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In Genesis 21, Isaac’s birth, Abraham’s painful obedience, and Hagar’s wilderness journey reveal a God who keeps his promises and hears those who feel forgotten. This message explores perseverance—God keeping his people trusting Christ to the end. Through waiting, surrender, and uncertainty, we learn to rest in Jesus, the Son who remains forever. The God who calls us to trust him is also the God who holds us fast.

We all know what it’s like to fall into the same sins and struggles we thought we’d left behind. This Sunday, as we continue our *Becoming Abraham* series with “Grace for Failures” (Genesis 20:1–18), we’ll see how God remains faithful even when His people fail Him. Join us as we discover why our failures don’t have to have the final word.

Is there someone you’ve quietly given up on: a neighbor, a coworker, someone in your own family? In Genesis 18, Abraham stands before God and pleads for an entire city on the brink of judgment, asking again and again for mercy. Join us this Sunday as we explore what it means to pray for others, why we so often don’t, and the good news that Jesus never stops praying for us.

By my count in Genesis 12-18 the Lord has promised Abram (and Sarai?) six separate times that they will inaugurate a great nation with much land and innumerable offspring. They moved from Ur (near Babylon) to the land of Canaan because they believed this promise. But years and years have gone by and they are now elderly, well past the years of pregnancies and childbirth. Abraham asks God about the promises because no child has come.    Imagine what happens to Sarah’s faith in God’s promises when you see the physical/biological impossibility of a pregnancy or birth of a son.   Moses tells us how Abraham and Sarah respond to the fifth and notably, the sixth time the LORD comes and this time he states the baby boy will be arriving soon. Laughter ensues; its preposterous and painfully comical to regard this prediction as true. Come Sunday to hear God’s response to her and all of us.

When God seems slow, we are often tempted to create our own workarounds. Abraham and Sarah did exactly that. But after thirteen years of silence, God speaks again—not first with a rebuke, but with a reminder of who he is: El Shaddai, God Almighty. In Genesis 17, God gives Abraham and Sarah new names, the sign of his covenant, and the promise of a son they could never produce on their own. Their story points us ultimately to Jesus, the true Son of promise, who accomplishes what we never could. God does not ask us to make our plans work. He calls us to trust his promises, walk before him, and respond in faith today.

Genesis 16 confronts us with what happens when waiting on God feels too difficult and we take matters into our own hands. Abram and Sarai’s attempt to secure God’s promise only brings conflict, suffering, and regret. Yet even in the wilderness created by their failure, God remains faithful. He sees the overlooked, hears the afflicted, pursues the wandering, and continues moving his promise toward its fulfillment in Christ.

Genesis 15 meets us in the uncertain space between God's promises and what we can actually see. Through God's covenant with Abram, we learn that our security does not ultimately rest on how tightly we hold onto God, but on how faithfully God holds onto us.

Genesis 14 is a rich story of a long list of Kings battling each other. Abram's nephew, Lot, gets captured and carried away and so Abram with his small armed force follows to rescue him. Abram is victorious, returns home with all the loot and interacts with the King of Sodom and the Priest King Melchizedek. We will look at these two interactions to see Abram's refreshing perspectives on priorities.

Genesis 13 tells the story of Abram and Lot separating because their growing possessions caused conflict between their herdsmen. Rather than allowing the disagreement to create division, Abram chooses peace and gives Lot the first choice of the land. Lot chooses the well-watered Jordan Valley because it appears prosperous and desirable, while Abram remains in Canaan and trusts God’s promises rather than what looks best in the moment. The passage reminds us that what appears to be the best choice is not always the wisest or most faithful one, as Lot’s decision eventually brings him closer to the wickedness of Sodom. Abram demonstrates that faith means trusting God even when we willingly give up what seems advantageous, knowing that God is faithful to provide what He has promised. After Lot separates from him, God reassures Abram that the land and his descendants will be blessed, and Abram responds by building an altar and worshiping the Lord. The central message is that when we trust God with what we are willing to give up, we can trust Him with what He has promised to give us.

Genesis 12:10–20 finds Abram afraid, deceptive, and seemingly willing to put God’s promises at risk in order to protect himself. Even more surprisingly, it is Pharaoh, the pagan king of Egypt, who recognizes that something has gone terribly wrong. Yet beneath all the fear, failure, and irony, God remains at work. Join us this Sunday as we are reminded that the story of redemption does not ultimately depend on the faithfulness of God’s people, but on the faithfulness of God himself.