When you came to worship this week, what were you actually bringing him — your best, or what was left after everything else got the first of you?

Abel brings the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions — the best of what he has, the part most costly to give up. Cain brings an offering too, but the text is quiet about what kind. One gift is accepted; the other is not. Notice the passage never weighs the produce against the meat. God is reading something underneath the gift. On Sunday, Kent Keller put it plainly: don't bring God your leftovers. He wasn't talking about livestock. He meant the twenty dropped in the plate from a heart that is somewhere else, the worship we perform out of habit while our minds wander. God is not impressed by the going-through-the-motions kind of offering. He is not after your money. He is after you. Hear what this does not say. It is not that grain is unworthy and only animals will do — Scripture re

If someone traced the faith behind your choices this week, what would they conclude you actually believe about God?

The verse refuses to let us make Abel's story about butchery versus produce. “By faith Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice.” What made it acceptable was faith — Abel believed God, and his gift was simply that belief made visible. Then comes the line that should stop you: “through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” A man murdered long ago is still saying something to you. Kent landed on this verse Sunday: it is not what is offered, it is what is in the heart of the offerer. That is the whole difference between Cain and Abel, and it is the difference in us. Two people can do the identical religious thing — same pew, same song, same check — and one is worship and one is performance. God sees which is which. Be careful here, because faith can quietly become one more thing we p

What have you been blaming on someone else that, named honestly, is actually crouching at your own door?

Cain's face falls, and God meets him not with a lecture but with questions: “Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen?” Then the warning, vivid and physical: “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Sin is pictured as a predator pressed low against the threshold, waiting for the door to open. And the choice is still Cain's. Kent named Cain's real problem on Sunday: don't blame others for your own sin. Cain burned hot at Abel, but Abel had done nothing to him — he had simply done well. We do the same. We are furious at the person who succeeded where we coasted, when the one we should face is in the mirror. Anger at others is often disappointment with ourselves, aimed outward. Notice what God does not say. He does not tell Cain the feeling is for

What sin have you quietly decided is too far gone to bring back to God — and what would it look like to stop wallowing and simply confess it today?

One sentence, and it is almost too much to believe: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Not less condemnation. Not condemnation suspended until you slip again. None. The word “now” matters — not someday when you finally get it together, but now, today, in the middle of the mess you woke up in. For those in Christ, the verdict is already settled. Kent's third word on Sunday was this: never think you are beyond the reach of God's grace. Look at Cain — a murderer, blood on his hands, cast out — and God still puts a mark on him to protect his life. “There is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in us,” Kent quoted. If grace reached Cain, it can reach the thing you are sure disqualifies you. But hear what “no condemnation” does not mean. It is not tha

Which “word” have you been living under this week — the one that cries for your punishment, or the better word of Christ that pleads your pardon?

Genesis says Abel's blood “cries out from the ground.” Hebrews picks up the image and turns it toward Jesus: we have come “to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Both bloods speak. Abel's cried for justice, for an accounting of what was taken. But Christ's blood speaks a better word — not vengeance, but mercy; not “guilty,” but “forgiven.” This is where Kent brought us on Sunday. The chapter that opened with one brother murdering another ends up pointing to the greatest story of all. Abel's blood cried from the ground and God heard it — and the blood of Christ still cries out, calling fallen people to the table. Kent kept saying it: a table of grace, from a God of grace, for people who need grace. Don't rush past how scandalous this is. The story does n

When you came to worship this week, were you bringing God your best, or the leftovers after everything else got the first of you?

Kent Keller walks Genesis 4 — Cain and Abel show two paths before God: whole-hearted worship or going through the motions. Abel's blood cries out and points to a better word: Christ's.

Where in your life are you burning at someone who really only succeeded where you fell short? What is that anger actually about?

Kent Keller walks Genesis 4 — Cain and Abel show two paths before God: whole-hearted worship or going through the motions. Abel's blood cries out and points to a better word: Christ's.

Which 'soft' sins — pride, self-righteousness, judging other believers — do you tolerate in yourself more easily than the loud ones?

Kent Keller walks Genesis 4 — Cain and Abel show two paths before God: whole-hearted worship or going through the motions. Abel's blood cries out and points to a better word: Christ's.

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Foundations (Week 4)

Two Ways to Live · Group Guide

Genesis 4

Kent Keller Sunday, October 4, 2026

Printable study guide

📄 Bible Study (English)📄 Estudio Bíblico (Español)

Icebreaker

Think of a time you went through the motions of something — said the right words, showed up, did what was expected — but your heart wasn't really in it. What was going on underneath?

Discussion Questions

1
When you came to worship this week, were you bringing God your best, or the leftovers after everything else got the first of you?
2
Where in your life are you burning at someone who really only succeeded where you fell short? What is that anger actually about?
3
Which 'soft' sins — pride, self-righteousness, judging other believers — do you tolerate in yourself more easily than the loud ones?
4
Is there a place you secretly believe you've gone too far for God's grace to reach? How does Cain's mark speak to that?
5
Abel's blood cried for vengeance; Christ's blood speaks a better word. What difference does that better word make in how you come to God this week?

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Two Ways to Live · Group Guide

Genesis 4

Discussion Questions

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