In Genesis 17, as a formal way to mark off God’s covenant people from the world, God gives Abraham the covenant sign of circumcision. Circumcision positively symbolizes the removal of sin and consecration to God and negatively a threat of judgement and disinheritance. In the New Covenant God also has marked off the church from the world as his new covenant people. It is our responsiblity to help one another be who God has called us to be. In this sermon we walk through this narrative in four parts: 1) God’s covenant-promises (1-8), 2) God’s covenant-stipulation (9-14), 3) God’s covenant-son (15-21), 4) Abraham’s covenant-obedience (23-27).

It is possible to want something good so badly that you are willing to sin against God and others to get it or keep it. This is exactly what we find Sarah and Abraham in Genesis 16. God made wonderful promises to Abraham and Sarah and yet they hijack God’s promises by attempting to secure them through a sinful arrangement with Hagar. The main idea here is that no matter how much of a mess we make in our sin, God remains merciful. This story can be broken up into two parts: 1) the mess of sin and 2) the mercy of God.

Today we jumped back into our Genesis series. In Genesis 15, God formalizes his covenant through a covenant ceremony, specifically through covenant sanctions. God’s covenant with Abraham doesn’t come together all at once but rather over the course of several chapters. Genesis 12: the initiation of the covenant through promises, Genesis 15: the formalization of the covenant through ceremony, Genesis 17: the signification of the covenant through circumcision. Genesis 15 can be broken down into two major guarantees: 1) God guarantees the promised seed (1-6) and 2) God guarantees the promised land (7-21).

As we continue our Genesis series, we come to Genesis 13. In this text we find the exemplary faith of Abraham. Abraham’s faith is in no way perfect, it’s weak and unimpressive, but it’s real and grounded in the promises of God. Abraham’s faith is worth imitating. In this text we find that Abraham’s faith is expressed in three ways: 1) repentance, 2) selflessness, and 3) worship. And Abraham’s faith is also contrasted with Lot’s compromise.

As we begin the new year, we return to our Genesis series. There is no more important resolve to make in 2025 than to commit to growing more and more in the love of God. In Genesis 12 we find the covenantal-love of God demonstrated towards Abraham in three specific ways: 1) the Call of Abraham, 2) the Faith of Abraham, and 3) the Folly Abraham.

In Genesis 11.10-32 we consider the mo’oku’auhau (genealogy) of Shem. Here we find three reasons we should celebrate this advent season with renewed hope, gratitude, and joy: 1) the Line of Promise (10-26), 2) the Idolatry of Abraham (27-29), and 3) the Barrenness of Sarah (30-32).