How the brokenness began

01 · GATHER ROUND

Start with a question.

“Have you ever had one small thing go wrong and cause a whole chain of problems? What happened?”

Spilled juice that ruined a drawing that made someone cry… chain reactions make great stories. Enjoy them.

03 · OPEN THE BIBLE

A drop in the glass.

Fill a clear glass with water. It’s perfectly clean. Now add one drop of food coloring. Watch it swirl and spread until the whole glass has changed color. You can’t pick out the drop anymore. It’s everywhere.

Did God make people unable to obey him? No! God made Adam and Eve good. They walked with him in a beautiful garden and could obey him with glad hearts. God gave them everything they needed and only one thing they must not do: eat from one special tree.

But Adam and Eve listened to a lie. They doubted God’s goodness, and they disobeyed. That choice was like the drop in the glass. Our Bible verse says sin entered the world through one man, and death came with it. Now every person is born with a heart that leans away from God, and on our own we can’t keep his law. King David wrote that he was sinful from the very start of his life. That’s what it means to be born in sin and guilt: sin is in our hearts, and we stand guilty before God.

“Wait,” you might say. “That’s not fair! I wasn’t even there!” That’s an honest question, and it’s okay to ask it. Here’s part of the answer: Adam stood for the whole human family, so what he did affected all of us. And if we’re honest, we don’t only inherit sin—we choose it, too. Every one of us has disobeyed God on our own.

Keep reading Romans 5, and the story turns. Just as one man brought sin to everyone, one man—Jesus—brings life to everyone who trusts him. Adam’s disobedience spread brokenness. Jesus’s obedience brings forgiveness and new life. The drop of sin is real, but Jesus can make the whole glass clean.

So when you see brokenness—in the world or in your own heart—you can remember how it started. And you can remember who came to fix it.

04 · WONDER TOGETHER

Let’s talk about it.

1. What do you think it was like to live in the garden before sin?
2. Why does it matter that God made people good in the beginning?
3. How is what Jesus did the opposite of what Adam did?

Try answering one yourself first. “I don’t know yet” is a fine place to start a conversation.

06 · TALK TO GOD

Let’s pray.

Creator God, thank you for making people good. We’re sorry that sin came into your world and into our own hearts. We confess the times we choose our own way instead of yours. Thank you for sending Jesus to undo what sin has broken. Make our hearts new, and help us trust you. Amen.

Then invite everyone to add one thing they want to tell God.

07 · MAKE IT STICK

A little truth to learn by heart.

Act out the answer with motions as you say it: shake your head for “no,” turn your back for Adam and Eve’s disobedience, cradle your arms for being born, and hold out empty hands for being unable to keep God’s law. Then turn back around and open your arms wide for Jesus, who came to rescue us.