Leader’s Guide

Your Goals today:

Review Purpose of

Lifegroup.

Review last week’s

main idea!

Discuss Story.

To enjoy Biblical

fellowship.

Ice Breaker

Sacrifice

Part of our purpose in the current LG curriculum is learning to look for Christ in the book of Genesis. Tonight we are looking at the command given to Abra-ham by God to sacrifice his son. In honor of Abraham’s reaction to this news we will play a game in which we consider the difficulty of sacrifice.

Icebreaker instructions:

Make a list of what is most important to you in these categories: 1. Person: 2. Comfort: 3. Material Item: 4. Lifetime experience: 5. Knowledge: 6. Other: Now number the items in order (1– Most, 6-least) based on which you would be willing to sacrifice to keep the others.

THEME: SACRIFICE

Genesis 22 LESSON 10

NABC 4 Foundations

Service

What is your plan for

Mission Outpost?

Lifegroup Calendar Oct. and Nov.

Genesis 6-8: The Flood 10/6

2015 Update in Lifegroups 10/13

Genesis 11: Babel 10/20

Off/ Men’s Retreat Weekend 10/27

Genesis 15-17: The Promise 11/3

Genesis 22: Offering of Isaac 11/10

Mission Outpost Weekend 11/17

Week 10: Genesis 22

Caption describing picture or graphic.

FINDING JESUS IN GENESIS

Review Last Week

Review Curriculum Goals

Here is one of

the most

difficult stories

of the Bible to

comprehend.

Let us ask God

to open our

minds to

understand!

Page 2 GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN

This semester we are storying through the book of Genesis with Luke 24:44 as a theme. At our last lesson we discussed Gn. 15-17. We saw how the promise of the Gn. 3:15 seed came through Isaac, and ultimately found fruition in Christ. We know to look for these connections based on the words of Jesus:

“These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are writ-ten about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

1. To help us as a group grow in a deeper love and appreciation of the Word of God and it’s message.

2. To encourage us as a group to seek to help one another apply and grow in the truths of the scriptures.

3. To help us as individuals learn how to properly understand the message of God’s Word, and carry it to a lost world.

Transition discussion:

Have you ever felt tested by God? Read James 1:13-14. God will not tempt us to sin, but He will test us. Describe a time in your life where you recognized God may be testing the desires of your heart. What did you have to surrender? What was

your response, obedience or struggle Explain…

Transition Question

Tell The Story

A. Tell the Story.

Have group close their bible's, and just listen as

you tell (not read) the story.

B. Rebuild the story.

Have the group open their bibles. Take time to walk back through the text, calling

on individual group members to help tell what happened first, next, and last in the

story. Make sure you cover the entire story.

HEAD, HEART, HAND QUESTIONS

Head Questions

Page 3 LESSON 10

These questions are used to understand how the Word of God is shaping our lives. We use these “Head, Heart, and Hand Questions” to help you clearly identify who God is and who we are in relation-ship with Him.

Head Questions: What we need to know.

Heart Questions: Deals with attitudes or beliefs that either need to be challenged or strengthened.

Hand Questions: Helps take what we have learned and apply it, or put it into action.

1. What is the context? Where are we in the scriptural story?

2. How long is the journey from Abraham’s home to Mount Moriah? Why is this significant? Who carried the wood for the burnt offer-

ing? What is significant about who is carrying the wood?

3. Did Abraham believe God would provide a substitute? Where in

the story can we discern this?

1. What do you believe went through Abraham’s mind in this story? If you were Abraham,

what would you be thinking?

2. Compare with Isaiah 53. Did Isaac resist

Abraham? Does Isaac remind you of Jesus?

In what ways?

Hand Questions

1. How does Abraham model obedience for us in

this story?

2. What hope is offered when what is asked of us requires giving up something we highly value?

(Relate back to Icebreaker).

3. What elements of the Gospel do we find in our story? How can we encourage one another with

this knowledge?

Page 4 GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN

Heart Questions

Leader Notes:

Genesis 22:1, “Some time later God tested Abraham…”

In our last story we talked of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise. During that time, God spoke to Abraham through His Word and vi-sions. In the preceding chapters of today’s story, there is a significant lapse in time (Gen. 21:34). Abraham had enjoyed the early days of fatherhood and many biblical teachers believe there was a silence from God. The last time Abraham heard directly from God is in re-gards to his other son, Ishmael (Gen. 21:11-14). God had previously promised to make Abraham into a great nation that would be as nu-merous as the stars (Gen. 15:5). The tone of God’s voice appears to have changed. God tells Abraham “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Gen. 22:2). I doubt many of us would believe this is God speaking. How could God ask this? Is not Isaac the son by whom God will keep His promise to Abraham? Abraham, however, immedi-ately obeys. Verse 3, is the next morning and Abraham is saddling up his donkey for the journey. There is nothing recorded of Abraham doubting this as God speaking. Abraham naturally can question what he heard. He had not heard the voice of God in some time, perhaps his wires were crossed. Abraham, however, obeyed. He saddled his donkey, took two servants, and called for Isaac. They set out for Mount Moriah. As you read Genesis 22, did you catch the parallels? There are many.

