Genesis Week 6
Sharable notes for the September 17, 2023 message. You can post these notes on your social platform!
Scriptures used: Genesis 16:12; Genesis 21:8-13; 22:1-14; James 1:12; 2:21-22; Hebrews 11:17-19; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Romans 8:32
Passages referenced: Genesis 20-22; 37:25-36; 39:1; Judges 8:24; Psalms 83:2-8; Isaiah 21:11-17; Jeremiah 49:28-33
Difference in testing and temptation:
Temptation is meant to pollute and weaken; Testing is meant to purify and strengthen.
Temptation offers immediate pleasure and gain; Testing often offers immediate pain and loss.
Temptations come from inward desires; Tests come from the Lord.
Temptations are used by the devil to bring out the worst; Tests are used by the Holy Spirit to bring out the best.
Temptations seem reasonable and enjoyable; Tests often seem very unreasonable and unenjoyable.
What we produce according to our will only works against what God produces through His will.
Faith doesn’t demand explanations; faith simply rests on God’s promises.
We have to have more trust in God‘s faithfulness than fear of what we may lose when following God.
Worshipping God is an outpouring of our love towards Him, and a surrender of our affections to Him.
God wants to know that you love him more than you love what he’s given you.
Those who love the Lord their God with everything, completely surrendered to Him, produce a life of blessing and usefulness that touches the world arounds them.
Christianity's not just lip service, it's lifestyle.
True joy comes when you trust God to provide even when you don’t see a way for provision.
Your first step of obedience is the first sign of your dedication, but the first step isn’t the only step.
You don’t have to know the entire plan when you know the provider.
It's not our own strength that pushes us to keep being obedient to God. It's our faith in the strength of God’s character, God’s faithfulness, God’s promises and God’s provision.
Reflect or meet with someone to discuss:
What are your immediate reactions when reading and hearing the account of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac?
Why do you think God would ask this?
What is your initial reaction to situations that happen in your life? Are you more prone to start thinking the worst, or are you more prone to see what God may do through this situation? Why is that?
How have you seen God act as provider in your life when you least expected it?
Click the image to start a new 3 day devotion in YouVersion:
Jehovah-Jireh—The Lord Will Provide. In the story of Abraham and his son Isaac, Abraham did not question God, but knew His ability to provide. In this plan, Tony Evans teaches on the power of the name, and how the story of Abraham affects us today.