The Source!

Nate here teaches about the two trees in the Garden of Eden. Our Pal friends have never seen apples before – we strung one up on the tree – not because the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was an apple tree – but to talk about the unique purpose of the trees: to reveal whether man would trust God’s Word or not.

So many perspectives, what is right?

This week, we spent the teaching hours laying the foundation for the first sin. Over and over we were able to use the simple truths of scripture to answer long-held beliefs about man’s origin, how he was able to live at first, and God’s deep love and eternal plan. Over and over we’d say,

“You hear all kinds of things, the only way to decide if something is the truth or not is to see what God’s Word has to say about it. God does not lie to us. He does not want to be hidden from us.”

We are thankful to our Lord that our friends continue to attend the teaching in great numbers. They are attentive to what we are saying and are asking to have things re-explained if they don’t understand them. Thanks so much for standing with us in these exciting (and exhausting) days.

There is not enough room inside the 25’ x 35’ structure for everyone to sit, so we tend to have people gather all around the shelter as well.

What will our friends be hearing about this week:

Monday: Chris will talk about the first sin. We will talk about Satan’s trickery and about woman and man’s choice. We will put the main focus on sin: that it is not obeying the Word of God. We’ll be doing some dramas to emphasize the choice that was made and the entrapment of Satan. **On a side note, our lesson development helpers will be going through some of the last O.T. lessons with Nate on Monday afternoon – in preparation for later when we share them with the whole group.

Tuesday: Chris will be talking about the consequences of sin, the immediate shame and separation that was felt. We’ll talk about the impossible struggle to erase that sin or to cover it.

Wednesday: Chris will talk about the judgment that was pronounced by God over sin. We’ll explain the hard work that our friends must do to survive in terms of that judgment. We’ll talk about pain in child-birth and the emergence of sickness. We’ll also talk very clearly about the promise by God for a deliverer.  At this point we don’t include specifics, just that God promised.

Thursday: Chris will talk about life outside the garden of Eden. We’ll talk about how Adam would have talked with Cain and Abel about sacrifice and what kind of offering was acceptable. We’ll talk about Cain and Abel sacrificing and about Cain killing Abel. We’ll show how God is still merciful and just.

Friday: Chris will be talking about the time between Seth and Noah, talking about how there were people at that time who were acceptable to God because they came to Him in His way (Enoch). Nate will then take over and introduce the world at the time of Noah. Talking about how God must judge sin an that  it is an abomination to Him. Nate will talk as well about the work that Noah did to tell people of God’s plan and His mercy.

Nate points out that God didn’t need to hold something in His hand for things to come into existence. There was no ‘spirit stick’ or ‘god sign’ that a man held to create everything we see.

Pray!

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of your daily prayer for us. We are weak, poor speakers of the most important message in the world. Please do not give up praying with us and for us. This time is critical for our Pal friends. Please pray for them to ask the questions that they really desire to know about (and for us for wise answers).

Grace to you all,

Nate for us.