The journey took three days from Abraham’s home to Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:4). It is quite possible this three day journey is of no coincidence, but a divine foreshadowing. The apostle Paul perhaps had this verse in mind when writing of Christ’s work, “that he was bur-ied, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4). Think for a moment about the three day journey. Abraham had plenty of time to consider God’s command, but Abraham re-mained faithful. He is willing to take his only promised son and pre-sent him as a sacrifice to God.

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN

Leader Notes

Notice the parallel between Gen. 22:2 and John 3:16. Abraham gives up his one and only son whom he loves. God gives up His only Son because He loves. Some scholars believe Abraham expects a resurrection or a substitu-tion. It is clear from our story Abraham fully intended to obey regardless of his expectation (Gen. 22:9-10). It is God who has to stop Abraham from going any further (22:11). Before we go there, notice the events leading up to God’s in-tervention. Isaac mirrors his father’s faithfulness to God by his own obedience to Abraham. Jesus reminded the people of his day that he was in submission to His Father in heaven. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (Jhn. 4:34). Isaac physically demonstrates obedience by carrying wood for the sacrifice (22:6). Notice the wording too, Abraham placed the wood onto Isaac. God places the same burden on Christ, and he even shoulders the cross to his crucifixion (Jhn. 19:17-18). Nothing in scripture implies Isaac resisted Abraham, even as he was bound by Abraham (Gen. 22:9). Similarly, Jesus displayed the same trust and faithfulness in the Garden of Gethsemane. He came to the crucial moment of no return, not wanting to be separated from the Father. Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is pos-sible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). Imagine the thoughts going through both Abraham’s and Isaac’s minds. Abraham must have felt pain in following God’s command. Isaac must have felt anguish as he did not know where all of this was leading. Now think about the anguish of God the Father as His eternal Son hangs dying on the cross. There is a moment of eternity where the perfect unity of the trinity is broken. Once Jesus dies on the cross he takes on the sins of man, and for a moment total separation from the Father. The gospel writers record the results in scripture:

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split” (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:28).

“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hours, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Lk. 23:44-45).

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN

Leader Notes

“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hours, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Lk. 23:44-45).

The darkness and earthquake surely symbolize the grief felt by God the Father. There is a plan however; the story does not end here.

Abraham very well may have understood God would provide. Note that he instructs his servants to stay while he and Isaac go and worship. He finishes, “and then we will come back to you” (Gen. 22:5f). As the two approach the site for sac-rifice, Isaac inquires about the lamb. Abraham responds, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Gen. 22:8). The apostle John, like Paul, believed Abraham understood the Gospel and perhaps even the hope of resurrec-tion. He writes of Jesus responding to his critics, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (Jhn. 8:56). Abraham raised the knife, and he is looking down at Isaac. The Lord calls out and stops Abraham. Notice the next verse, “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by his horns” (22:13). The ram was not there before or Abraham would have understood it to be God’s “lamb” for offering. Abraham looked up from the im-minent slaying of Isaac to find God’s substitute! Imagine the joy felt by Abraham! He and Isaac worship on the site and Abraham names it, The Lord Will Provide (22:14). He gained further affirmation that God would keep his promise of making a great nation through the seed of Isaac. Here is the Gospel again in the Old Tes-tament. God tests the obedience of Abraham by calling him to surrender every-thing. God provided a substitute here. In the Gospel, however, God lays His Son, Himself, on the wood for sacrifice. He gave everything, so that we could gain a right relationship with Him! Paul writes,

“that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ , not counting men’s sins against them…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:19a, 21).

Leader Notes:

Leader Notes:

Study Notes:

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Prayer Requests: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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1. Read the story Genesis 32

-33.

2. Think about the following

questions:

Have you ever hurt someone or done something which you feared the consequences?

What is God communicat-ing to you personally with this story this week?

What does God want you to share with your group .

Encourage your group to prep for Oct 20 by participating in the following:

December 1 Lesson: Genesis 32-33

December 15th is the last week of Group for the year. Go ahead and start plan-ning your Christmas party now!

Group Homework for Next Week

Equipping the Body to be Jesus to our World

Close the meeting:

1. Pray

2. November 17: MISSION OUTPOST fi-nalize your plans tonight!