COTR Weekly Blog for Leaders

Hello Group Leaders! On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong of the Apollo lunar module "Eagle" spoke these history-altering words as he stepped onto the moon: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." That is quite a legacy to impart to humanity! Needless to say, being the first person to set foot on the moon is an extraordinary feat in human history.  But even more impressive is being the first human BORN in the world; the first son of the "original-first family"; the first seed of the future promise, and tragically, the first brother who commits the first crime- the murder of his only brother. Sadly, in God's eyes, this is a FAR more critical legacy and one that is, unfortunately, not glorious or inspiring. Genesis 3:20 ends with Adam and Eve trusting God and stepping forward in faith. You have to assume that based on their recent encounter with God, Adam and Eve would have taught their children of the...

Dear Group Leaders! Before we dive into Chapter 4 of Genesis, let’s recap Gen. 1-3- God is THE Creator. God created everything. God is GOOD and HOLY and made mankind in his image- God desired to be in close relationship with man and designated man as HIS “regal” steward over all creation on earth.   Satan tempts man to distrust God and to trust himself. Mankind is permanently altered with a bite of forbidden fruit filled with lies and death.   Man falls. God acts…enter the GOSPEL! Why should we study our ancient history that reflects SO badly on us and is a constant reminder of how sinful, stubborn and rebellious we are as humans? Because we forget and need the reminding, and God’s worth it. In seeing how sinful and unfaithful we are as humans, we see, IN STARK CONTRAST, how good and faithful GOD IS.   We see that this holy, just God did NOT abandon us to figure out life on our own.   God’s constant, abiding, sustaining hope lives in Jesus C...

Hello Community Leaders! “BUT GOD…” Last week’s devotional spoke hard truth: tasting forbidden fruit brings disastrous consequences.   Adam and Eve’s shared bite plummeted humans from God’s absolute grace, perfection, and loving wholeness. How do you “pick up the pieces” after you’ve screwed something up so badly that all you can do is moan? Adam and Eve covered up and hid. Turning to Genesis 3:7-8 we read: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Prior to Gen. 3:7-8 Adam and Eve knew “good” by experiencing it in God’s presence and by His hand.   Now, because they trusted themselves over trusting and submitting to God, they knew evil by experience, too. In doin...

Hi Group Leaders! I hope The Lord God is unsettling your hearts a bit with His Majesty, Holiness, Wonder, and Grace! As I read, prayed and pondered Genesis 2-3, The Holy Spirit kept “nudging me” that I am skimming over something that might be very important….in fact, it “might” have been reason for both Adam and Eve’s first rebellion and it definitely “seems” to be Satan’s reason for rebellion- If you disagree with my reasoning, totally fine- I’m a wannabe seminarian….but, I invite you to think, read, and pray under the Spirit’s guidance… Here’s the “nudge” (in part) that started me thinking… What about God’s HOLINESS? GOD’S HOLINESS is the bedrock foundation of everything- It makes HIM who HE IS AND PUTS HIM TOTALLY IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF. And we humans have a very hard time with the concept that GOD is so much “OTHER” than man. Makes us feel a bit uneasy? Kind of like-well, one of us is SO MUCH MORE and WORTHY of ALL GLORY, PRAISE, HONOR, ADORATION and OBEDIENCE,...

Hello CG Leaders! I pray you've taken time to read Genesis 1-3 and pondered….How big is my God? What did your heart and mind reply? Is He "big enough" but not TOO big? Don't we sometimes attempt to fit God into our understanding instead of asking HIM to enlarge our hearts to know and trust Him- beyond our comprehension? I do.   I struggle with trusting God, especially,   when I'm suffering, doubting, wrestling with pain or trial or loss…or even when I'm tempted and want to minimize his convicting voice…. Before we launch into Gen. 3- we need a backdrop of HOW big our God is…. If you read through Genesis 1-2, and notice- WOW! God is IMPRESSIVE!   (For more reading on the might, majesty and awesome wonder of God, read Psalm 8 and Psalm 19, Job 38-40, Isaiah chapters 40-45!!) God created the heavens and the earth, our universe, our galaxies from nothing. God SPOKE everything into being.   He created matter out of nothingness. God i...