Lesson from the Wesleyan Christian Advocate at the bottom of this page.

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Abraham Thanking God for Giving Him a Son

Artist M. Melling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham for information about Abraham.

A map of Abraham’s Journeys

Dear Creator and Lord: Often, when we are presented with opportunities beyond our own imagination, we laugh and disbelieve. Sarah's laughter then is no different from our own now. When you present us with some amazing new possibility, be it love, faith, trust, or any other of your many and manifest blessings, often we disbelieve. We disbelieve because we cannot imagine success outside of our own expectations. Help us Lord to see not what we can be, but to see what you would have us do, and help us to trust you, so that your will for us is successful. Amen.    Drew Cottle

Hymns for United Methodists Based on Genesis 17

UMH   – The United Methodist Hymnal

MVPC -  Mil Voces Para a Celebrar ( Spanish)

CLUW -  Come, Let Us Worship (Korean)

TFWS -   The Faith We Sing           

Compiled by Dean McIntyre (dmcintyre@gbod.org),

Director of Music Resources for the General Board of Discipleship.Copyright © 2006 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, PO Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Worship website: www.umcworship.org.

This listing may be printed, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church worship or education website as its source. It may not be used for profit or republication without prior permission.

Consider this site for art work related to this lesson:

http://www.textweek.com/art/abraham.htm

 ----- Lesson as found in the Wesleyan Christian Advocate

September 10, 2006                 Trusting Promises

Genesis 17:1-8; 15-22

A teacher reminded a little boy, “Didn't you promise to behave? And didn’t I promise to punish you if you didn’t?”  The student said, “Yes, but I thought since I broke my promise, I didn’t expect you to keep yours.”

God is always faithful to keep promises.  When we are faithful to keep our promises to God, we find life much easier.

Walk Before Me

You often hear people say, “He can talk the talk, but he can’t walk the walk.”  The word “walk” in the Bible often refers to a person’s character.  When God began to talk to Abraham about a covenant relationship, the first command was “Walk before me.”   Oswald Chambers said, “Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence,.” Trust paves the way for our journey to be filled with joy.

Those who take their doctor’s advice find walking to be a healthy and refreshing daily activity.  Walking before God is also a daily activity. Step by step we come near to God. Step by step trust is built. When our relationships of trust are broken, we step back and begin again. To walk before God is to make our selves present and available to God.

At the end of the children’s song “Hokey-Pokey,” the verse invites us to put our whole selves “in” and turn about in celebration. God’s call upon Abram and Sarai was to place their whole selves into God’s journey.

As United Methodists, we affirm that we continue growing as Christians as we are “going on to perfection.” If we hear God’s call to Abram and Sarai to walk without fault or mistake, we miss the goal of Christian perfection. Rather than being obsessed with being completely correct, strive for wholeness. Staying at one point in our spiritual history halts our current walking in the present. Even with all the experience and wisdom that Abram and Sarai’s years had provided, God called for new directions and new journeys.

New Names
What’s in a name? Think of the struggle parents go through as they try to find just the right name for a baby. Our name identifies us to the rest of the world and gives us our place in our family.
We have customs of taking new names in marriage. The informal nick names we receive from the events of our lives or the actions of our personalities signify who we are or who we were. A respected community pharmacist was called “Red” by his peers, who knew him in the days that he had hair and hair that was deep auburn.
When we place our whole trust in God we become a new person in God. As a new person with new purpose, it is fitting to have new names. At baptism we celebrate the beginning of a new relationship with God and name the person who begins this journey. So it was with Abram and Sarai.
 
Think for a moment, if you took on a new name that would speak of your relationship of trust in God what might you select? What names might God or others give you that describe your relationship of trust?
 
Establishing a Covenant

God is clear about establishing an everlasting promise through God’s actions. God is at work through people, but not on our terms. The details of the covenant are as important, because they are signs of God’s establishing the relationship and the measure of the covenant.  Both Ishmael and Isaac are to be blessed by God, but the covenant will be made by God, through Isaac. God calls for Abraham and Sarah to trust God through both the present and the future, through both the larger vision and the details.

A man named Russell Herman left trillions of dollars to thousands of people he’d never met.  The catch was that he didn’t have any money.  He was just a simple, poor carpenter.  Herman had great intentions, but he lacked the resources needed to make them a reality.  The greatness of God, however, stands in sharp contrast. God not only has made great and precious promises, He has the ability to follow through on every single one of them.

Unlike human plans and commitments which are always subject to change, the promises of an eternal God are reliable. A house caught fire, and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms. He called out to his son, "Jump! I’ll catch you." But the boy hesitated, because all he could see was flame, smoke, and blackness. His father yelled: "Don’t worry! I’ll catch you!" The boy protested, "But Dad, I can’t see you!" The father replied, "But I can see you and that’s all that matters." The boy jumped, not because he could see where he was jumping, but because he trusted his father.

That’s what faith in God is. It’s when we totally depend on the kindness of someone we can’t see with our eyes. The prevailing product of God’s covenant is that forever we are never alone for God is faithful, and God is with us.

"Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God." # 374 United Methodist Hymn