Elementary Level, Block 2—Noah to Isaac
Week 15
Abraham—God Keeping His Promise
Point to Emphasize: God keeps His promises in His own time; we can believe His Word.
Reference Reading: Genesis 15:1-7; 17:1-22; 18:9-15; 21:1-8; Acts 7:2-5; Romans 4:19-22
Memory Verse: But with regard to the promise of God, he did not doubt in unbelief…
(Romans 4:20)
Story Sample
Who can tell me what a promise is? [Encourage children to explain.] Today we want to talk about a special promise that God made to Abraham.
Remember how we talked about Abraham a couple of weeks ago? About how he followed God when He called him to go to a new place? Did you know that he was 75 years old when he did this? That is pretty old to start something so new. But he went! Just like God asked him to do.
Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children. They really wanted a child, but not even one was born. So God promised Abraham that he would have a son, and his name would be Isaac. And not only would he have a son, he would have a family so big that it would become a great nation. He promised Abraham a child, not once, not twice, but three different times! It seemed impossible that someone as old as Abraham could have a child, but God had promised him so surely it would be so!
Years went by and still Abraham had not had a child. He was 99 years old the last time God made this promise, and he was beginning to doubt God. He probably had many conversations with God, asking Him why He wasn’t doing anything about it, reminding God that He had promised him this child three times now!
How many times has this happened to you? My parents promised me that they would buy me a bike when I was about 8 years old. But then they had to use the money to fix the car when it broke down. Of course, I complained, “But mom, YOU PROMISED!” And then, a little while later, another emergency came up. Once again, I complained, “But, YOU PROMISED.” It seemed like this went on month after month. I complained every time, and eventually I gave up. I began to think that my parents did not keep their promises. I shouldn’t have doubted in my parents and their promise to me. I had to wait, like Abraham waited for God to give him a child. But…when I was nine years old, my parents were able to keep their promise, and they bought me a bike! I was so happy! [Use your own personal story.]
Even when Abraham was not sure, he kept coming to God. God knew when the best time was for Abraham to have a child. Finally, at the age of 100 years, Abraham had his son Isaac. God came in and blessed Abraham with his first child, and the first of many descendants. This is how the nation of Israel began!