Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Abraham’s Faith is Tested By: Linda Carlblom Text Genesis 15, 17-18:15; 21:1-7 Key Quest Verse “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). Bible Background God tested Abraham not to trip him and watch him fall, but to deepen his capacity to obey God and develop his character. Just as fire refines ore to extract precious metals, God refines us through difficult circumstances. When we are tested we can complain, or we can try to see how God is stretching us to develop our character. That morning Abraham began one of the greatest acts of obedience recorded in history. He traveled 50 miles to Mount Moriah. Why did God ask Abraham to perform human sacrifice? Pagan nations practiced human sacrifice but God con- demned this as a terrible sin (Lev. 20:1-5). God did not want Isaac to die, but He wanted Abra- ham to sacrifice Isaac in his heart, so it would be clear that Abraham loved God more than he loved his promised and long-awaited son. God was testing Abraham. The purpose of testing is to strengthen our character and deepen our commitment to God and His perfect timing. Through this difficult experience, Abraham strengthened his commitment to obey God. He also learned about God’s ability to provide. Unit 3-PS-F-1 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Lesson Quest What I want my students to: Know: God can do anything. Nothing is too hard for Him. Feel: Secure in God’s care. Do: Be patient waiters. Leader’s Devotion Waiting is one of the hardest things for people to do. We hate waiting in line, waiting at long stop lights, waiting for a check to arrive. In our hurry up and get it done society, waiting is often seen as time wasted. But, in God’s timetable, waiting is an essential part of a process. Abraham waited twenty-five years for God to make good on His promise of a descendant. Surely He must have wondered what the hold-up was. When would this baby make its appearance? After all, Sarah wasn’t getting any younger. But, God was busy molding Abraham’s character and prepar- ing him to be the father of a great nation. Though they tried to run ahead of God and make the promise of a son happen on their own, God still kept His word and gave Abraham and Sarah the blessing of an heir. He proved that indeed, nothing is too hard for Him. His timing is perfect and the joy that comes from His fulfilled promises is complete. The next time you’re faced with waiting, use the time to think about God and what he can do with that time. It needn’t be wasted. Use it to pray, to contemplate what character molding God may want to do in your life and how you can be compliant to the Potter’s hands. Unit 3-PS-F-2 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Option A WHAT A JOKE! Materials: None Procedure: I have a joke to tell you. What do you call a dog in the sun? Let children guess. A hot dog! That was a silly joke, wasn’t it? Jokes are meant to make people laugh. What are some other things that make you laugh? Let children respond. Last week we talked about a man named Abraham. We’re going to hear about him and his wife, Sarah today in our Bible story. God told them something that made them laugh. I wonder what it was . . . Story Tie-In: Sarah laughed when she heard she was going to have a baby. GO TO THE BIBLE STORY Option B THAT’S TOO HARD! Materials: A jar with a lid on too tight to open Procedure: I need your help with something today. Will you help me? I have a jar that I can’t open. The lid is on too tight. Can you help me open it? Pass the jar around and let chil- dren try to open it. Were you able to open it? Why not? Give children time to answer. We aren’t strong enough. We need someone bigger and stronger to twist this lid off, don’t we? Sometimes we need to ask for help. Moms and dads are good people to help us. But, some things are too hard for them, too. Who can help us if mom and dad can’t? Let children guess. God can help us. He can do anything! In our Bible story today, Abraham and his wife Sarah needed God’s help. Let’s listen. Story Tie-In: God can help us with things that are too hard for us to do by ourselves. GO TO THE BIBLE STORY Unit 3-PS-F-3 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Bible Story Teacher Tip: Provide markers for students to highlight portions of the story in their Bibles Abraham and his wife Sarah moved to their new home just like God told them to. God promised Abraham that one day he and Sarah would have a son of their very own. There was only one problem. Abraham and Sarah were way too old to have a baby! Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 99. They were older than your grandpa and grandma! Grandpas and grandmas don’t usually have new little babies, do they? But, God promised Abraham that he would have a son and that he would have many, many grandchildren. Do you know how many? Let children guess. God told Abraham to look up in the sky and count the stars. That’s how many grandchildren he would have! More than he could count! It took a long time for God’s promise to come true. Abraham had to wait many years be- fore it was time for his son to be born. But, he was patient and trusted God to keep His promise. What do you think Sarah did when she heard that she was to have a baby in her old age? Let children guess. She laughed! She thought it was a joke. But, God always keeps his promises, doesn’t He? If He says something is going to happen, it happens. Nothing is too hard for God. So Sarah had a baby boy after many years of waiting and they named him Isaac. The name Isaac means laughter. Why do you think they chose that name for their baby? Let children answer. (Because it was funny that Abraham and