Stapleton Baptist Church

In Genesis 21 we finally meet the promised son of Abraham--Isaac. God shows himself faithful and comes through on his promises. But we are immediately thrust back into the main storyline of Genesis as we find tension between Isaac & Ishmael. The son of promise and the son of the flesh cannot live together. Let's consider the implications of these two sons.

We are finally ready to meet the promised child of Abraham, but then there's a roadblock. Once again, we find Abraham falling into the same old pattern of fear and deception. He still doesn't quite get it when it comes to relying on God. As usual, God will be the one to rescue Abraham from his own failure, and in the end God's faithfulness will be displayed. 

Genesis 19 is a hard chapter to digest. It's full of sin, wickedness, and foolishness. But sometimes we can learn as much from the bad examples in Scripture as we can from the good examples. We find five lessons to learn from Lot in this story that are all related to temptation and sin. 

In Genesis 18, God once again reiterates his promise that Sarah will give Abraham a son. But how could that be possible? Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100! Biologically the time of bearing children was in the past. But in this chapter we are confronted with the truth that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Something might be impossible or too difficult for us, but nothing is too hard for God!

God is gracious enough to give Abram reminders of his covenant. In Genesis 17 we see God giving Abram an audible reminder in the form of a name change and a physical reminder in the form of circumcision. We will see Abram continue to learn to trust God even when he can't see or hear God. 

Genesis 15 brings us the story of God establishing his covenant with Abram. But we also see Abram is the first person in history to be declared righteous (justified) by God. He becomes the prototype and forefather of all who would find salvation through faith in God.  And it all begins here in Genesis 15.

In Genesis 14 we see God grant Abram a victory over four kings in order to rescue his kinsman Lot. It's what happens after the victory that is interesting. Abram receives a blessing from Melchizedek king of Salem and an offer from the king of Sodom. Let's see how Abram responds to these two very different kings.

Genesis 12:10-13:18. 

In chapters 11 and 12 we come to the most significant transition in the book of Genesis. The remaining 39 chapters of the book will focus in on only four generations of one particular family. That all begins with God's sovereign calling on the life of a man named Abram. In this calling we see the clear themes of God's divine election, God's use of unexpected means, and God's call to go.

On this Resurrection Sunday we look at the story of Thomas, the disciples who could not believe Jesus was alive until he could see him with his own eyes. Thomas gives us hope because his story shows us that God does not despise our doubt. Instead, God sees our doubt and invites us to come out of it into belief and trust.