We will discover another man named Abraham aka Abram who lived c. 2000 B.C.
Bible Reading: Genesis 12:1-3
Fill in the blanks with these words: blessed | believed | promise| nation | people
- God made a __________ to Abram.
- God said Abraham’s descendants would be a great _________ and that through him “all _________ on earth will be _________.”
- Abraham and his wife Sarah were very old and had no children; but Abraham __________ the promise, and God credited it to him as righteousness.
Discussion
- Do you believe people when they make a promise to you? Why or why not?
- Why were God’s promises to Abraham humanly impossible to be fulfilled?
- Why do you think Abraham believed God’s promise?
- Abraham’s descendants became the nation called Israel. How did God’s promise to Abraham come true that all nations of the world would be blessed?
Matthew 1:1 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Word List:
1 aka ~ also known as
2discover ~ to find or learn about
3c. 2000 B.C. ~ circa (about) 2000 years before Christ
4promise ~ to state with confidence what you will do
5descendants ~ your family (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc….)
6righteousness ~ to be free from guilt or sin before God
7genealogy ~ specific people in your family
Advanced Discussion
Describe how the words “promise, trust, relationship, commitment, responsibility” are connected.
Some promises are made without much thought like “See you next Tuesday for lunch.” Being polite, we may say, “Sure, I can come to your party.” We intend to follow through but something more important might interfere with our plans or we may even forget! Sometimes we make very significant promises, like in our marriage vows.
To gain the trust and respect of those we associate with ~ family, friends, coworkers, etc., we should strive to treat everything we say as a promise to be kept. When we are unable to keep a promise, even a simple one, we should let the person affected know ahead of time to prevent disappointment and to maintain trust. Trust is hard to establish with another person, but can be easily damaged.
It is important to be a man or woman of your word. Every word carries weight.
More about God’s promises…
Abraham had great faith. God said that Abraham had a right relationship with Him because of his faith. God kept His promise to Abraham. Sarah had a son named Isaac. Through Isaac’s son Jacob and through the twelve sons of Jacob, the nation of Israel was born.
God also promised that through one of Abraham’s descendants the entire world would be blessed. God kept His promise from generation to generation until eventually the blessing to the entire world came through Abraham’s descendant Jesus.
God is trustworthy to keep His word. God has also given us a promise today. Discover a relationship with God by understanding His promises to you.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Word List
interfere – to stop or prevent from continuing
vow – a solemn promise
strive – to achieve with great effort
promise – to make a firm commitment
damaged – to be harmed
Abraham – the father of the nation of Israel
descendants – generations of your children and children’s children
commitment – one’s personal choice or decision to take a certain course of action; loyalty to a promise
nation of Israel – descendants of Abraham
