of living?
- How have you experienced this tendency toward disordered love, sexuality, or body life, whether through your own actions or through others’ actions?
- Romans 6:1-23 is essentially about how baptism is an image for the Christian life. Read that passage and identify how baptism images forth the calling of the Christian community in relation to love, sexuality, and the body.
- In many ways, this is the most difficult chapter of God’s good story, leaving us in the tension of unresolved sin and brokenness. Why do you think it’s important for us to give attention to this difficult chapter? What would happen if we ignore the impact of the Fall?
- What is God speaking to you about love, sexuality, and the body through this study of the Fall If you are on your own, write these things down and let this shape your prayer life in the days to come. If you are in a small group, discuss your answers aloud together. Close in prayer.