week of 11/28

 Unit 3 Session 5

A FAMILY PRESERVED

GENESIS 37-50 

God works through adversity and even the evil actions

of people to bring about good.

We now enter the story of Joseph. We learn in Genesis 37 that Joseph

was Jacob's favorite son, and once again, favoritism caused problems

in this dysfunctional family. Joseph was one of the youngest of Jacob's

children, yet in his dreams, Joseph saw his family bowing down to him

(Gen. 375-11). In their jealousy and spite, the brothers sold Joseph, and

he became a slave to Potiphar in Egypt (Gen. 37:36). Joseph earned great

favor in Potiphar's household but was thrown into prison when Potiphar's

wife lied and said Joseph had tried o sleep with her.

Points to consider:

✞   God is faithful to be present with His people,

     even in adversity.
     * How can we know God cares for us in difficult

        circumstances?

     * Why are we tempted to rely on our own strength

        or ability and not trust God?

✞   God is faithful to prompt forgiveness and 

     reconciliation in His people.

     * How does trusting in God's sovereignty factor

        into our willingness to forgive others?

✞   God is faithful to bring good, even from evil.

     * How does Joseph's story affect the way you

        understand your life circumstances?

week of 11/21

 Unit 3 Session 4

A PLAN UNHINDERED

GENESIS 25-33  

God's plan to bless the world continued, even in spite

of the sin and dysfunction of His people, a people He

was remaking in His image.

Abraham died, but his legacy miraculously continued with his son

Isaac, whose wife faced the same struggle as her mother-in-law,

Sarah. Rebekah was barren, but God heard the prayers of Isaac and

she had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. These brothers competed from

the beginning, and early on, Jacob convinced Esau to give up his

birthright. After this, Isaac followed in his father's footsteps and

listened to the God of Abraham as he settled in Gerar, yet the

descendants of Abraham also followed various paths of sin and

dysfunction.

Points to consider:

✞   God's plan continues despite sin and deception.
     * How does our faith relate to our actions?

✞   God's plan continues despite family dysfunction.

     * How have you experienced God's comfort in the

        midst of hardships or afflictions?

     * Why are God's plans more trustworthy than our

        own?

✞   God's plan continues through changed people.

     * What experiences has God used to transform

        you the most?

week of 11/14

Unit 3 Session 3

A PROMISE TESTED

GENESIS 21-22  ;  Hebrews 11:17-19

God calls on His people to place a deep faith in Him, a

faith that believes God can do the impossible.

For years, Abram lived believing God's promise that he would have

many descendants - that he would become a great nation and through

his offspring all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. God's

promise carried him through trials and troubles, though at times

Abram unwisely tried to help the process along. God even changed

Abram's name as a sign of this promise, and Abram became Abraham.

Through many long years, Abraham's faith in God did not waver. And

then one day, Abraham's faith became sight.

Points to consider:

✞   God provides the son of promise.
     * How should this Biblical account affect our hope

        in God's promises?

✞   God demands the sacrifice of the son of promise.

     * What are some truths about God's tests that we

        should know?

     * How have you seen faith in God lead to extra-

        ordinary acts of obedience?

✞   God provides a substitute for the son of promise.

     * How should we respond to the grace of God in

        providing His Son as a sacrifice in our place for

        our sins?

week of 11/7

   Unit 3 Session 2

A PRIEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

GENESIS 14  ;  Hebrews 5-7

Abram tithed to Melchizedek, a priest to God Most High,

which would point to a greater priesthood than the one

that was to come through Aaron.

From the moment the first two people sinned, a promise has weaved

its way through the history of Genesis: the promise of an "offspring"

(Gen 3:15) - a descendant of the first humans who would defeat the

serpent that led them to sin against God. Generations later, we are

introduced to Abram, whom God promised He would bless and through

whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). God

made a covenant with Abram that would never be broken and further

confirmed it by a priest of God Most High.

Points to consider:

✞   God's servant rescues a captured relative.
     * What are some ways God has proven Himself

        on your behalf when circumstances seemed

        stacked against you?

✞   God's servant is blessed by a priest to God Most High.

     * Why might we struggle to grasp Melchizedek's

        significance in Scripture?

     * What are some ways God continues to bless us?

✞   God's servant tithes to a priest to God Most High.

     * What are some examples of things you do that

        show that all of you belongs to the Lord?

week of 10/31

  Unit 3 Session 1

A PEOPLE PROMISED

GENESIS 11:10-20:18

God established a covenant people through whom He 

promised to bring blessing.

At this point, the world looked bleak. The people of the earth are still

sinful, even after the flood of God's judgment. And now, after Babylon

(or Babel), the people of the world are scattered and unable to

communicate in a unified language. Will God's image-bearers ever

be unified again, or will sin and judgment separate and destroy what

God made very good? Enter Abram, a man whom God chose to receive

a promise to answer this very question.

Points to consider:

✞   God chooses to work through unlikely people.
     * Why does God often choose unlikely people to 

        carry out His plans?

     * What are some ways God has used impossible

        circumstances in your life to bring Himself 

        glory?

✞   God promises a new people through Abram.

     * What are some things God has called you to

        leave behind in order to obey Him in faith?

✞   God uses imperfect people.

     * How can we, as imperfect people, grow in

        faith and believe that God will keep His

        promises to us?

week of 10/23

 Unit 2 Session 4

A PEOPLE SCATTERED

GENESIS 10:1-11:9 ; Isaiah 65:1-7

Rebellion against God and His ways is in the heart of all

people; however, God's grace is greater than all our sin.

The pristine setting of Eden's garden is already a distant memory by

the time we arrive in Genesis 10-11. The first act of human rebellion

in Genesis 3 paved the way for countless more, and not even a world-

wide flood could scrub the wickedness from our hearts. In Genesis 10-11,

as Noah's offspring multiply on the face of the earth, they too turned

away from worshiping and obeying God. Seeking to ascend to God,

humanity repeats the folly of their first parents and rebels against God-

a case study for the doctrine of sin as rebellion.

Points to consider:

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to violate God's commands.
     * Why might a common language contribute to 

        multiplying expressions of human sinfulness

        after the Fall?

     * What are some implications of sin being a heart

        issue and not just a hands issue?

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to rob God's glory.

     * What are some ways we might "make a name

        for ourselves" in rebellion against God?

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to live other than God's way.

     * How can we turn from the path of rebellion and

        instead walk the road that leads to life?

    

week of 10/10

Unit 2 Session 3

A WORLD PURGED

GENESIS 6-9

God is righteoous to judge sin, but He is also gracious to 

provide a way of salvation.

Once upon a time, God saw all that He had made and called it good. Then

God saw what His creatures did and called it evil. The first sin involved

disbelieving the judgment of God was real. Now just a few chapters later,

judgment comes. God's judgment, however, is not an end to all things. In

His gracious hands, judgment becomes the means of salvation.

Points to consider:

✞   God declares that wickedness will bring judgment.
     * How does the world's understanding of sin

        differ from the way the Bible treats it?

✞   God offers grace as the means to escape judgment.

     * What would it look like to "walk with God"?

✞   God provides salvation through judgment.

     * How would you respond to someone who said

        a worldwide flood would be overkill to address

        the problem of wickedness on the earth?

     * How does this true account of the flood help

        to prepare us for the gospel of Jesus Christ?