September 15, 2024
The Story | Does God Have Any Use For Me? | Chapter 2
Beginnings: How God Got Things Started, A Chosen People.
The second chapter of The Story introduces us to Abram and Sarah, God's choice for the parents of His chosen people. Not only do we meet Abram and Sarah, but we also begin to see what God is truly like. He chooses a very old, childless couple to start a nation. What is God after? Is He a cruel being who delights in rubbing people's noses in their failures or taunting them with the unattainable? Or is there something in this story that reveals God's heart for all of us?
Songs for this week: Spotify
Chapter 2: Genesis 15:1-7
- Have you ever been cut from a team, dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend, or faced some other form of rejection? If it's not too painful, share that story.
- In Genesis 12, God chooses Abram and Sarah to be the parents of His chosen people. What does it say about God that He chooses two senior citizens to start a nation?
- Abram is honest about his frustration with God not fulfilling His promise (15:3). What would an honest prayer from you to God sound like this week? Where do you need God to fulfill His part?
- Verse 6 says, "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness." Why does God want us to believe in Him? Why isn't it enough for humans to simply try to be good?
- What promise has God given you? What does it mean for you to believe even while you wait?
Share with a friend
Recent Sermons
Acts 3:1-21 - Now what? The story of Acts is what happens after the death and resurrection of Jesus. God takes ordinary people, fills them with His Spirit, and sends them out into the world. It's a crazy idea! Peter and John transform an everyday visit to the Temple into a medical miracle and preach a compelling message to boot. Hundreds of people come to trust Jesus. Just another day of walking in the Spirit.
John 20:24-29 - All through his ministry, Jesus took time to speak with individuals. Even after the resurrection, he never changed course. John records an interaction with Thomas that speaks to doubt and the struggle it is for each of us to believe.
John 12:9-19 -When Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts and cheers of the crowd, there was no mistaking what was happening: the King was back in his rightful place. There were several responses to this long-awaited event: some celebrated, some grumbled, and then… everyone went home. It may have looked anticlimactic, but Jesus wasn’t going anywhere. He had come to do what only the true King of Israel could do.
John 14:1-14 -John’s biography of Jesus slows as he chronicles the week leading up to Jesus’ death. Jesus has a long, careful conversation with the disciples, and today, we listen to the beginning of that conversation. He begins with a strong command: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He then reinforces it with three unshakable assurances: He is going ahead of them, He has cleared the way to the Father, and He will send supernatural power so they can continue His work.
John 8:48-59 -Jesus’ friend John was very careful to record the things that Jesus said about Himself. As an observant Jew, John knew that there is only one God. From time to time, God sent prophets, ordained priests, and crowned kings so that the people of God had someone to lead them to Him. Everyone knew that these leaders only ever pointed to God; they never claimed any status beyond being messengers. But when Jesus came, He was different. He claimed to be “the Light of the World,” “the Truth that sets you free,” and “the Resurrection and the Life”—all of them ridiculous claims for anyone but God to make. That was exactly His point.
Luke 15:11-32 - Jesus tells a story about a father with two lost sons. The rule-breaking younger son was lost in self-indulgence, and the rule-keeping older son was lost in self-righteousness. The father loved both generously and even recklessly. Both needed to be found. Were they?
