Ice Breaker: Was there ever a time in your life when someone stood up for you or pursued you in a time of difficulty (the way that Abram chased after Lot to rescue him from trouble)?
 
The Vertical and The Horizontal

Many of us believe or hope that our “vertical” relationship with the Lord will fix our “horizontal” problems or relationships. Can you share a time when you were disappointed that didn’t occur the way you had hoped or expected?

• READ 2 Corinthians 9:8 and 2 Peter 1:3.
• What promise is present in both of these verses?
• What do these verses and their promise communicate is God’s vertical plan to impact the horizontal issues, relationships, and other areas of everyday life?
• How do we access the divine power of grace that’s available and needed?
• What does the second half of 2 Peter 1:3 point us to pursue?
• How does this knowledge lead to us have access to divine power?

 
Abram’s Vertical and Horizontal Life
 
Silently READ Genesis 12:10-20.

• What horizontal issue is Abram is faced with?
• How does Abram try to control this difficulty himself and how does his self-reliance lead to more difficulty?
• Have you ever made your situation or stress level worse by trying to control the issue your own way?
• How could Abram have navigated his stress and fear in a more God-honoring, God-dependent way?
• Name some difficult, horizontal scenes from Jesus’ life where He honored and depended on God. How was God glorified by Jesus’ dependence? How were people blessed by Jesus’ dependence?

                                                                                                                                                                                            Silently READ Genesis 13:1-18.

• What horizontal issue is Abram faced with?
• In what way do prosperity or material things tempt you toward self-focus or God-forgetfulness?

​Abram is able to draw on vertical grace to relate to Lot with peacemaking and generosity. Pastor Thomas relayed the beauty of this God-centered living with the following parallels:

• Rather than “Get out of my way!” grace-full hearts say, “How can I care for you?
• Rather than “I’m the one in charge here!” grace-full hearts say, “How can we solve this peacefully?”
• Rather than “My stuff. My way. Me. Me. Me!” grace-full hearts say, “My true riches are in Christ.”

Think and share one or two parallel changes that you would like to see happen in your life as you live empowered by God’s grace.  

• Use the language of “Rather than… my grace-filled heart could say or do...”
• Potential life areas to consider: free time, money, parenting, how you view strangers, anger, anxiety, marriage, loneliness, etc.

 
Silently READ Genesis 14:11-16.

• What horizontal issue is Abram faced with?
• Abram went into battle for Lot’s sake. What battles should Christians be engaged with in our homes and/or culture?
• Are there battles that modern Christians have engaged in an ungodly way? With what results?
• How should we imitate God in a Jesus-reflecting way as we engage in these battles? What are our goals?
• How is this scene a portrayal of the Gospel story in which Abram imitates the manner in which God loves us?
• In what ways did Jesus primarily battle evil on our behalf?
• How should Jesus’ tactics inform and shape our efforts to engage in horizontal battles?

 
Close in a time of prayer focused on submitting your horizontal life to the Lord. 

Ice Breaker: Share a time when someone made and kept a significant promise to you.
 
God’s Promises to Abram
READ Genesis 12:1-3.

• What are the four primary promises in these verses?
• How does each of the promises reverse an aspect of the fall of man and its fallout in Genesis 3?
• Each of these promises had a physical fulfillment in the Old Testament. How was each one fulfilled to Abraham’s descendants?
• How does each of these physical fulfillments fall short of God’s ultimate intentions for each promise?

 
The Promises Are In Christ
READ 2 Corinthians 1:20.

• Who is the “him” being referred to in this verse?
• How is it that all of God’s promises find their yes in Him?

 
Abram’s Promises Fuel Our Faithful Worship and Worshipful Faith

The Promise of Land – God will give His people a place.
READ John 14:1-3.

• How do these verses connect with the promise to Abraham?
• How could these verses fuel worshipful faith in the following situation: A middle age woman grew up in a harsh, alcoholic family with very little love. She was witnessed to by a friend in college and came to know the redeeming love of Jesus. Over the last fifteen years life has continued to hit her almost annually with new griefs and losses. She feels as though bad luck is always chasing her. Despair often tempts her these days.
• What soul care would you offer her based on this promise and verses?

 
The Promise of Nationhood – God will give His people a family.
READ 1 Peter 2:9-12

• How do these verses connect with the promise to Abraham?
• How could these verses fuel faithful worship in the following situation: A bunch of alcohol and a bunch of buddies has been the best part of Fred’s week over many years. Now that he is growing in Christ the Holy Spirit is convicting him regarding these social activities, but Fred can’t imagine enjoying life without this group and their liquor guzzling fun. He fears that obeying Jesus will result in loneliness and boredom.
• What soul care would you offer Fred based on this promise and verses?

 
The Promise of God’s Presence – God will be near and guard His people.
READ Romans 8:28-32

• How do these verses connect with the promise to Abraham?
• How could these verses fuel worshipful faith in the following situation: Jenna makes parties and events work wonderfully. She’s excellent at organizing and delegating. However, when someone struggles or fails to do their part Jenna can be gripped by immediate, hot anger and speak sarcastic rebukes. In addition, when Jenna’s planning or prep disappoint the person she has been seeking to serve she is quick to blast away at herself with severe, self-damaging putdowns.
• What soul care would you offer Jenna based on this promise and verses?

