ABRAHAM’S FAMILY: LIVING BY FAITH TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS

by HQ Bible Study Team   06/21/2011     0 reads

Question

ABRAHAM’S FAMILY: LIVING BY FAITH TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS

Genesis 12–22
Key Verse: 12:3b               

  1.  What was God’s calling? (12:1–3) What made it hard for Abram and Sarai to obey it? (11:27–12:1; Jos24:2–3; Heb11:8b) How could they possibly go through with this? (12:4a,7–8; Heb11:8) In what sense is this decision foundational to living by faith?
     
  2.  How did Abram fail to depend on God during a time of famine? (12:10–16) How did God help him? (12:17–20) What spiritual lesson did Abram learn through this about depending on God? (13:8–9; 14:22–24) Why is it so important for families to depend on God for material provisions?
     
  3.  What was Abram’s situation and inner condition now? (14:23–24; 15:1–3) What fatalistic life problem did he reveal? How did God plant faith in him? [Note the process God used (15:1,4–5).]  What did God reveal about himself by showing him the stars?
     
  4.  What does it mean that “Abram believed the LORD”? (15:6a; Isa40:26,28a) What credit did God give him? (15:6b) What does “righteousness” mean? (Ro4:3–5) Why was God so pleased? (Heb11:6) What can we learn here about how house churches can be pleasing to God? (Gal3:6–9)
     
  5.  What plan did Abram and Sarai make? (16:1–4a) What was God’s greater plan for them? (17:4–8,15–16) How would God’s covenant of circumcision help them to deny themselves and accept God’s plan? (17:10–14; cf. Dt10:16; 30:6; Ro2:29) How did Abraham express his faith? (17:23) Why is this so important for house church ministry?
     
  6.  After circumcision, what change can we see in Abraham’s family in the way they welcomed strangers? (18:1–8) How and why did God share his plan with Abraham? (18:17–21; 2Ch20:7) In light of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, why is it so important to teach “the way of the Lord” and pray for the lost? (18:19,23–33)
     
  7.  When conflict arose between Ishmael and Isaac, what did God tell Abraham to do? (21:8–13) How did he show his trust in God? (21:14) How did this event help him to grow as a God-centered man? (21:33) How did God take care of those for whom he was concerned? (21:15–21) What, if anything, needs to be removed from your ministry?
     
  8.  What was God’s test to Abraham? (22:1–2) In what respects was this difficult for him to do? How could he resolve this matter through faith? (Heb11:17–19) How did this act of faith make him a source of blessing? (22:16–18) What lesson can we find here for house church ministry about loving God most?

Manuscript

List