Blessings to Many-Abraham

Transcription

1 GRADE 7 Blessings to Many-Abraham AIM: To learn that when we are faithful and obedient to God s call, he will make us a blessing for others. Theme : Be a blessing in God s world Genesis 12:1-9 (NRSV) UNIT 1, LESSON 4 Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb. Hebrew 11:8-10 (NRSV) 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

2 Page 2 UNIT 1, LESSON 4 Student Introduction Today, we are going to learn about God s promises and how although we will face problems and struggles, God will keep his end of his promise if we put our wholehearted trust in him. We are all in the habit of asking favors and promises from friends and parents. You probably have promised your parents that you will do chores around the house if they allow you to go to a friend s house or to stay up late. You have perhaps made a promise to your friend that they have your confidentiality in exchange for them to reveal their secrets to you. Everyone at one point or another has made a pinky promise with their siblings or friends. These promises are sometimes kept and answered, and sometimes they are broken. God s promises are not like that of our friends and parents. If you trust God and are faithful, He will keep his promises and will bless you accordingly. For Abraham, it took many years for the Lord to fulfill his promise of making him into a great nation. When we struggle and feel discouraged, it may feel like the Lord is not answering us or keeping his end of the promise. You may question where the Lord is during those tough times. Through the example of Abraham, we can learn that the Lord will always keep his promise if we stay strong in our faith amidst our problems. It might not be immediate, but everything truly happens in His timing. Have you ever heard of a great Canadian role model named Terry Fox? At the young age of 19, Terry was diagnosed with cancer. Just hearing the diagnosis of cancer can cause patients to feel anger and sadness. Terry took his diagnosis as the fuel for his fire to send a message to Canada that anything is possible. After having his leg amputated due to the severity of his bone cancer, Terry made it his mission to walk across Canada. This feat is no easy job for even a healthy individual, as Canada is one of the world s largest countries. Terry called his journey the Marathon of Hope, and he began his journey inspiring people across the country. After 143 days of travelling 5373 kilometers ( 3339 miles) Terry passed away sadly from cancer. Although Terry did not finish his mission, today runs and marathons are made across the world in honor of this Canadian Hero. Through his determination to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research, Terry has given hope to many young children who suffer from cancer and became a blessing to many in this world. Terry Fox Bible Exploration The name Abram means Exalted Father. Later, with the promise of the divine covenant, his name changed to Abraham, which means Father of the multitude. He was born in Ur of the Chaldes, and was the son of Terah. He had no children. He was a nomad, moved from place to place, tending to his sheep. From Ur, he moved to Haran. At the age of 75, he received the calling from God to move to a new place. God promised to make him a great nation and make his name great and that he will be a blessing to many.

3 UNIT 1, LESSON 4 Page 3 Abraham went from Haran to the land of Canaan as the Lord had told him to go with his wife Sarah, nephew Lot, and with all their belongings. When he reached Shechem, God again appeared to Abraham and said To your offspring, I will give this land. Abraham built an alter to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent. There, he made an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. Abraham had to go away to Egypt temporarily due to a famine in Canaan but returned with his family and belongings shortly after. In Canaan, God blessed Abraham immensely with livestock, silver and gold. It soon became evident that all the servants and the herds could not coexist in the same area, and so they separated. Abraham gave Lot the first choice to choose his preferred land and demonstrated his unselfishness. Abrahamic Covenant: Gen.12:1-3 God chose Abraham because of his unconditional or blind faith. God made promises to Abraham that required nothing in return but his faith (Genesis 15:18-21) There are 3 main promises to the Abrahamic Covenant: The promise of Land (Gen.12:1). The promise of descendants (Gen.12:2) The promise of blessings and redemption (Gen.12:3) God fulfilled all the above promises to Abraham because he listened faithfully and was ready to sacrifice even his first born son Isaac for God. Abraham Is known as the father of Israel Abraham lived up to 175 years and became a great blessing to many. He holds a prominent position in history as the father of the Hebrew nation (Israel). Abraham s blind faith in God is a great example for us to follow. Activities As a class, choose a city around the world that you could move to (eg: Beijing, Sydney, Paris, etc). Discuss what things would excite you about moving to a new city, and things that would terrify you about the big move. After discussing both sides of the argument, circle whether you would or would not move to the city you have chosen. I have decided that I am willing/not willing to move to. Pros of Moving to a New City Cons of Moving to a New City

4 Let s Review 1. What was the call of Abraham? Genesis 12:1 2. What were the different aspects of Abrahamic covenant? Gen.12: How did Abraham respond to God s call? Gen.12: List three great characteristics of Abraham that made him the father of believers. (Obedience to God s call, his blind faith and his relationship with God) Values For Life If you remain steadfast in your faith and be obedient to His call, God will make you a blessing to others Blessings does not mean having material possessions, but experiencing the presence of God in every walk of your life God always needs people like Abraham who are obedient to his call and be a blessing to the community and the world Faith In Action List all the blessing you got from God as an individual, as a family. Why do you think God gave you all these blessings? How can you share your blessings with the needy and suffering in your community? How strong is our faith? Does our faith falter in times of trouble and adversities? Give an example of your strong faith. God has made a covenant with man through Jesus Christ. He sent his only son to save us from our sins. Think about something that is currently giving you stress, make the commitment today to pray about it and to put your full faith in Christ.

5 Memory Verse I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3 Closing Prayer Almighty God, Giver and Sustainer of Life, Thank you for allowing us to gather here in your name and learn about the faith of Abraham, and how you made him a blessing to many. Give us the spirit, the mind and eagerness to love and trust you. Enable us to believe that you are there always with us in our adversities and make our lives a blessing to many. Lord, thank you for giving your son Jesus Christ. Strengthen us to have an unwavering faith and enable us to trust and obey you completely. Make us a blessing to many, as you made our forefathers: Abraham, Jacob and Isaac. Amen