This Bible study class examines Genesis 12 and 15, focusing on God's promises to Abram and Abram's response of faith. The lesson objective is that God gives us grace in our suffering and doubts and declares us righteous through faith in Christ alone. The study looks at how God promised to make Abram a great nation but Abram doubted due to being childless in old age. God declared that Abram's offspring would be as numerous as the stars, and Abram believed this, counting it to him as righteousness. The discussion emphasizes that we are saved by grace through faith, not works.

1. Welcome to our
Faithbuilders
Bible Study class!
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Today’s Lesson:
Genesis 12 & 15
slideshare.net/LazarouRichard

2. Grace to All
Genesis 12:2-5; 15:1-6

3. PERSPECTIVE: GENESIS
A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author of
his or her readers.
- Jen Wilkin
Who wrote it: Moses
When was it written: Sometime around 1400 BC, during the 40
year period of wandering in the desert.
To whom was it written: to the Israelites who were led out of Egypt
during their time in the desert.
What style: Historical with some poetry and prophecy.
Why was it written: To give the nation of Israel a history and a rule
of life as they entered Canaan. To remind them of their past and
prepare them for their future.

4. Lesson Objective
God gives us grace
in our suffering and
our doubts and
declares us
righteous by grace
through faith in
Christ.

5. Genesis 12:1
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from
your country and your kindred and your
father’s house to the land that I will show
you.”

6. Genesis 12:2-3
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I
will bless you and make your name great, so
that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless
those who bless you, and him who
dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed.

7. Genesis 12:4-5a
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him,
and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-
five years old when he departed from Haran. 5
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his
brother’s son, and all their possessions that
they had gathered, and the people that they
had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go
to the land of Canaan.

8. Pattern
• God promises
• Abram objects
• God responds in
a visual way

9. Genesis 15:1
1 After these things the word of the LORD
came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall
be very great.”

10. What in your life demonstrates
that God is your great reward?
Grace in our Suffering

11. Genesis 15:2-3
2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will
you give me, for I continue childless, and the
heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3
And Abram said, “Behold, you have given
me no offspring, and a member of my
household will be my heir.”

12. Genesis 15:4-5
4 And behold, the word
of the LORD came to
him: “This man shall not
be your heir; your very
own son shall be your
heir.” 5 And he brought
him outside and said,
“Look toward heaven,
and number the stars, if
you are able to number
them.” Then he said to
him, “So shall your
offspring be.”

13. God’s chosen pace, as well as his
chosen place for us – that
bewildering, confusing, painful
place where we feel like we’re
stuck – is redemptive. More
than we know. There is more at
stake than we can see and more
going on than meets our eyes.
-Jon Bloom (Desiring God)

14. To what degree does the Bible
have authority in my life? To what
degree do I submit to God’s time
and way of accomplishing His
promise?
Grace in our Doubting

15. Genesis 15:6
6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted
it to him as righteousness.

16. Romans 4:9-12
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for
the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to
Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted
to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised?
It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He
received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the
righteousness that he had by faith while he was still
uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father
of all who believe without being circumcised, so that
righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and
to make him the father of the circumcised who are not
merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of
the faith that our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised.

17. Hebrews 11:6, 8-16
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near
to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 8
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to
receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in
tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was
looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is
God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was
past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore
from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the
stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having
seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it
clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that
land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

18. To what/Whom do I attribute my
salvation? What effect does that
have on my life?
Declared Righteous by
Grace through Faith

19. Application (Jen Wilkin – How to Study the Bible) 
• Attributes of God, myself in relation
• PAST (prayer, actions, speech, thoughts)
• Circles of influence
• Primary relationships
God of:
Power, Authority, Intimate (Abram) & Expansive (Stars) Knowledge, Protection
(Shield), Presence, Infinite Worth (Reward), Faithfulness, Intentionality, Salvation