Texts: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Revelation 19:1-9

Communion Practiced by the Church (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

• Communion is a time to look beyond ourselves to ensure that we are in a right relationship with one another.
• Communion is a time to look back in remembrance and thanksgiving of Christ’s sacrificial death.
• Communion is a time to look within through self-examination.
• Communion is a time to look forward to our Lord’s return and proclaim the Gospel to others.

Communion Anticipated in Heaven (Revelation 19:1-9)

• Our celebration of communion on earth by remembering and proclaiming Christ’s death will one day culminate in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven.
• This celebration will mark the final death blow to sin and death, and we will rejoice in the salvation, glory, and power of our Savior as He clothes us in His righteousness.

Texts: Exodus 12:1-14; Matthew 26:26-29

Communion Foreshadowed in the Passover (Exodus 12:1-14)

• Communion’s roots can be traced back to Passover, where the Israelites were saved from death and delivered from slavery in Egypt.
• The Israelites marked their doorframes with the blood of the lamb and God “passed over” His people.
• The feast of Passover is a celebration of this event.

Communion Fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 26:26-29)

• Communion is demonstrated in the bread (Christ’s body being broken) and the cup (Christ’s blood being poured out).
• These symbols portray the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins.

Text: Genesis 3:7-24

The Destructive Outcome of Sin (Gen. 3:7-13)

• When we choose to sin, we experience guilt and shame.
• When we choose to sin, we hide from the consequences.
• When we choose to sin, we blame others.
• Gospel implication: Christ died in our place and took our punishment.

The Devastating Curse of Sin (Gen. 3:14-19)

• God pronounces a curse on the snake and the ground because of sin.
• God pronounces ongoing consequences of sin in child-bearing, relationships, and work.
• Gospel Implication: God promised that a Redeemer would come to crush our enemy and conquer sin.

The Divine Judgment For Sin (Gen. 3:20-24)

• Clinging to the hope of God’s promise, Adam gives his wife the name Eve (“life-giver”).
• God clothed Adam and Eve in garments of skin to cover their nakedness.
• God drove out Adam and Eve from the Garden, signifying the breach of fellowship that had taken place.
• Gospel Implication: In Christ we are given new life, eternally forgiven, clothed in His righteousness, and welcomed into His kingdom.

Text: Genesis 3:1-7

Satan’s Deceitful Devices (Genesis 3:1-5)

• Satan is the crafty serpent in the Garden of Eden (Revelation 12:9).
• Satan strategy involves attacking and distorting God’s Word.
• Satan’s goal is for us to doubt and disobey God’s Word

Man’s Defiant Disobedience (Genesis 3:6-7)

• Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s Word in unbelief, seeking their own moral autonomy.
• Adam and Eve’s sinful pattern in Genesis 3 is paralleled for us in James 1:13-16 and 1 John 2:15-17.

God’s Promised Savior (Romans 5:12-17)

• Through one man’s (Adam) sin, death has passed to all of us and reigns over us.
• Through the Gospel of Christ, we can be justified by grace and live eternally with Him.

Text: Genesis 2:18-25

God’s Providential Design in Creating Us for Relationships

• God did not create us to be isolated, but for community and relationship.
• God provided man with a helper that perfectly complemented him.
• God ordained marriage to be a covenant relationship that is freely enjoyed with one man and one woman for a lifetime of love without shame.

Text: Genesis 2:4-17

God’s Providential Design in Creating All Things (Genesis 2:4-7)

• The generations of the heaven and the earth refer to the God’s creation of man and woman.
• God’s name (Yahweh-Elohim) declares Him as both Creator and Covenant-Redeemer.
• God created a perfect setting for man to live and breathes His life into him.

God’s Providential Design in Creating Us to Work (Genesis 2:8-17)

• God placed man in the Garden of Eden with abundant provision and beauty.
• God created man with a responsibility to work and keep the Garden of Eden.
• God commanded Adam to abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to establish His good authority.