“Ready or not, here I come!” These words are readily associated with a childhood favorite, Hide-n-Seek. We love to hide. We long to be found. This game doesn’t end with childhood but can take a dangerous turn as we practice it as adults. Self-deception. Isolation. Denial. Rationalization. Self Righteousness. These are the ways we hide from God. However, God still seeks. God still loves. “Come out, come out, whenever you are!”
1. God’s first words were of freedom. The serpent’s first words were of restriction, questioning God’s directives. How can we discern between questions that lead to distrusting the truths of God and those that affirm our faith?
2. When we fixate on the forbidden we lose sight of freedom. What falsehoods are you choosing to believe instead of God’s truths?
3. Adam and Eve hid from God after choosing to disobey God. Are you afraid God doesn’t love you as He did before your disobedience?
4. As believers, we have experienced the freedom and joy of being found. Why, then, do we continue to hide in our sin?
5. In this sermon, we learned we cannot be free until we are first found. Are you afraid that if you are fully known you won’t be fully loved?
6. Being honest with ourselves is the first step in vulnerability and is the beginning of transformation within Christ. Of the five ways we hide mentioned in the sermon, discuss which you hide behind.
Become a truth-seeker. Pray for God to illuminate areas you are hiding from Him. Soak in the knowledge that God seeks to win your heart, not to pay you back. Know you are fully known and fully loved by God.
