Small Group Guide

December 21

Title: Cursed Christmas Tree
Text: Genesis 2:15–17

Small Group Application Questions

1. Freedom with Boundaries

Genesis 2:16–17
God gave Adam immense freedom with one clear prohibition. How do you personally respond to God’s boundaries—do you see them as restrictive or protective? Where might you be tempted to resent God’s “one tree” in your own life?

2. God’s Good Creation

Genesis 2:15
The garden was full of trees God called good. How does this passage shape the way you think about enjoying God’s creation without worshiping it? What does faithful stewardship look like for you?

3. Knowing God’s Word Personally

Genesis 2:16; Genesis 3:1
Eve heard God’s command secondhand. Why is it vital that every believer personally knows God’s Word? What steps can you take to deepen your own understanding of Scripture?

4. Spiritual Leadership and Responsibility

Genesis 2:16; 1 Timothy 2:14
Adam heard God’s command directly and still rebelled. What does Adam’s failure teach about responsibility, especially in spiritual leadership at home or in the church?

5. The Subtlety of Temptation

Genesis 3:1–5
Satan begins with, “Has God said…?” Where do you see this same strategy used today to create doubt about God’s Word or God’s goodness?

6. Fixating on the Forbidden

Genesis 3:6
In a garden full of abundance, Adam and Eve focused on the one forbidden tree. What forbidden desire most easily captures your attention and distracts you from gratitude?

7. Hiding Instead of Running to God

Genesis 3:8–10
After sinning, Adam and Eve hid from God. When you sin, do you tend to hide from God or seek Him in repentance? What does that reveal about how you view Him?

8. Life Under the Curse

Genesis 3:17–19
The curse brought fear, pain, and death into God’s good world. Where do you see the effects of the curse in everyday life, and how should this shape our hope in Christ?

9. The First Promise of the Gospel

Genesis 3:15
God promised a coming Seed who would crush the serpent. How does this early promise of redemption encourage you when you struggle with sin or failure?

10. From Eden’s Tree to Calvary’s Tree

Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24
Adam brought the curse through a tree; Christ bore the curse on another tree. How should this truth reshape the way you celebrate Christmas and live daily for Christ?

Sermon Outline

Title: Cursed Christmas Tree
Text: Genesis 2:15–17; Genesis 3:15

I. God’s Good Creation and Human Responsibility

  • God created a good world filled with beauty and abundance

  • Humanity was given freedom with one clear command

  • The forbidden tree reminded Adam and Eve of God’s authority

II. The Fall: Deception, Rebellion, and the Curse

  • Satan’s subtle distortion of God’s Word

  • Eve’s deception and Adam’s willful disobedience

  • Fear, shame, and separation as the immediate results of sin

III. The Promise of Redemption in the Garden

  • God’s judgment includes mercy and hope

  • The Protoevangelium: the promised Seed of the woman

  • Satan’s defeat foretold even at humanity’s lowest moment

IV. From the First Adam to the Last Adam

  • Adam as the federal head who plunged humanity under the curse

  • Jesus as the Last Adam who obeyed where Adam failed

  • Victory through submission to God’s Word

V. From the Curse-Bringing Tree to the Christmas Tree

  • The curse introduced through a tree in Eden

  • The curse removed through Christ on Calvary’s tree

  • Christmas as the celebration of God entering the world to redeem it