The famous people: Abraham (part 1)

Prayer

Today is fathers day. And that is very fitting for our next famous person! This old guy was a righteous man, meaning he loved and honored God, and God was going to make him the “Father of all nations”. He was old, yet had no kids of his own. This guys name was Abram, but God changed it to Abraham! And we can know him as....father Abraham.

Genesis 12:1–4 NLT

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

How old so you think Abraham was when God made this promise to him? (75)

What was Gods promise? (To bless him, make him into a great nation, to make his name great, to give him land)

God gave him a new identity because he would be the father of all nations!

Now, God chose Abraham, but not because he was perfect, cause he wasnt.

Genesis 15:1–6 NLT

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Genesis 16:1–5 NLT

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.) So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

Genesis 16:15–16 NLT

So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

So, Abraham committed sin, what sin did he commit? (adultery). God promised to make his own flesh and blood into a nation, not an offspring from a servant, or his wife’s servant! But even at that, God still had a special plan for this family and God will still use Abraham!

Genesis 17:15–20 NLT

Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!” But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

So old man Abraham will have a son! How old do you think he was when his son, Isaac was born? (100) How old was Sarah? (90)

What makes Abraham “Father Abraham?” He will be the start of nations! Of Gods people, of a line of very important people, like Moses, and David! And Jesus!

So, now we know about Abraham. There is a song I learned when I was in children’s church, and I am going to teach it to yall!