Sarah had a baby when they were so old.) It made them and everyone else laugh. Our wonderful God can do anything, even if it seems impossible to us! Unit 3-PS-F-4 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Don’t Laugh GAME Materials: None Quest Connection Sometimes it’s hard not to laugh at something, but we have to be able to control ourselves. Let’s play a game to see if you can keep from laughing. How much laugh control do you think you have? Procedure: Tell a joke, act silly, make faces, etc., to try to get kids to laugh. The first person to laugh comes up front to help you try to make the others laugh, and so on. The last person left is the winner. Close Was it hard not to laugh in our game? Why did Sarah laugh in our Bible story? Do you think it was hard for Sarah to believe she was going to have a baby when she was old? Is anything too hard for God? Let’s say our memory verse together. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). And, what is the answer? NO! Unit 3-PS-F-5 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Promise Stoles ARTS AND CRAFTS Materials: One 18”x 36” piece of felt per child, felt, satin or upholstery scraps cut into varying sizes of stars, people and houses, glue, self-adhesive Velcro, trims: sequins, buttons, gold braid, etc. Quest Connection God’s promises wrap themselves around us like a warm blanket or stole. They make us feel safe and warm. We can always believe what God says. God made promises to Abra- ham. He promised to show Him where his new home would be. He promised He would give him a son. He promised to give his children land. He promised him he would have more grandchildren than there were stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach. Did God keep His promises? Let’s make a stole to remind us of God’s promises to Abraham. Procedure: Give each child a felt stole. Allow him to decorate it with the pre-cut shapes, being careful not to put decorations too close to the edges. Glue trim to the edge of the stole and put Velcro on the front edges to hold it closed. Close Prayer: Thank You God, for always doing what You say You will. Thank You for loving us. Help us to trust You. Amen. Unit 3-PS-F-6 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested How High Can You Count? OBJECT LESSON Materials: A tiny pile of sand for each child, one toothpick per child Quest Connection God promised to give Abraham as many grandchildren as there are grains of sand on the beach. Procedure: Give each child a small pile of sand and a toothpick. Have each child try to count how many grains of sand they have. You could also do this as a group activity by counting to- gether if you have a very young class. It doesn’t take very much sand to make a lot of grains, does it? Abraham was promised millions of grandchildren. We are some of them! Close Prayer: Dear God, thank You for making us part of Abraham’s family and part of Your family. Help us to believe in You and what You promise. Amen. Unit 3-PS-F-7 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Paper Dolls ARTS AND CRAFTS Materials: Folded paper with outline of paper doll drawn on fold, crayons or markers, yarn, fab- ric scraps, glue, scissors Quest Connection God promised to Abraham that there would be whole nations of people descended from him. Procedure: Sing “The Family of God” or play a tape of it as they work on their paper dolls. Let children cut out paper dolls from folded paper if they’re able. Tell the kids that we are part of Abraham’s family that started long ago with Isaac. Have them color the first paper doll like they think Abraham looked, the second like Isaac, and the last one like themselves. They can glue on yarn for hair, fabric scraps for clothes if they’d like. Close Prayer: Dear Lord, it is exciting to think that we are all connected and related. Amen. Unit 3-PS-F-8 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested What’s in a Name? GAME Materials: A Nerf ball Quest Connection Names are very important. Parents think a long time about just the right name to give their babies when they’re born. We like to be called by our names. Sarah and Abraham named their baby Isaac, which means laughter. Let’s play a name game. Procedure: Have the group form a circle. Say the name of a child and gently throw him the ball. When the child catches the ball, he must say someone else’s name and toss the ball to them. Continue naming and tossing until everyone has received the ball at least once. Close Did you know that God knows each one of our names? You are so important to Him! Unit 3-PS-F-9 Unit 3—Abraham’s Faith is Tested Name Plaques ARTS AND CRAFTS Materials: Poster board, hole punch, markers, pictures from magazines, fabric scraps, yarn, tape Quest Connection Ask the kids if any of them have nicknames, or names that their parents call them. Tell them the story of Abraham and Sarah, that originally they were Abram and Sarai, but then God changed their names. He also chose the name of their son. Make sure the kids learn that God loves them so much that He can call them by name. Procedure: Give each student a piece of poster board and write their names on it in large letters. Under the name, write “God calls us by name.” Let them decorate their name plaque with cray- ons or markers, cut out pictures from magazines that reflect things they like, or glue on fabric. Punch two holes in the top and tie yarn through them for hanging. Close Have children help pray the prayer. Let each one thank God for someone else in the class, nam- ing them by name. Thank You, God, for Courtney. End the prayer time with, Lord, we are thankful that You know each of us well enough to call us by name. Amen. Unit 3-PS-F-10