The messy story of Abraham #messychurch

Many years after Noah and the great flood there was a man named Abraham.  Abraham was a good man and a rich man with lots of sheep and cattle. He was married to Sarah but they had no children. 

One day, God came to Abraham  and said “Pack up everything you own and leave your home.  I will bless you and your family if you go to the land I will give you.  I will be with you always and because of you all families on the earth will be blessed. “

Abraham was 75 years old which made this an even more scary thing to agree to do.  But Abraham trusted God and took Sarah and all of their animals to the land of Canaan as God had shown then.

Many years later, when Abraham was even older, God appeared to him again.  God said “Do not be afraid! I will look after you! I promise that I will give you a great reward."

Abraham said “What kind of reward will you give me? I don't even have any children!”

God replied “Look up at the stars in the sky. You will have a son. He will have children, and his children will have children, and they will have more children, and one day they will be as many as the stars in the sky.”

Abraham asked his this could be when he and Sarah were so old.  But God repeated His promise that Abraham would be the start of a great nation.  God promised that because of Abraham all people on earth would be blessed.

Abraham believed God's promise, and his faith made God happy.  It was Abraham's faith in God and His promise that made things right between Abraham and God.  Sarah did have a son and Abraham became the father of many descendants who all trusted God.

Today we are going to explore what it means to trust God and follow God.  We will make stars to remind us not to be afraid and cards to give to other people reminding them that God is looking after them.  We will make a joint picture of stars, each named for one of us; and we will play with paint to make star night pictures.  We will also try to draw out our family trees remembering that if we could go far enough we would connect with Abraham and that we are all loved by God.