 
The Promise of Blessing All Nations – God will spread redemption to all nations through Abram’s offspring.

• Pull out your mobile phone and search for an image of a global map.
• What parts of the world are most lacking the good news of Jesus Christ?
• Close your study by spending time in prayer for God to mobilize Gospel workers and to foil the efforts of those who oppose the Gospel. 

Icebreaker: What is the farthest trip from home that you’ve ever taken?
 
Study/Discussion:
 
What comes to mind when you think about Abraham?
 
READ Genesis 11:27-32

• What details about Abram’s life are we given in this introduction to his story?
• God frequently inspired the Bible’s authors to open up a narrative with bleak circumstances or characters. What other Biblical narratives begin in this manner?
• What might be some of the Lord’s reasons for this?
• Can you share a bleak circumstance or dark season of life through which God matured you or grabbed a hold of you in new ways?

 
READ Genesis 12:1

• What is involved in God’s call to Abram in v.1?
• Put yourself in Abram’s shoes in light of v.1. What emotions, questions, concerns are bubbling up from inside you when this call to “go” arrives?
• How is Abram’s call here similar to and different from God’s call on us at the time of our conversion?

 
READ 12:2-3
Pastor Thomas introduced the idea that God is obligating Himself to Abram in these promises.

• What does that mean?
• What positive difference did it make as Abram moved his life forward in faith?
• What positive difference can God’s obligation to every believer have on you?

 
READ 12:4-5
Pastor Thomas quoted a puritan pastor who wrote about these verses: “Abraham went out not knowing where he went, but he did know with Whom he was going.”

How can remembering this theological truth practically help the following people:

1. The schedule-making, ducks-in-a-row perfectionist
2. The God-honoring, single adult who is frustrated with his/her current station in life
3. The man or woman whose family is struggling because of his or her sin cycle
4. The committed Christian whose daily routine and spiritual life seems stale.

 
READ 12:6-8

• The Canaanites were in the land worshiping false gods, but Abram’s new faith in Jehovah held secure. How do we know this from the text?
• What encouragement should we take from Abram’s actions?
• What does it look like, in our culture, to erect altars (or plant “Jesus flags”) in the places we occupy?
• If you heard the sermon, what response did the Holy Spirit prompt you toward regarding the flags in your life?

 
Close by praising God for being faithful to His obligations and asking Him to grow your faithfulness in living a decisively obedient life like Abraham. 

​Ice Breaker: If you could speak a second language fluently what would it be and why?
 
READ Genesis 11:1-9
 
Act #1: v.1-4. Man reflects God’s image, but pridefully plans life apart from Him.

• How do v.3-4 reflect the two halves of the Act #1 summary statement above?
• What are some wonderful, beneficial human inventions or innovations in the last century that became used for corrupt purposes due to our human depravity?
• Based on the sin indwelling all of humanity should we expect that we will ever be able to attain world peace and prosperity through further invention and innovation?
• How should these realities lead us to think about our political system’s abilities and limitations?
• Should Christians therefore withdraw from scientific discovery, technological innovation, and politics? What Scripture backs up your answer?
• Is your daily sense of security or meaning or joy tied to any “tower” of human invention rather than Jesus?
• Is there any technology or self-indulgence that you take part in that disregards or distances you from the Lord?

 
Biblical Sarcasm in v.5

• What does the phrase “the LORD came down to see the city and the tower” tell us that the God thinks of their big tower that they thought could reach up to heaven?
• All of us can be tempted to think that our ideas or plans are massively essential. Our dreams or hopes can grip us and define our joy. What has gripped you like this in the past, but later you realized it wasn’t as significant or essential as you felt at the time?
• How does remembering the supremacy of Jesus and the infinite grandeur of God serve to keep us from being overly gripped by earthly things?

 
Act #2: v.5-9a. God frustrates sinful plans, and this displays mercy not malice.

• How is God’s action in these verses both judgment and mercy?
• Why is it merciful when God frustrates our sinful paths or plans?
• Do you have an example in your life in which you can testify to God’s ability to frustrate you, but you rejoiced in what He did when you look back?
• Pause and praise God for His “frustrating” mercies and His wisdom to sovereignly guide your life.

 
Act #3: v.9b. God turns tragedy into mission-accomplishing glory for salvation through Jesus Christ.

• In what ways does the confusion of Babel and scattering people into many languages result in increasing God’s glory? Both immediately in that generation and in the larger Biblical picture?
• How does the Babel narrative remind us that sin leads to separation?
• What is God’s great Unifier that can reverse our scattering and separation? READ Galatians 3:26-28.
• What types of separation are mentioned in those verses that Jesus reverses?
• The ultimate reversal of mankind’s separation and scattering is written in Revelation 7:9-10 and 21:1-4. READ those passages.
• What makes your heart most glad in these passages? Close in a time of praising God for His redemptive plan to regather and recreate His people.