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Abraham: great faith big questions

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Abraham: great faith big questions

How can we be a people of faith?

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Genesis 12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.[a]

3 I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”[b]

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4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

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Abraham: great faith big questions

What is faith? Is it being certain?

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Abraham: great faith big questions

What is faith? Is it being certain?

A conviction that leads to action?

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Genesis 15 

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

‘Do not be afraid, Abram.�    I am your shield,[a]    your very great reward.’[b]

But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’

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Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring[d] be.’

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

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Abraham: great faith big questions

How can we be a people of faith?

Learn to Listen

Lament

Live in God’s word

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How can we be a people of faith?

Learn to Listen

"How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People" by Pete Greig

Lectio 365 a bible meditation app from 24/7 prayer

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How can we be a people of faith?

Learn to Listen

Lament

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"It’s a common human tendency to settle in our grief, to redefine the geography of our lives according to the contours of our pain. And of course, when we are bereaved and hurting, it’s important to stop for a while and lament our loss. It’s not healthy to continue as if nothing is wrong. But neither is it healthy to make disappointment our permanent domain.

Pete Grieg “Dirty Glory”

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How can we be a people of faith?

Learn to Listen

Lament

Live …in God’s word

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4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’

…5 He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring[d] be.’

…6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

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How can we be a people of faith?

Learn to Listen…read Pete Grieg’s book.

Lectio 365

Lament…bring our pain to God

Live …in God’s word…remember what God has done