In Genesis 18, Abraham and Sarah respond with hospitality to strangers, who turn out to be the Lord and angels. They are told again of God's promise that they would bear a son, but Sarah laughs and scoffs at the idea.
God uses circumcision as a sign of the covenant that he establishes between himself and Abraham. It’s a reminder that our life should be fully surrendered to God.
The culture around us tries to shape us into its mold. Culture isn't necessarily bad, but it is when it comes into conflict with what honors God. In Genesis 16, we see Abram and Sarai bending to cultural pressures and making poor choices.
There can be times in life when we question if God hears us and our concerns. These are questions that Abraham raises in Genesis 15. In one of the most important passages of the Old Testament, God establishes his covenant with Abraham and promises that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars.
During a time of conflict and waring armies, we see Abraham honoring God and the people around him through his actions. What are some of the characteristics that make someone honorable?
What's great about Genesis is even though people continue again and again to fall flat on their face, it gives us hope because God doesn't quit on us. He is consistent in his nature that while we continue to fall away from the Lord and reject him, God is faithful.
Continuing our series on Genesis, in today's message Pastor Nathaniel uncovers the problem, the hope, the opportunity and the promise revealed to us in Genesis 11 & 12. Here the story of tower of Babel concludes and we encounter God's promise to Abraham and his response.
In Genesis 11, the prideful descendants of Noah built a tower to the heavens. This displeased God, and He scattered the people of Babel by confusing their language.
In Genesis 9, God gives mankind a second chance after the great flood. He establishes a covenant with Noah that there would never again be a worldwide flood upon the earth.
The first 11 chapters of Genesis cover a period of approximately 1,600 years. One of the events recorded in Genesis 7 and 8 is Noah’s flood, which is full of examples of God’s providence and foreshadows Jesus.
In Genesis 5 and 6, we observe the increasing unfaithfulness of the generations following Adam and Eve. Their unfaithfulness ultimately leads to Noah and the flood, but through it all, we continue to see the faithfulness of God.
In Genesis 4 we see how people's actions are a reflection of their heart. If their priorities are themselves, then they treat those around them as tools or property to be used for selfish purposes. But a heart surrendered to God will seek to honor God and bless the people around them; seeing them as created in God's image and deserving of kindness and respect.
In Genesis 4, we see the outpouring of the human heart in the actions of Cain and Abel. In one we see a heart of adoration and thankfulness to God, and in the other we see a heart of jealousy, anger and malice, leading to the first murder. And what's up with the mark of Cain?
It didn't take long before Adam and Eve began disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. Instead of coming before God to confess their sin, they sought to hide and cover themselves up in an attempt to be presentable before God. In thinking they could work their way back into God's favor, they created the first man-made religion.
In Genesis 2, God creates Eve as a companion to come alongside Adam. He then sets the foundation for marriage, the most intimate of human relationships, just before things go off the rails with the serpent.
In Genesis 2, God creates man and woman, each with value and uniqueness. We were created in God's image to have a personal relationship with him, and we reflect his creative nature.
Genesis starts with a tree and ends with a tree, starts with a garden, ends with a garden, starts near a river, ends near a river. You just see these themes tied together throughout Scripture.
