SCRIPTURE: Genesis 21 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Isaac is a miracle baby, born after Sarah was past child-bearing age. Isaac was the result of God’s gracious intervention. Ishmael was the result of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar’s creative scheming. He was the result of human attempts to accomplish God’s promise. Isaac represents being helped (saved) by God’s grace; Ishmael represents…
the grand mosaic
Reading the Bible is like looking at the above picture.It is actually a collection of individual panels, each one a picture of a person, place or thing. Some panels are light, some are dark, each one contributes to the picture as a whole. The problem is, what is it a picture of? Up close, it does…
the biblical story
Here is a timeline of the story of the Bible. It is a very basic, simplified outline, that divides the story into 5 chapters, with the middle chapter (about Jesus) being the very center. This diagram also makes it clear that the mission of God is to restore His creation.
God uses us despite…
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 20 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Though Abraham is God’s chosen servant, blessed to be a blessing, he is a flawed servant. He still needs to learn to trust God for protection. It seems that Abraham was lying about his wife often, and not even his bad experience in Egypt changed this (Genesis 12:10-20). What is striking here is how…
thank you
Since I shared this video last Sunday (Oct 12, 2008), I’ve had several comments about it and requests for it. It is an amazing song that speaks of the welcome we will receive when the Lord welcomes us into eternity (see Luke 16:9). Paul speaks about the gratitude of people who have been blessed by our generosity (2 Corinthians 9:12-13)….
the dangers of dabbling
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 19 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: It seems that when Lot chose the best land, he also put himself in a compromising place (13:8-13). Lot did not remain immune to their extreme wickedness. Sure, he welcomed and protected these strangers, but to offer his daughters to the men of the city??? That’s just horrible. We should not be…
the God of second chances
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 18 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: God steps into the world, like He did in Genesis 3:8-9, not for His own benefit (as if He needed to visit Abraham to make His promise, or to see the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah to know what was going on), but for our own benefit. God comes to Abraham and Sarah…
the ouch of sin
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 17 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Ouch!!! OK, so the part about God’s promise for an heir is great. The name change is cool, father of many nations! The reaffirmation of His promise to give the land of Canaan to his heirs, great! But the whole circumcision thing just gets to me. I started thinking about what this day…
the God who sees me
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 16 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: If I were a non-Christian reading this, I might wonder to myself how God could promote things like having slaves and having sexual relations with slaves. What would Christians say or do if someone in their congregation followed these practices? I might also be unimpressed with the type of people Abram and Sarai…
how far God goes for us!
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 15 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: God communicated visibly and audibly to Abram. Abram did not doubt that God had spoken, but the things that God said seemed contrary to his experience. How could he be the father of many, if he didn’t have a child? How could he acquire the land of Canaan, if the Canaanites (Amorites)…