June 11, 2023: Family Worship Service: Old Testament (1) : "Abraham”　

2023-06-12

Family worship service: Old Testament (1): " Abraham"

＜Notice>　

Since more than 10 of our readers have asked us to continue the Home Worship series for a little while longer, we have decided to extend it. We hope that you will enjoy the Old Testament with your children and grandchildren.

Bible:

Genesis 12:1-2

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

You can hear the Japanese Voice Recording of the following session.

Dad:

Starting now, I would like to learn about the characters in the Old Testament and how they lived their lives. Who were the first ones?

Sophia:

Adam and Eve, right? It's written in a place called Genesis, right?

Mom:

That's right. The history of human beings started with those two people, but let’s look at the ancestors that lived up to the birth of Jesus in a book called Genealogy.

James:

Wow! There are so many. I can't remember them all. Dad, do you have our family tree too?

Dad:

I'm sure there must be, but I haven’t seen it.

Grace:

We've already had the Old Testament stories about Noah and the Tower of Babel. What kind of content do you think is in Genesis?

Dad:

That's a good question. Let's take a look at the table.

Creation: 　　 Chapters 1-2

Paradise Lost: 　 Chapters 3-5

Noah's Ark: Chapters 6-10

The Tower of Babel: Chapter 11

Life of Abraham: Chapters 12-25

Life of Isaac: Chapters 21-35

Life of Jacob: Chapters 27-49

Life of Joseph: Chapters 37-50

Dad:

We will learn about Abraham who is well known as “The Father of Faith”. Mom, can you explain a little about Abraham?

Mom:

Sure! Abraham was a prophet born in Old Testament around 2000 BC. He was the 10th-generation descendant of Noah.

He moved from Ur in Mesopotamia to Haran in present-day Turkey. God commanded Abraham to go to the land of Canaan, and he obeyed God. Canaan is also called the "Promised Land.”

Now, after we praise let’s watch the video.

Prelude:

Video:

You can hear the Japanese Voice Recording of the following session.

James:

This story is the most famous one of all. The faith of Abraham obeying God's command is amazing, but it must have been so cruel. It hurts my heart to imagine how it must have felt to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom God had given to him.

Sophia:

Isn’t that murder? Something that can’t be forgiven right? God is a God of love, so why? If it were me, I may have said, "I can't do that. Please kill me instead of my child."

Dad:

I saw this scene in a movie when I was young, and I knew that Abraham suffered so much. But, this must have been God's plan.

Grace:

Abraham is mentioned in the Bible as the "father of faith" for this, but Abraham used his wife and gave his wife Sarah to another king in the past. He sacrificed his wife and lied about her being his sister to protect himself and his family, right? I'm glad God protected him, but he still sinned. I think God was testing Abraham to see how far he would trust God.

Mom:

That's right. God promised to give Abraham more descendants than he could count, but that promise was not fulfilled until about 20 years later.

After 20 years of numerous trials, he was finally given an heir, and his life was finally settling down. And yet, to offer Isaac as a sacrifice was the biggest trial of all. What do you think was the lesson of this story for us?

James:

I would like to believe that God has a way out of every trial. God had prepared a sheep for Isaac, didn't He?

Dad:

That is an important point. Abraham did not know about the sacrificial lamb beforehand. But he believed that God would "provide" a way to solve the problem, just as James said. "Adonai Ereh" means "The Lord has prepared on the mountain."

Sophia:

I admire Isaac because even though he was going to be killed, he believed and trusted his father. It was a wonderful trustworthy relationship between his father and Isaac.

Mom:

Yes, they were. I wish we could be like that too.

Grace:

I felt that the relationship between Abraham and Isaac is the same as the relationship between God and Jesus. Isaac was saved because God had a replacement sheep, but Jesus was crucified. Jesus died on the cross but, He was resurrected. I think God foretold Jesus' resurrection through this trial of Abraham.

Dad:

You all have thought of so many things.

Mom:

Yes, they did. I don't have anything to add.

Dad, Could you please pray for us?

Dad:

Yes, let's pray. Our heavenly Father who loves us, thank you for allowing us to continue our study of Old Testament characters today. I believe that through each of our trials, you are teaching us the wonderfulness of faith to live in God's promised love and hope. And thank you for confirming the depth and magnitude of your love that we can witness through history from the birth of Jesus and the work of salvation. I'll ask for your guidance so that we can learn from now on while receiving wisdom from you. I offer these thanks and prayers in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Amen!

Postlude: