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Call to worship: Mark 9:14-24
Text: Genesis 12:10-13:18
Summary:
Bitter providence sends Abram and family into Egypt. On the precipice, his faith comes under the shadow of fear. Charity might say his intentions were good: the preservation of the couple to whom God had promised the Christ. But instead of trusting God for that preservation, Abram tells a truth in service of comfort and executes a plan that works, though it directly endangers the promise. What works isn't always what's right. What's right isn't always comfortable. God delivers His people by plagues prefiguring the Exodus, whereby Abram's faith is taught to take up his cross and trust in God. But faith loses its way again in the narrative of Lot. Given first-dibs on the land before them, Lot chooses what he perceives to be the best of it, and a lot of the best. If fear will not derail the promise, perhaps the promised can have their faith derailed. The devil has his Edens. And whereas Lot decides to go in the direction of the wicked, Abram, exercising a faith in better condition, settles in the land of promise. The City of God is real and on the horizon, and faith, seeing by the radiance of Christ, will, when healthy, count the best of the world as inconsequential in comparison with the riches of God.
Main idea(s):
The salvation of the world rests on God Who is faithful.
Prepare
Discussion Questions:
- Read Genesis 12:10-13:18.