GOALS for TODAY’S TEACHING - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

GOALS for TODAY’S TEACHING

Be a little bit

shorter

than usual ?!?!

Textual

information Genesis 11:27 - 12:3 (and reference

ch

15-renewal of covenant promise)

Challenges

to us drawn

from the texts:

God’s

exclusive purpose and inclusive heart

!

Is God really

stubbornly committed to us

?

Are we

stubbornly committed to God

?Slide2

Genesis 11:27-30

27

Now

these are the

generation

s

of

Terah

.

Terah

was the father of

Abram,

Nahor

, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 

28

Haran died before his father

Terah

in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 

29

Abram and

Nahor

took wives; the name of

Abram’s wife was Sarai

, and the name of

Nahor’s

wife was

Milcah

. She was the daughter of Haran the father of

Milcah

and

Iscah

. 

30

Now

Sarai was barren

; she had

no child.Slide3

Genesis 11:31-32

31

Terah

took

his son Abram

and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and t

hey

went out

together from Ur

of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan;

but

when they came to

Haran, they settled there

. 

32

The days of

Terah

were

two hundred five years

; and

Terah

died in Haran

.

(such migrations were common in this area & era – God usually does the “unusual” in the midst of the “usual” )Slide4

Genesis 12:1-3: initial

call

,

initial

promise

,

7 part blessing

1

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 

2

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 

3

I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed

.”Slide5

Genesis 12:1

1

Now the

LORD

(YHWH)

said

to Abram, “

Go from

your country and your kindred and your father’s house

to

the land that

I will show

you. 

1

st

of

7 times

YHWH speaks directly to Abram

(

over period of @ 100

years –

avg

once per 15

yrs

)

“Go

from

” – family, culture,

land,

and gods (see: Joshua 24:1-3 [“other gods”] and

Deut

26:5 [“wandering Aramean”])

“go

to

…I

will

show you”-(evidence when done)Slide6

Genesis 12:2

PERSONAL PROMISES – YHWH to Abram

:

Part 1 – “

I

will

make of

you

a

great

nation,

”

Part 2 – “and

I

will

bless

you

,”

Part 3 – “and

I

will make

your

name great

,”

RELATIONAL/INTERPERSONAL PROMISES

:

Part 4 – “

so

that

you

will

be

blessing

.”

(

blessed to be a

blessing – shared gifts)Slide7

Genesis 12:3

RELATIONAL/INTERPERSONAL PROMISES

(

cont

)

Part 5 –

3”

I

will

bless

those who bless

you

,”

Part 6 – “and

the one who

curses

(Heb.

kalil

- abuses or treats with contempt)

you

I

will

curse,

(

Heb.

aror

–withdraw blessings from

);” (@ JPS-

Sarna

)

UNIVERSAL PROMISE

–

PURPOSE

of the other 6:

Part 7 – “and

in you

all the families of the earth

shall be blessed

.”Slide8

CHALLENGE 1

– Dynamic Tension

INCLUSIVE – EXCLUSIVE

God’s (YHWH’s)

INCLUSIVE HEART

– “all

the families

of the earth”

God’s (YHWH’s)

EXCLUSIVE PURPOSE

in HISTORY – “

in you

” - reach GOD’S goal of ONE FAMILY of GOD and Humans in IMAGE OF GOD – w/b

through Abraham’s family

in history (later steps of covenant - Israel/Jews, Moses, David, Jesus, “go to all nations”)Slide9

CHALLENGE 2A

:

GOD’S STUBBORN COMMITMENT

TO US HUMANS

World history is

still being shaped by these words 4000 years later! From the

stubborn God

?

Abraham’s journey

and its

ups and downs:

- Is

YHWH really working and faithful

?

Genesis 15

vision –

God takes the “obligation and curses”

of covenant upon

God’s-self.

“I would rather not exist than

fail to keep my promise to you.”Slide10

CHALLENGE 2B

:

GOD’S STUBBORN COMMITMENT

TO US HUMANS

Is God that stubbornly committed

to humans/to us/to you/to me?

Is

Jesus God’s ultimate plea

to us humans?

“

Look

at Jesus: I love you human children” “I would

rather not exist than fail to love you

”

“

I am

stubbornly committed to your good in the

best and the worst of situations

”Slide11

CHALLENGE 3A: Do We/You/I

want to be that Stubbornly Committed to God

?

Like Abraham

we will need:

lots of

help

Lots of

forgiveness for failures

Lots of

renewals

of our

commitmentSlide12

CHALLENGE 3B:

COMMUNION – Renew

our Commitments

Renew

your

willingness to receive

God’s stubborn love for you

given thru Abraham/Jesus

Renew

your

desire to be stubbornly committed

to God and God’s Son Jesus

Renew

your willingness

to receive

:

Help of the God’s Spirit

in good and bad times

Forgiveness

for failures through Jesus

God’s goal

– more “into the image of Jesus” daily