A Son Saved: Part 1

Scripture: Genesis 21:8-21 (NRSVue)

If you want a step-by-step guide to creating the perfect family in ninety days or less, Genesis is definitely not the place to turn. This week’s story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac is a tell all: blended families, jealousy, reluctance, squabbling, abuse, and agonizing break ups.  There’s no whitewashing or sugar coating what’s going on here. This is real life. It’s an ancient story that feels very current. Why is family life so messy and not sanitized in Genesis (and much of the Bible)? Because it’s honest and realistic about our humanity. But there’s a reason why the delays and disappointments are in there. Why the complications of Ishmael are there. Why after fifteen long years of waiting for Isaac, God has the audacity to ask Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac. Genesis teaches us how to live in the real world, with real people, warts and all. Us included. Genesis trains us how to live with delays, without losing faith. How to feel disappointment, without giving up hope. How to move forward after failure. By wandering through, not around, the desert of pain and suffering, we’re taught how to trust and persevere. How not to take life for granted. How God can use our “worst laid plans” and colossal failures as raw material to make something new. Nothing is wasted.  We don’t have to be perfectly working for God to work his good and perfect will in us. Abraham sure wasn’t. And Sarah too. We have hope that God can bless the mess of our lives to bless others.

June 25, 2023 — Worship Service Bulletin

Sermon Art:  “Hagar in the Desert” by Marc Chagall, 1960 lithograph in colors, The Matthews Gallery
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Sermon Bible Study Questions

1. What jumps out at you about this story?
2. What feelings arise in you that family life in the book of Genesis (and most of the Bible) is not at all like “Leave it to Beaver.” Why does the Bible not whitewash or sanitize these main characters?
3. How would you describe each of the main character’s role in the family dynamics? What are their strengths and “Achille’s Heels?”
   • Abraham
   • Sarah
   • Hagar
   • Ishmael
   • Isaac
4. What do we learn about God from this story?
5. Does it surprise you that both Isaac and Ishmael are rescued by an angel and blessed by God?
6. What does this story tell us about God’s attitude to those abandoned or suffering? What should our attitude be?
7. Has prayer and a good cry ever helped you see your situation more clearly?
8. What do you imagine Isaac and Ishmael talked about together at their father Abraham’s burial?
9. How might this passage help us in our attitudes towards Jews and Arabs or any people group? Help our world?

Other Sermons In This Series

Jacob’s Dream

July 23, 2023

Sibling Rivalry

July 16, 2023

Family History Repeats Itself

July 30, 2023