Newsletter #5 - November 14, 2021
Sin Spread to People (Genesis 4-5)
Dear NYCBC Family and Children Ministry families and volunteers,
We hope you enjoyed attending the Great Fall Escape! Family portraits should have been sent to the email addresses provided but please let us know if you have not received it. Check out some photos from the event here.
Please do not download any photos, forward the link or post on social media for privacy reasons. 请不要下载任何照片或是把链接转给其他人，因为隐私的缘故，请不要把照片发到社交媒体上。
Now, onwards to the Sunday school newsletter! :)
Siblings often fight and compete as children, even adults. It may be over something as innocent as who gets the last cookie or as serious as who inherits their parents’ prized heirloom.
The competition Cain felt toward Abel—the world’s first siblings—reminds us that these family tensions can cause great damage to our relationships with one another, with parents, and even with God.
In the story of Cain and Abel, we find a progressing pattern of jealousy, which leads to hatred, which leads to murder. The result is not one but two lost sons for Adam and Eve.
God’s disregard of Cain’s offering stirred an intense jealousy and anger within Cain. Cain raged not only because his offering was rejected by God, but also because his brother’s offering was accepted by the Lord. Cain’s jealousy led him into a pit of misdirected hatred of Abel, ultimately leading him to murder his brother. The consequence of sin—death—that God had warned Adam and Eve about had come to fruition.
Jealousy never produces anything godly in us. And why is that? It’s primarily because jealousy is nothing more than proof that we have staked our identity on what we have done or can do, rather than on what God has done for us through Christ.
When you are tempted to compare yourself to others, let that trigger a reminder of who you are in Christ.
Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” As a child of God, our identity is not dependent upon what we do, but instead upon what Christ has done to save us through His life, death, and resurrection. Rather than living in the comparison between ourselves and others, let’s live in the confidence that we have been made new. In Christ, we are fully loved and accepted.
Fight the temptation to compare. Fight the urge to compete with others before God. And trust in the finished work of Christ. For you are not your own; you were bought with a price. And that price is one you could never repay.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus. Adam and Eve’s sin and its consequences spread to all of their descendants. But God did not forget His promise to send a Rescuer. At just the right time, God would send His Son to save sinners.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit. What does it mean to sin? To sin is to think, speak, or behave in any way that goes against God and His commands.
KEY PASSAGE This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. — Romans 3:23
Please take some time to reflect on these points with your families and join us next Sunday for the next online Sunday school (Nov 21 2021, from 2pm - 3:15pm). The class links will stay the same as last time. See you soon!
Lovingly In Christ,
NYCBC FCM Committee
