As we have been walking through the book of Genesis, we have noticed a pattern that appears in almost every chapter. Mankind deserves punishment for his sin, yet, God, being rich in mercy and grace, chooses to give mankind a Savior instead of the punishment that we deserve. We see faith appear in Genesis 4 when Eve believes that her firstborn son, Cain, is the promised Savior. Adam and Eve pass faith on to their sons Cain and Abel. Abel chooses to live by faith while Cain chooses to allow his sin nature to master him. Noah is a man of faith. He trusts God with his life and the life of his family. Abraham is known as the father of faith. He passes his faith on to his son Isaac and Isaac passes that faith on to his sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau chooses to live by his sin nature while Jacob chooses to live by faith. The story of Esau and Jacob continues in Genesis 27-28. Although Jacob lives by faith, he still makes mistakes. In the midst of those mistakes, he keeps his eyes on God’s eternal plan and is able to experience God’s mercy and grace. That same mercy and grace is available for Esau, yet, he keeps his focus on gratifying his desires. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Abrahamic Covenant
People of faith vs. People of the flesh
I am preparing to teach my Connect Group this coming Sunday and wanted to share some of my insights with you here. We have been walking through the book of Genesis week by week. This lesson will cover parts of Genesis 25 and Genesis 26. As a class, we have been tracing the Promised Messiah from Genesis 3 all the way through the book of Genesis. We will follow this thread all throughout the Old Testament. This week’s lesson will focus on the two categories of people God places all of mankind in for life and eternity. Abraham’s son, Isaac, received God’s eternal calling from his father. Isaac has two sons, Esau, and Jacob. Even though they were both raised in the same family, one of the boys inherited the faith of his fathers while the other chose to live like on of his forefathers, Cain, and be mastered by his sin nature. This lesson will shed some light on what the Apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Roman church. Continue reading
Covenant , Lesson 8: Christ is the center of Covenant
I have been away for a while on a mission trip so I have not been teaching my Monday night study on the topic of Covenant. My awesome wife stepped in for me and did a great job. I am back now and this coming Monday, I am going to teach lesson 8 from our study on Covenant. I would love to share some insights with you here in this article. By way of review, here are some of our previous lessons:
Covenant Lesson 5: Passing between the pieces of flesh
I am preparing to teach the next lesson on Covenant to my Monday night Bible study. So far, we have covered 4 lessons from this great study, a study much needed in our modern churches. If you have not been following from the beginning, the previous 4 lessons are here:
Covenant Lesson 4: A solomn binding agreement
It is hard to believe that we are already 4 lessons into our study of the subject of covenant. The past 3 weeks have been a great time of fellowship around the Word of God. It has also been a very challenging time as the Word of God has examined our hearts and lives.
The Gospel was preached to Abraham
As I was preparing to lead lesson 2 from the Bible study manual, “Abraham, God’s Brave Explorer“, I was reminded of a truth that I had known. It was neat to see how it hit me in a fresh way. I have studied the life of Abraham many times and written articles about it. I had seen the truth before but it was neat to see it again. God made it fresh for the moment. The Word of God really is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword. Here are some of the articles on Abraham.
Erik and Elena Brewer's Weblog 