Sept. 21, 2008 ~ The Garden: What Did We Loose? / Bringing It Back 3

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
The Garden: What Did We Loose? / Bringing It Back 3
Teaching Pastor Jim Zippay, Senior Pastor
Date of Teaching: September 21, 2008
Scripture Passages: Genesis 2:8-15, Psalm 8:5, Revelation 22:1-3
Isaiah 51:3, Genesis 3:22-24, Genesis 3:6-9, Mark 14:32-36, Philippians 2:7-9

Outline
I. The Garden of Eden - Genesis 2:8-15; Psalm 8:5
II. The Eternal Garden - Revelation 22:1-3
III. The Lost Garden - Isaiah 51:3; Genesis 3:22-24; 3:6-9
IV. The Garden of Gethsemane - Philippians 2:7-9
Content
1. Humankind is the apex of God’s handiwork!
2. God gave Man a status, a standing that allowed them to be completely secure and yet vulnerable.
3. The eternal garden is the Paradise of God, the defeat of the Serpent of old, the removal of death and suffering.
4. In His presence we stand pure and unashamed.
5. The Lost Garden is like a desert, a wasteland or wilderness where the land is dry, the ground is hard and produce is scarce and the beasts of field are something to be feared.
6. It’s everything Eden is not. It offers no blessings, just the curse, no harvest - instead barrenness, life is overtaken by death and destruction.
7. Gethsemane means “olive press,” a place where you, by your lonesome, get squeezed, spiritually speaking.
8. Gethsemane is the garden that brings the glory back and a place where you go it alone
Aim
Our own Gethsemane is a place where God bring us to be with Himself, where we are made more like His son, Jesus.

Application Questions
I. Are you in Gethsemane? If so, what are going through?
II. In what sense are you prepared to surrender all to God in this process? Are you holding anything back?
III. Explain past history, if you can of God bringing you through a Gethsemane period?