02: Abraham: The First Missionary - Lesson Plan

Key Thought : As we trace Abraham’s footsteps, we catch glimpses of the mission minded nature of God.

[Lesson plan for Abraham: the First Missionary July 6, 2015]

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 14:12-16.

a. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
b. What did Abraham’s actions tell us about his character and faith in God?
c. Personal Application: Think of how you interact with others. What kind of witness do you present to others about your faith? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why would Abraham go and rescue the people of Sodom and Lot? It was a sinful place full of bad people and Lot should have known better than to move from the country to the suburbs to city living.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 11:8-11.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
b. Why did God want Abraham to leave his past behind before God could use him?
c. Personal Application: In what ways have you stepped out in faith to serve God? What hardships did you face? Looking back, what might you have done differently? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: One of your friends states, “I hear a lot of people talk about mission work, but how can we do missionary work rather than just talk about it? What do we need to “leave behind” to do God’s will in missions?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

3. Have a volunteer read Genesis 18:18,19.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. What does it mean to “keep the way of the Lord”?
c. Personal Application: What are some practical ways to teach your family to follow God and His ways in their lives? Share your thoughts..
d. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “There are a lot of faithful people in the Bible whose children did not keep the way of the Lord. Did they do something wrong in teaching, training, or living their faith? Or are there other factors involved?” How would you respond to your friend?

4. Have a volunteer read Genesis 22:8-14.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. Why was Abraham willing to trust God in offering up his son in sacrifice to God?
c. Personal Application: Do our prior experiences with God help us increase our faith in Him, or do we become less faithful if our experience hasn’t been a pleasant one? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Note : “Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.” MH p. 149.

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02: Abraham: The First Missionary – Lesson Plan — 2 Comments

Tyler Cluthe on July 9, 2015 at 11:07 am said:

On #2, I think it is sometimes important to get into a new environment – but not always. Too many times new Adventists have trashed existing relationships when they should have been witnesses to their new faith. In my view they should show what the Lord has done for them by their new lifestyle and hopefully done positively instead of fanatically.

For Abraham to raise a nation in the environment he was living in would have been difficult. As a foreigner in a new land it would be different. However, we still need to see that the Canaanites were in many ways just as bad as those living in Ur.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the move was that God was going to set up His people in a crossroads area for the purpose of being a living witness to all those caravans traveling through the area. No doubt that is how the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon and Solomon didn’t disappoint like Hezekiah did when he focused on what he had.

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Tyler Cluthe on July 9, 2015 at 11:40 am said:

On #4b, we have always praised Abraham for his faithfulness in being willing to sacrifice Isaac. The problem to me is that God consistently denounced human sacrifice and there is no greater evidence of that than the many statements He has made concerning Baal worship. As others would no doubt point out “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa 8:20 NKJV). We follow what is written just as Jesus did but that is not what Abraham did. To me he could have very rightly refused to sacrifice his son on the grounds that it conflicted with the preponderance of testimony God has given on other occasions.

To me he could have done what Peter did in refusing to go against previous commands:

In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. (Acts 10:12-16)

Notice that it was done three times yet Peter would not violate God’s previous command. So why didn’t Abraham?

One could possibly say that Abraham knew God’s voice but that is putting faith in the sound of a voice rather than the content. It was on content that Jesus withstood the three temptations in the wilderness – not the sound of a voice which Satan can easily mimic.

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02: Abraham: The First Missionary – Lesson Plan