Introduction

Eli: Hey, what's up? I'm Eli and this is my amazing wife, Alexis.

Alexis: God is on a mission to save the world, and we get to be part of it. Over the next few weeks, we'll be unpacking this mission and your part in it.

Eli: We're going to talk about big things, like faith, purpose, leadership, and identity.

Alexis: And you'll do some exercises to help you better see how your specific role fits into God's big mission.

Back to the Beginning

Eli: To get started, though, we need to go back—

Alexis: —all the way back—

Eli: —to the very beginning – Genesis 1-2 – We walk through the days with God as he orchestrates this place we call home. We see God speaking light into darkness, separating the seas and the sky, forming the land we walk on, and giving life to plants and animals, all the while declaring it good.

Alexis: And then there's us. Humans made in the image of God, declared "very good," and given the task of caring for creation. Read Genesis 1:26-31 together with Psalm 8. What do these passages tell you about God. What do they tell you about human beings? Does anything surprise you? Write down your thoughts.

Alexis: God's plan all along was for us to live in the world with him — loving him and experiencing his love.

Eli: God, who created everything and who needs nothing, wanted to live with us, walk with us, and experience life with us.

Alexis: Which is why what happens next is awful.

The Fall

Eli: In Genesis 3, we read about a serpent who entered God's garden and tempted people with the idea that they should be their own gods.

Alexis: And guess what? People listened - we disobeyed God and chose to lead ourselves. Choosing ourselves over God led to sin entering the world — and we’ve been a mess ever since.

Eli: That term, sin, means to "miss the mark." It's like when you're shooting at a target, but instead of hitting the bullseye, you hit something else. The consequences were severe.

Alexis: We experienced increasing corruption. Things like death and confusion became part of our reality, and our relationship with God was broken. Read Romans 1:21-23 and Ephesians 4:17-19. What do these verses tell you about what happens when people choose to live apart from God? Can you sense any of that confusion and darkness within yourself? Write down your thoughts.

Eli: Wow, what a terrible way to end the first session. God’s Rescue Mission

Alexis: But that's not the end. We tend to forget that God is, well, God. He doesn't sit back and say, "Too bad. Hope you guys figure this out." He's active and moving, and he wasn’t about to let our sin have the final word in his good creation. Instead, he set into motion a plan to rescue the whole world.

Eli: In Genesis 3, God promises that one day he will send a redeemer who will crush the head of the serpent and break the wall that stands between God and his people.

Alexis: And that is where this epic mission begins: the mission to rescue all of us from sin and death. To bring God's new kingdom into our space and change reality. To set things right on a cosmic level. In our next video, we’re going to talk about the mission God set in motion to get it all back.