*Adapted from The Storyformed Way – Somma Communities
Scene 1 ~ Beginnings
Story from Genesis 1-3, Job 38, Isaiah 14, Revelation 12
This story is found in the Bible, and is about God, a being that was before all things, and created this earth and everything on it. God alone always does what is good and right and perfect—the Bible calls him holy.
While God was creating the foundations of the earth, angels watched with amazement, singing together and shouting for joy! God created these beautiful angels to worship him. But some of these angels rebelled against God and his ways – any rebellion against God is called sin. God will not allow sin to remain in his presence, so he sent the rebellious angels into darkness on the earth, to face final punishment later.
Scene 2 ~ First Humans
Story from Genesis 1-2, Psalm 8
Then God decided he would create another being, one that was lower than the angels, called a human.
So God took the earth and prepared it as a place for humans to live. His Spirit moved over the surface of the earth as…
He made light–separating it from the darkness…
He divided the oceans and the sky…
He gathered the waters–so dry land would appear…
He grew plants, flowers, and trees with seeds to reproduce themselves…
He created the sun, the moon and the stars–setting the days and seasons in to motion…
He filled the seas with fish, the sky with birds, and the earth with all kinds of wild animals!
God put great care and creativity into all of his creation, Then he looked at everything and said, “This is good!”
After he had prepared the earth God said, “Let us make humans in our image, to be like us. They will be in charge of the earth and the plants and the animals that live on it.”
So God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed his own breath into him, giving him life. This man would be called Adam.
Later, God created the first woman, Eve, from one of Adam’s ribs, to be a companion and helper for Adam. So God created both the man and the woman in his own image.
God blessed the man and the woman with the ability to continue creating through having children. He told them, “Be fruitful and multiply.” He placed the humans in a beautiful garden, a place where they had everything they needed to live life to the fullest.
In the center of the garden God placed two special trees. One was the Tree of Life and the other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. God said that Adam and Eve could eat from any tree in the garden, except for one—the tree that would give them knowledge of good and evil. He warned them not to eat from this tree or they would surely die…
Daily, God would come and spend time with the humans, walking with them in the cool of the day. He showed them how to live in the best possible way—a life lived close to God and under his protection— a life that is full and complete. And Adam and Eve loved being with God.
As God looked over all of his creation he thought, “this is VERY GOOD!” After creating all of this God rested, and he set aside a day of rest each week for his creation.
Scene 3 ~ Separation
Story from Genesis 1-3
One day, a serpent—the most clever of all the animals in the garden—came to the woman. He asked Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?”
Eve told him, “No, we can eat from any tree in the garden. It’s only the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that we are not allowed to eat from—or even touch, or we will die.”
The serpent said to her, “You won’t die! God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God—knowing everything, both good and evil.”
When Eve saw how good and delicious the fruit looked, and that it would make her wise, she took some of it and ate it. She also gave some to Adam, her husband, who was with her, and he ate it! They chose not to believe God and to believe the lie. Instantly their eyes were opened and they became filled with shame and fear. They strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover their nakedness.
Toward evening they heard God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. God called to them, “Where are you?” Adam answered, “I heard you coming and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God answered, “Why are you ashamed of being naked? Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?” Adam blamed Eve saying, “It was the woman you gave me. She gave me some.” Then God said to Eve, “How could you do this?” Eve blamed the serpent saying, “The serpent tricked me into eating the fruit.”
So God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. You will be the enemy of the woman and her children. You will bite his heel, but he will crush your head.”
God’s heart was broken because of their disobedience, but he could not ignore what they had done. God always does what is good, right and perfect—his perfect justice required that there be consequences for rebellion. So God punished Adam and Eve by throwing them out of the Garden outside of his care and protection. No longer following God’s way, they were now subject to sickness, pain and death. God continued to love Adam and Eve—he even created clothing for them out of animal skins so they would not be ashamed outside of the Garden.