Out of Control
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
The story of Cain and Abel provides the first recorded contrast between those who trust and obey, and those who rationalize and choose their own way.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OVERVIEW
In this lesson we are looking at the story of Cain and Abel. We will look at the brothers’ relationship and explore reasons why each of them brought the sacrifice they did to God and the consequences of their actions.
OPENING ACTIVITY: OLD FASHIONED SIMON SAYS
This game doesn’t need an introduction but here it is anyway. Leaders, make sure to make this interesting and fun for teens by telling them that you are going to be going “old school.” Most of them probably haven’t played this game since 3rd grade so it should be fun. Start slowly, and get quicker. Mix up your words and do lots of silly actions. Give the students a chance at being “Simon.”
If you need a refresher: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=instructions+for+simon+says+game#kpvalbx=_e560Y4amEfzO0PEP48iWsA0_31
QUESTIONS
TRANSITION
This is an interesting game that has been played for many generations. Do you think that there is a part of humanity that likes being told what to? Or perhaps there is something in humanity that likes telling others what to do? There is definitely something in us that likes to be in charge.
Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt as if you needed to take control and be in charge? (Leader: Maybe open with a story of your own.)
Or . . .
Have you ever been in a situation in which you wished someone would take charge so you didn’t have to?
Our story today is an ancient story about obedience and the painful consequences of disobedience. You’ve heard this story before, but I hope that today you’ll gain even more perspectives on why this tragic story is included in scripture.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Most of the time when we think of Cain and Abel we think about it being the first murder in the Bible. It is a great Bible quiz question. But why did this murder take place? What happened after and what can teenagers today learn from this? I know you’ll come up with something as we study this morning.
Let’s jump into our lesson by going to the source of the story.
Read Genesis 4:1-2.
1Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
After the story of the fall of Adam and Eve we get to see a look at the first family. Creating a family unit is so important to the beginning of our story on earth that it’s the first thing mentioned! We don’t know exactly what their house looked like or where they lived, but we do we know they had kids.
QUESTIONS
Read Genesis 4:3-7.
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
This is the part of the story that we have told over and over. It is the part remembered. Cain brought fruit and veggies and was rejected by God, and Abel brought a lamb and was accepted by God. I hope as you read you had some questions, but here are a few to get you started.
QUESTIONS
One of the things evident in this verse is that it is important to do what God says. If God asks for a blood sacrifice, then that is what is required. Even if it doesn’t really make sense. In our time and for Seventh-day Adventists, I’ve often considered this a great story to show why keeping the 7th day Sabbath is important. Sabbath is not logically more holy than Tuesday, but God said it is, so because God said so as an act of our respect and worship that’s the day we keep holy. It’s kind of like Simon says keep the 7th day Holy. So we do because we respect our God.
Read Genesis 4:8-12.
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
The last part of this story is very sad. It shows what happens when we stay angry and our anger turns to violence. I wonder who Cain was most angry with? Was he angry with himself for being embarrassed if front of his family because God didn’t accept his offering? Was he angry with God because he thought his offering was good enough and God wasn’t being fair? Did his anger come from jealousy that Abel got praised by God while he didn’t? I could have been angry for any one of those reasons if I was Cain. But Cain’s anger turned to murder and violence and it cost his brother his life.
QUESTIONS
Read Genesis 4:13-16.
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
I think this part of the story is important, because God never gives up on Cain. In fact, God even adds a special hedge of protection over Cain. Yet still Cain left the presence of the Lord.
QUESTION
APPLICATION
Genesis 4:1-16
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
This quarter, we are heading back to the beginning, a story of creation, love, forgiveness, and redemption that would set the scene for thousands of years to come. A crime was committed in heaven, a world was created, and humans were shaped in the likeness of God and given a day of rest, but sin polluted the world once again. As a result, they were banned from the idyllic garden and had begun life in a world that, although polluted by sin, knew the love of God and the promise of redemption. Adam and Eve had many children, but the eldest two are highlighted in a heartbreaking story illustrating the harm sin caused to the world. Cain and Abel, first and second-born sons respectively, were brought up to revere God and worship Him. As they grew up, each one took up their own trade, Cain in the fields and Abel with the flocks.
