People of the Bible: Abraham

Book of the Bible: Genesis 12-21

The man we know as Abraham first appears in the Bible in Genesis 12 as a man named Abram. God spoke to Abram and told him to leave his home to a place God would show him. Abram was 75 years old when God called him to leave his home.

Even though Abram was old, he and his wife, Sarai had never been able to have children. Abram and Sarai were disappointed that they didn’t have any kids, but one day God gave Abram a promise. God said that He would make Abram into a great nation and his offspring would be more numerous than the dust of the year and the stars of the sky.

Even though Abram and Sarai were very old, God promised to give them children. They believed in the promise God gave them and it was credited to them as righteousness. However, quite a bit of time went by and they still didn’t have any kids. Abram was 99 years old; he had all but given up on the idea of ever having children, but God reminded him of His promise.

God promised to make him a father of a nation. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham and He changed Sarai’s name to Sarah as a sign of His promise. God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son in the next year. God kept His promise, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, they had a boy and named him Isaac.

Even though it took 25 years, God kept His promise to Abraham and Sarah. We can have the confidence to believe in God’s promises because we have stories like this one that prove God’s faithfulness.

Eventually, Jesus would be born into Abraham’s family. Jesus had the same kind of faith Abraham had. Jesus obeyed everything God told him to do, even dying on the cross. Jesus did this because he knew he could trust God’s promises even when things don’t look good. In the same way, we too can trust in God’s promises!

Key Takeaways:

• Abraham believed God

• Even when it looked impossible, God kept His promise

• Even today, God still keeps His promises!

Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Abraham", both in-person and online this week.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Noah

Book of the Bible: Genesis 6-9

After the Fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), the earth became an increasingly evil and wicked place. God was deeply grieved by the sins of mankind so He decided to wipe them out, along with all the creatures of the earth. Noah, however, found favor with God. God told Noah to build an ark because He was going to send a flood to destroy the earth.

Noah listened to God and did everything He said. Before the flood, God sent two of every kind of creature for Noah to put on his ark. Once Noah loaded the ark with all the animals and his family, God made it rain 40 days and 40 nights. The earth was covered with water for months. Every man and animal that wasn’t on the ark died.

God wiped out His creation because it became wicked. But God started fresh with Noah and his family and two of each kind of animal. God made the waters recede and eventually, the ark came to rest. While the earth was drying, Noah sent a dove to see whether the water was gone from the earth’s surface. He did this three times, each time seven days apart:

• The first time the dove came back with nothing because water still covered the ground.

• The second time the dove came back with an olive leaf in its beak.

• The third time the dove didn’t return, which told Noah the ground was dry.

After Noah and the animals got out of the ark, God sent a rainbow as a sign to them. God promised them that He would never destroy the earth again by sending a flood. God promised to always remember us, and when we see a rainbow we should remember Him.

God always remembers us, even when we don’t. Just like God made a covenant with Noah through the rainbow, God has made a covenant with us through the cross. Because of His love and the sacrifice of His one and only son we can live in the promise of everlasting life.

Key Takeaways:

• God judged the world because it was wicked

• God saved Noah’s family and two of every kind of animal

• A rainbow is a sign of God’s promise

Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Noah”, both in-person and online this week.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

How The Bible Teaches Us To Celebrate Christmas

We celebrate Christmas because Jesus our Savior was born. We celebrate his birth because we know what his birth and death means for us. It means that we can have eternal life in heaven if we believe in him. The Bible gives us the reasons for our celebration, but it also tells us how to celebrate. We are to worship God and give to others.

After Jesus was born several different people wanted to see him. First an angel appeared to some nearby shepherds. The angel told them that the long awaited Savior had been born. They went to see Jesus and when they found him they told of everything the angel had told them. After they left they started worshipping God. We are to worship God in the same way, giving thanks to him for giving us a Savior.

Another group of people that went to see Jesus were the wise men. These wise men were from a far away land. They had seen a star arise and they wanted to worship this newborn king. They used this star as a guide to find Jesus. When they found him they also bowed in worship. These wise men also gave Jesus gifts. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (very expensive items for that time and region).

Christmas today is filled with people worshipping God and giving gifts because that is what the Bible tells us happened as a result of Jesus’s birth. We should all worship God and care for those around us because of what Jesus means to us.

Besides the story of his miraculous birth, we know strikingly little about Jesus’s childhood. This most likely means that he had a fairly normal one. He most likely played with his friends, went to school, and did chores around the house just like we do now. However, we do have one story from his childhood and that is also found in Luke 2.

When Jesus was 12 years old, his family traveled to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. After the festival was over and Mary and Joseph were traveling home they realized that Jesus had been left behind. They went back to Jerusalem and found him sitting with the teachers in the Temple. Jesus was astounding them with his understanding of the Bible and how wise he was at such a young age. It proves to us that we are never too young to learn and to grow.

The end of Luke says that Jesus continued to grow in many ways. Just like we grow in size, we also are to grow spiritually. The more we study and the more we spend time with God the more we will grow. That is what Jesus did. Jesus was just like us, but he grew in God and became the person we all know and love. It was through this growth that he gave his life for us. We are called to this same growth. This is what we have the opportunity to do day in and day out. The more we learn, the more we grow. And learning about God is the best thing to learn about.

Key Takeaways:

• Worship

• Give

• Grow

Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Jesus is Born”, both in-person and online this week.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.