Date: October 13, 2024
Cain and Abel: Family Responsibility
The Point: God expects us to look after our family members.
Get Into the Study
Share the following before asking the icebreaker question..
Over the last several years, evolutionary scientists have become firm believers in the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs. In fact, many modern scientists and history museums have begun treating birds as synonymous with dinosaurs. Even documentaries are claiming that we can hear and see modern dinosaurs outside our windows every day. And yet, science isn’t fully backing up this theory.
Anatomically speaking, it’s impossible for flight to evolve from the large bipeds that are considered to be bird ancestors, according to Dr. Alan Feduccia, a world authority on birds. Not to mention that when fossils are carbon dated, the supposed ancestors for modern birds are “millions of years” younger than recognizable bird fossils.
But the biggest argument against the dinosaur-bird theory is that birds and reptiles have different lung systems. Like humans, reptile lungs work as a bellows, allowing air to be breathed in and out in the same way as the muscles expand and contract. Birds have a system of air sacs where air flows in only one direction to keep air moving through the avian circulatory system. Not only is it impossible for the air sac system to have evolved from bellows-style lungs, there are concurrent dinosaur and avian fossils with their unique lung systems.
Even though some believe that birds and dinosaurs are considered to go together, they’re each quite unique and created to be entirely different. Similarly, even families that God created together are made up of people with their own unique features and identities, though each are created exactly as God intended for His purposes.
Get Into the Study [Option from the Adult Leader Guide]
In advance, play a video clip about what makes us different. Then ask Question #1.
Live It Out
Read as you discuss the application ideas in Live it Out.
NFL rookie Carson Steele was called for his debut as a running back on Sunday, September 21, when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Atlanta Falcons. Steele was called to play after KC star Isiah Pacheco was injured the previous week during a game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Pacheco will be out for a few weeks while he recovers from a fractured fibula, allowing Steele to step up and fill in. During the game, he ended up helping his team beat the Falcons 22-17, and had the team-high of 72 rushing yards. As great as this debut was, these weren’t his original weekend plans.
Steele was originally supposed to be a groomsman in his sister’s wedding, which happened on the same day. He got the call about being needed and went to the game instead. His family seemed to support him, as the game ended up being played at the wedding reception. The official NFL X, formerly Twitter, account shared a video of the wedding attendees watching the game and cheering as Steele had a huge run down the field. When interviewed after the game, the rookie said that while he loves his sister and hopes her wedding went well, there’s no place he’d rather have been.
While we may not be asked to sacrifice a family event to debut in the NFL, as Christians, we are called to make sacrifices for God. When we worship Him, we should sacrifice our time or the best of what we have for God. Worshipping sacrificially is a way we can honor God with our actions..
EXTRA was written by Emily Duncan, a Southern California native currently living in West Georgia with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. God saved her from Wicca when she was sixteen, and she now serves alongside her youth pastor husband as a girls’ leader at New Hope First Baptist Church in Dallas, GA. Emily spends most of her time tangled in yarn while crocheting or reading outside in the hammock.
Additional Questions
Icebreaker
- What similarities do you have with your siblings?
- What is a memory that comes to mind when you hear the word “sibling”?
- What are some of the biggest similarities between you and your siblings (or closest relatives)?
- Who’s the closest person in your family to being a “crazy uncle”?
- What is something that makes you unique from the rest of your family?
Genesis 4:1-2
- What role did work play in your family?
- What are the benefits and challenges of family life?
- What role does the church play in strengthening the family?
- How can differences between family members enhance a family’s well-being?
- How do you contribute to your family’s well-being?
- What are some obstacles to healthy family life in our culture?
Genesis 4:3-7
- How can we know if we are giving God our best?
- What are the benefits of giving God our best?
- What are some obstacles to giving God our best?
- Why is giving our best to God considered an act of worship?
- How can we glorify God through our vocations and avocations?
- What makes it challenging in our culture to give God what is best?
Genesis 4:8-12
- What are tangible ways to do good for our family members?
- What are the long-term consequences for the family when there is animosity
- What are some of the consequences in today’s world for bringing harm to a family member?
- What responsibilities do we have for our family members?
- What do you learn from this passage about God’s expectations for us to be our “brother’s keeper”?
- What role does the church play in strengthening the family?
For Those in Your Group
Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought:
Rivalry Affects More Than Two People
Podcast
Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.
Podcast (adultsleadertraining): Play in new window | Download
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