Every individual has ancestors, and every family has a story—even if that story is obscure or largely unknown. Matthew created a careful record of Jesus’ family to help us understand the significance of Jesus, and Jesus’ list of ancestors contains insights and surprises. We can prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ birth by remembering the family that helped bring him into this world, and we may even understand our own story a little bit better.

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As you try to follow Jesus, when have you hit a speed bump of confusion and struggled to move forward? Abraham and Sarah’s stories speed along to conclusion, while creating some confusing obstacles—death, a search for a bride, and an unfulfilled promise. By examining Abraham’s example of faith, we can learn to live faithfully even when feeling confused.

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Turn on the news. Pick up your phone. Think about your past experiences. Look at your family’s current situation. We often find ourselves feeling out of control. As humans, we desire control in our life and the world around us. As we continue to look at the journey of faith that Abraham and Sarah found themselves on, we will see a kind of faith that rests in God even when things feel out of our control. We find God calling us to prepare, trust, and worship no matter what is going on around us.

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Abraham's failure to trust in God leads to deception with Abimelech. Twenty-five years later, Abraham repeats the same mistake he made in chapter 12. He falls again into deception and failure, which shows believers how easily it is to slip back into sinful habits. However, God is faithful even when we are not. God's faithfulness rescues them from Abimelech and fulfills His promise by giving Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac. God demonstrates His grace and faithfulness to Hagar and Ishmael because of His love toward Abraham.

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What’s wrong with this world and how does God call us to interact with a culture in rebellion against him? After Abraham served God himself and two angels a meal, he asked God to extend mercy on flagrantly wicked people. Although God rescued Abraham’s family members, Abraham watched cities burn in terrible judgment, within twenty-four hours. Discerning how to be engaged with a culture that is against God has always been challenging for God’s people. Together, we look for wisdom by learning from God’s judgment and his mercy.

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As God continued confirming his promises to Abraham, Abraham and Sarah turned their hesitant and halting faith into obedient action. Growing up progresses step-by-step and often feels slow to a child but rapid to an adult. God guides our life of maturing in faith as we understand who we are in relationship to him and obediently follow him one step at a time. Together, let’s learn from Abraham and Sarah’s example of growing up in their faith.

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Christianity diverges from all other faith traditions by emphasizing God’s actions for us rather than our work for God, and Abraham’s story is the beginning of that change. This weekend Abram and Sarai show us beautiful faith that is far from perfect, and we learn the essential dynamics of relationship with God.

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What does a life of following God really look like? The portrait of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis provides the earliest and most complete picture of a life of trusting God and his promises. This weekend, we begin inspecting the surprising twists and turns in the life of faith.

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In the aftermath of the Babel account, God chose one particular family to bring blessing to the whole earth. In this first sermon in our new series, we’ll explore two of the first examples of a life of faith. Abraham and Sarah believed God’s promise, but (like us) their faith was often weak and their lives full of missteps. They discovered their failures were never enough to overcome God’s grace and promise. Through their story, we’ll discover how we can trust God to keep his promises.

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Job asked repeatedly for an audience with God and finally he seems to receive exactly what he wanted…or does he? God seems to leave many of Job’s (and our) questions about suffering unanswered. Instead of revealing answers, God reveals himself to Job. At the conclusion of Job’s story, we receive a new view on who God is and what he expects of us.

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