· God’s promises require action
· Genesis 11:31-32 -31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
· Before you settle, ask if you are settling.
· God allows U-turns.
· Genesis 12:1-3 - The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from
your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
· If you follow Jesus, God promises you your life will
count.
· Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s handiwork, created
in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
· If you follow Jesus, God promises you a path for
character/soul formation
· Philippians 3:8 - 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
· If you follow Jesus, God promises you your life will have impact.
· Is your refusal to move keeping you from God’s promises?
· Never say never to God.
· Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is confidence in what we hope
for and the assurance of what we do not see.
· 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and
Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of
Canaan, and they arrived there.
· Claiming the promises of God requires you to move.
· 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and
said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of
the Lord. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
· God has a promise for you
· You must claim God’s promises
· What promise do you need to claim?
Group Discussion Questions
Starter: Have you ever left something or someone behind to claim a better future? What was that like for you?
1. Read Genesis 11: 27-32
2. Why do you think Terah didn’t finish the journey? What emotions might have stopped him?
3. Read Genesis 12:1-3
4. God’s great promise to Abraham sets in motion the rest of the Bible. What do you think Abraham felt when he first God’s promises? How do you imagine his conversations with Sarai and Terah went?
5. Which of these promises to Abraham do you think also
might be a promise to you? Why?
6. Read Genesis 12:4-5.
7. Is there a journey of faith you need to start today? Would you mind sharing it?
8. Read Genesis 12:6-9
9. Abraham claims the promise of God by walking the land. What do you need to do today to claim the promises of God?
