Great Men and Women of the Bible Abraham

Big Idea: Abram Obeyed God Scripture Reading: Genesis 12:1-5 The LORD had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your fathers household to the land I will show you.2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (NIV) BibleGateway (You can have a child read this Scripture passage or even have several children take turns) Memory Verse: So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Genesis 12:4a Message: God is seeking boys and girls who will obey him. Sometimes, God may ask you to do something that you really may not want to do. Would you be

willing to obey God if he asked you to move to a new land to a new school to a new church? This is what God asked Abraham to do. Listen to this story. There was once this man called Abram. Abram loved God, and tried to obey and do that he thought God would be pleased with in every area of his life. One day, while Abram was having a quiet moment God spoke to him. This is what he said. Lets all read it together. (Provide on poster board or PowerPoint) Go from your country, your people and your fathers household to the land I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) Wow! That was a BIG command. Why would God ask anyone to leave all they had behind to move to a new land? Heres what the Bible says about Abram. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:2; 3b) God had a special plan for Abram on the condition that he obeyed God. When we obey God, he will bless us, too. When God blesses us, he is saying that he approves of what we are doing and how we are living. Can you say that God would approve of all that you do and say in how you treat your family members and friends? Abram packed all his stuff and set out for a new land God had promised to him. He traveled a long ways. He took his wife Sarai with him, and his nephew Lot. Later, God came to Abram and told him to look to the north, the south, the west, and the east to all the land around him on all sides. God told him that he would make his generation of people to be larger than all that. Abram set up an altar to the Lord and God blessed him because he obeyed. God did make a great nation out of Abram. He changed his name to Abraham and Sarai was changed to Sarah. God blessed them with a baby boy called Isaac, when they were both very old. Gods ways are always good.

If you will be obedient to God, no telling what may happen in your life. God has a plan for each one of you. It is up to you if that plan happens. God does not make us do His will. He gives us a free choice to obey or to disobey. Our memory verse says:

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Genesis 12:4a.

Are you willing to do as God tells you to do? His Word gives us the plan that God has for our lives. (Show a bible. Open the verse and have a child read it to the class) Memory Verse Game Provide a bean bag for this game. Call up two children up front. Have them stand across from each other several yards apart. As they say one word at a time they will throw the beanbag to the other person who will in turn say the next word in the verse and send it back. Repeat this until the verse is complete. Then call up two more children. If they drop the beanbag or miss a word, they start over at the beginning again. Questions for Discussion: 1. How was Abram obedient to God? 2. In what ways can you obey God? 3. How do you think Abram may have felt leaving his home behind to go to a new land? 4. In what ways does God talk to us? 5. How did God bless Abram? 6. Can you think of a time when you disobeyed God and felt bad? (Encourage them to share about it if they will)

Learning Game: Draw a large tent for camping as Abram may have done. Ask the children questions about the lesson and have them place a bug outside the tent if they answer correctly. Questions

1. What was the name of the man in the lesson today? 2. What was the name of Abrams wife? 3. What did God tell Abram to do? 4. What did God say he would do for Abram? 5. What was the name of Abrams nephew? 6. What four directions did God tell Abram to look? 7. What did God make out of Abram? 8. Abrams name was changed to? 9. Sarais name was changed to? 10. When did they have a child? 11. What was the name of their baby boy? 12. In what ways can you obey God?

Jeanne McIntosh, January 2014. All rights reserved.

Abram Obeys God

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ABRAM GENERATION LAND SARAI

BABY GOD LOT TENT

BLESS ISAAC OBEY TRAVEL