Week of Sunday, August 9, 2026
The Choice — Genesis 3:6-9
God lets us choose between good and evil
The Big Idea
Adam and Eve could eat from every tree in the garden but one. Something talked them into the one — first by asking whether God had really said it, then by suggesting he was holding out on them.
They ate, and they hid. And the first thing God said when he came looking was not “what have you done.” It was “where are you” — which he already knew. He was giving them a way to come out.
Memory Verse
"choose this day whom you will serve"
Six words out of a much longer speech, and the only part that is addressed to you.
Conversation Starters
For the dinner table or the car line this week.
- When was the last time you knew the right thing and did the other one?
- Why do you think God left the tree there at all?
- Who is the person you find it easiest to be honest with?
Family Activity · 10 min
The Fork
Everybody thinks of a time they came to a fork — a real one, this week or this year — and took one road. Say what the other road was. Nobody is allowed to say whether you picked right, including you. Just name the two roads out loud and leave them there.
Pray Together
God, when I know the right thing, help me do it while it is still easy.
What We Did Sunday
We learned that God lets us choose between good and evil. Adam and Eve could eat from every tree but one. Somebody talked them into the one. They hid — and God came looking for them anyway, and made them clothes before they left.
What they learned Sunday
God's first words to them were "where are you"
Adam and Eve could eat from every tree but one. Something in the garden talked them into the one — first by asking whether God really said it, then by suggesting God was holding out on them. They ate, and hid. Then God came walking through the garden and called out: where are you. He already knew. They still had to leave, but before they went he made them clothes himself.
- When was the last time you knew the right thing and did the other one?
- Why do you think God left the tree there at all?
- Who is the person you find it easiest to be honest with?
Chaplain America
Every tree but one. Guess which one.
Sunday night
Genesis 3:6-9
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 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. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Around the table
This Sunday: a garden with exactly one rule in it. Every tree yes, one tree no — and God says it out loud, in advance, to their faces.
What is a rule in this house that you have never really understood?
The first thing the snake does is not lie. It asks a question — did God actually say that? Getting somebody to doubt the rule works better than arguing with it.
Has anybody ever talked you into something by asking questions instead of telling you?
Tomorrow at 9:30. Fellowship Hall.
One line before bed: God, when I know the right thing, help me do it while it is still easy.
Today at 9:30. Fellowship Hall. Ask them afterward what God said first when he found them — it surprises most grown-ups.
When was the last time you knew the right thing and did the other one?
They had to leave. That part is real. But the last thing that happens before they go is God making them clothes — with his own hands, for the two people who had just ignored him.
What is something somebody did for you after you had let them down?
Joshua is an old man here, standing in front of everybody. He does not tell them what to pick. He tells them what HE picked, out loud, and then leaves it with them.
What is something you have decided about, for good, that you would say out loud?
Tonight, 6:30. They are going deeper on this: why would God leave something in the garden that he knew would ruin it?
Ask them on the way home whether they figured it out. Then tell them what you think — this one is worth your actual answer, not a hint.
This week's mission
The Twenty Seconds
One time this week you are going to know the right thing to do within about twenty seconds of it happening. Do it inside those twenty seconds. Not after thinking about it on the walk home, not tomorrow when it is easier to explain — right then, while it still costs something. You will know exactly which moment it was.