Introduction When you think about it, every male creature has a way to produce off-spring. It is through the womb of its counterpart. When the LORD God created man (Adam) in God’s image, God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone… So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one… But still there was no helper just right for him” (Genesis 2:18-19, 20b). God caused man to fall into a deep sleep and from man God created woman. Man’s coun-terpart and helper with whom he could share life, his deepest love and joy, was presented to him. By becoming one, man could now bring life into the world through his beautiful womb-man.

“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman’ because she was taken from

‘man’ (Genesis 2:23).

It was good that God made a helper just right for the man. Man was excit-ed as he saw in the woman something he did not recognize in any other creature—a part of himself. Scripture says: “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are unit-ed into one” (Genesis 2:24). God’s design is good. But when sin entered the world, perversion corrupted (distorted) what God intended as just right. Since man’s fall, alongside everything that is good – sin shows up like a deadly parasite. Take a moment and think of the many ways the original and pure intent of God is now twisted and distorted in our culture today. The ultimate perversion is to desire to be our own god. The woman (Eve) wanted the wisdom the tree would give her – not the wisdom God alone could give her (Genesis 3:6).

Life Group Lesson

WISER Week 3 ● Week of SEPTEMBER 26

To think that we can ‘re-design’ our existence is to glorify darkness (deception) over God’s heart of love. God loved the world so much, He sent His Son to defeat sin’s perversion. Only as a man could God take back what man gave away to the enemy. In the hymn, How Great Thou Art, the phrase: ‘He bled and died to take away my sin’ refers to the se-gue of the old system of worship (through animal sacrifice) to the New Covenant when Christ Himself would shed His blood for the atoning (forgiveness) of sin. Because of the Lord’s sacrifice of love, we can enter again into right relationship with our Father, Creator God. God’s ultimate design of joining man and woman in covenant points to Christ (the Bride-groom) and His Church (the Bride). Through Christ, God reclaims what sin has perverted (see Hebrews 10:8-18, Revelation 1:18).

Background Proverbs remind us that “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge (Proverbs 1:7a). Do we fear (honor) what the Lord first in-tended as good – the union of man and woman in the beginning? There were two trees in the middle of the Garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). Proverbs 3:18 says: “Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.” Yet, paying heed to the voice of deception, Eve reached for the fruit from the wrong tree.

God is honored when we listen to His voice and respond to His love. Worldly distractions and deception, like parasites, will always pervert the goodness of God. But truth is bedrock (see Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 119:89, Matthew 5:18, 7:24-27). God wants each of us to be wise when it comes to our sexuality, and the destructive effects of sexual sin and perversion. We live in a world where it seems anything goes when it comes to human sexuality. But that is not the truth. God wants us to know the truth and be set free from deception; each day God expresses His love in a plethora of ways to all people. Wisdom shouts: run from perversion and find shel-ter in God’s ever-faithful love.

Reading the Text Read Proverbs 5:15-23 and Proverbs 7:1-21

September 25 & 26, 2021

Text: Genesis 2:23-25, Genesis 3:6-7, Proverbs 3:18, Proverbs 5:15-23, Proverbs 7:7-27

Plain Truth:

God’s design is ___________ while evil says

_______________ is never _____________.

1. God’s design has already provided _____________.

2. Goodness is _______________ when we trust the

voice which says, “_____________ is not __________”.

3. God’s design ____________ what sin has __________.

One Year Bible Readings September 26: Isaiah 48:12-50:11, Ephesians 4:17-32, Psalm 69:1-18, Proverbs 24:5-6 September 27: Isaiah 51:1-53:12, Ephesians 5:1-33, Psalm 69:19-36, Proverbs 24:7 September 28: Isaiah 54:1-57:14, Ephesians 6:1-24, Psalm 70:1-5, Proverbs 24:8 September 29: Isaiah 57:15-59:21, Philippians 1:1-26, Psalm 71:1-24, Proverbs 24:9-10 September 30: Isaiah 60:1-62:5, Philippians 1:27-2:18, Psalm 72:1-20, Prov.24:11-12 October 1: Isaiah 62:6-65:25, Philippians 2:19-3:3, Psalm 73:1-28, Proverbs 24:13-14 October 2: Isaiah 66:1-24, Philippians 3:4-21, Psalm 74:1-23, Proverbs 24:15-16

Deeper Application (for discussion purposes, what 1-2 words stand out to you as you hear the Scripture read aloud) 1. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? 2. What are you going to do about it? 3. How can we help you?

Close in a Time of Prayer How can I pray for my fellow Life Group participants this week?