God calls Abraham
key words
biblical reference
Genesis 12:1-7
lesson objective
To help the children know that God chooses and calls faithful people to serve Him.
memory verse
“And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the Lord our God and obey him’” (Joshua 24:24, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
In this lesson, your group will learn two fundamental truths:
1. God keeps his promises.
2. God wishes to bless our families.
Your children should feel that they belong to a group, that is, that they can identify with it and feel an important part of it.
God instituted the family to be that group, so that children grow up protected and guided with wisdom. However, many families have lost the essential values and deformed the main purpose.
Your children should understand that God is interested in their families and wants to bless them. Using the life of Abraham and his family as an example, teach them that God wants families to serve and obey him. So he can bless others and spread the gospel through them.
biblical commentary
Read Genesis 12: 1-7. It is interesting to note how many stories of prominent families we find in Genesis. However, it should not surprise us, because one of the purposes of that book is to help God’s people know their roots. From the beginning, with Adam and Eve, then Noah and his family, until we reach Abraham, we see examples of God’s faithfulness and provision.
God’s call to Abraham was not sudden. Stephen’s testimony, in Acts 7: 2-4, tells us that God called Abraham when he lived in Mesopotamia, before his father died.
Perhaps Terah, Abraham’s father, was the first to receive God’s call to leave Ur of the Chaldeans.
Terah and his family, Abraham, Sara and Lot, decided to leave the city where they lived, and traveled through the desert. After Terah’s death, Abraham, his wife and nephew went to live in the land of Canaan.
In the time of Abraham, families lived a custom as close as possible. Everyone worked together and helped each other. Typically, large families lived under the same roof. That is why it was difficult for someone to decide to move away from the security, love and collaboration that their relatives offered them.
However, Abraham obeyed God’s call and took a step of faith, knowing that the Lord would be with him anywhere.
introduce the lesson
Home
For this activity, you will need a large sheet of paper or four letter-sized pieces of paper taped together, paint, sticks, leaves, and grass.
Draw a horizontal line along the paper and stick it on the wall. Then, divide the group into two teams. One should paint the top of the paper to make the sky, and the other, the bottom, simulating the earth.
Ask them to draw simple houses of different sizes and decorate the roofs, walls, doors, etc., using different materials. Complete the mural with flowers, trees, clouds, the sun, etc.
As they work, talk about the importance of families. Encourage them to tell about some family experiences.
Then, tell them that in today’s session we will talk about a very special family, which God chose.
teach the lesson
Abraham obeys God
Abraham’s friends and relatives became very sad when he told them he was moving to another place.
“God told me that I must leave,” explained Abraham. “He wants us to live in another land, so I must leave you.”
“Are you sure, Abraham?” one of his friends asked him. “It is dangerous for you to leave the city. We will no longer be around to protect you and your family. Why do you want to do it? All your relatives live here!”
“Do not worry. I am obeying God’s will. He told me that he will bless all the families of the earth through my family.”
“But how is that possible?” they asked. “You are too old to have children. You are almost 75 years old! You and your wife Sara have never had children. So how is God going to bless the world through your family if you do not even have a family?”
Abraham looked at them smiling and said, “I know it is hard to believe, but I trust God. I do not know how he will fulfill his promise, but I know he will.”
“You’re right, Uncle Abraham,” Lot said. “Can I go with you?”
“I do not know where the Lord will take us, but you are welcome if you want to go with us,” Abraham replied.
Abraham’s friends and relatives helped them prepare everything for the move. They filled baskets with food; then they folded the clothes with great care and put them in sacks; and when they had finished, they put all the luggage on donkeys and camels.
Finally, the day of departure arrived. Abraham, Sara and Lot said goodbye to their relatives and friends, and began a long journey to fulfill God’s will.
After many weeks of traveling, they arrived at a place called Canaan. There God spoke again to Abraham.
“This land will be for you and your descendants,” God told him.
Abraham believed in God’s promise and built an altar to worship and thank him for having taken them safely to the new land.
connect the lesson
Pass out Student Activity Sheet #202-A and #202-B. Ask the children to write their name on the line in Student Activity Sheet #202-A. Provide scissors to cut the figure of the house following the outline. Then, help them trim the windows and doors, as indicated by the solid black lines. Show them how to fold along the dotted lines to open the door and windows.
Give them time to draw pictures of their family in the marked boxes on Student Activity Sheet #202-B and decorate their work. When they are finished, tell them to fold the page in half and paste it to finish the activity.
practice the memory verse
Write the memory verse on a piece of poster board or on the board, and repeat it together with your children.
Then, ask them to form a circle and have a volunteer placed in the center. Use a bandana to cover the child’s eyes and give him/her a soft ball. Then he/she should throw it to another child. The one who receives it must say the verse from memory and take the place of the one in the center.
When most of the children have participated, show the card again and repeat the verse together.
wrap-up
Pray
Allow time for your children to mention their prayer requests, and intercede for them.
Encourage
Remind the children that God is pleased that we pray for one another, especially for the members of our family.
Invite
Encourage the children to be punctual in attending the next meeting to study more about the story of Abraham. Remind them that their friends are also welcome.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™