As the time came to present their sacrifices to the Lord, Abel brought the offering which God had requested (to Adam, on how to present a sacrifice), but Cain brought fruit from his crop. God accepted Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s, which threw Cain into a tiff about the unfairness and jealousy of his brother. Although God reasoned with him, Cain’s anger and jealousy of Abel took control, and he brought him out to a field and murdered him. Not stopping there, when God asked him to take accountability for his actions by asking “Where is your brother?”, Cain once again threw a petulant remark and gave the snarky response, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God pronounced Cain’s punishment and was even merciful when Cain once again protested this by saying that everyone would seek to kill him, placing a curse over anyone who attempted to do so.
Cain had many chances to let go of his sins: first, his vain attempt to present his own version of the offering instead of doing what God instructed; second, his jealousy against his brother for having his offering accepted by God; and lastly, his murderous actions toward his brother. God was there every step of the way, willing to forgive if only Cain would take accountability. But Cain fought God every step of the way. Fighting God is never the right way to go, because having the devil on your side ensures that you will not have the best demise. However, if we are willing to work with God and repent from our sins, He will give us a blank slate every time.
As we study the story of Cain and Abel, say a prayer asking God to help us keep control of our lives, taking accountability for our actions and work with God instead of against Him.
“Losing Control”
Have you ever had someone be jealous of something you accomplished?
Read Genesis 4:1-16.
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
SUMMARY
The story of Cain and Abel is one of a somber tone. Cain’s action is widely regarded as the first murder, and the lasting effects of this fit of jealousy and childish petulance is this first separate “nation” of people who rejected God. As we know, the world corrupted more and more, and sins like jealousy, rage, and homicide run rampant without accountability. Losing control of our actions is a very dangerous situation. We are not thinking rationally, and we take actions for our own glory instead of God’s. Although we might feel as if we are on top of the world at the moment, this will not last forever. For Cain and his descendants, refusing to take accountability for all their sins lead to a world so corrupt it needed to be cleansed. With the help of Cain's story, we understand the danger of defying God as well as the rewards of being accountable for our actions and remaining close to Him.
APPLICATIONS
The story of Cain and Abel is one of the first tragedies in the story of humanity, but it is such a vital lesson to us as modern-day youth. It is always a necessary part of studying to sit back and meditate on how a story or lesson applies to us today. Below you will find three applications that can benefit the youth in your group and help them meditate on the Word shared today. These applications work both individually and in a group.
Without reading the story in context or diving into its meaning, some people may mistake the way God rejected Cain’s offering to mean that He is stingy and unaccepting. However, God gave particular instructions on how to present an offering, but, most importantly, the intentions with which Cain brought his fruit were skewed as well. Disobeying God’s instructions in a vain attempt to prove our own glory is never the way to go.
Jealousy was arguably part of the first sin; Lucifer was jealous of God and wanted to become better than Him. You may have heard the phrase “green with jealousy.” This implies that someone who is jealous is almost queasy from how hateful they feel to the subject of their envy. Jealousy is not a good feeling, and it can lead people into doing things they normally would never have done. (Cain’s jealousy of Abel overcame him to the point where he committed murder.) Many horrific cases of homicide around the world can be traced back to jealousy. Although it is unlikely that most of us would go that far, jealousy is easily experienced in daily life.
When we make a mistake, the correct thing to do is to apologize and take responsibility. For inconsequential things, especially those done without intent, it is fairly easy to do so. However, for cases where we may have acted with an ulterior motive, taking responsibility is much harder, especially if we feel we can still hide it or argue our case. Asking for forgiveness is our ticket to repentance. In 1 John 1:9, God says that if we confess our sins, He will wipe them away as if they never occurred. We have an eternally merciful God, who only asks for our acknowledgement to provide infinite forgiveness and salvation.
