Intermediate Level, Block 2—Babel and Good Land
Week 13
Having a New Beginning—God Choosing and Calling
Point to Emphasize: God has chosen each one of us.
Reference Reading: Genesis 11:26—12:3; Acts 7:2-3
Memory Verse: You did not choose me, but I chose you. (John 15:16)
Story Sample
Last week, we talked about Babel, right? [Short review.] So by the end of this story, men no longer spoke the same language, but were divided and scattered all over. Since the time of Noah, men had made a real mess of the earth again. They no longer followed God, they thought too highly of themselves, and they worshipped idols. It was time for God to have a new beginning—AGAIN!
God’s plan was to call someone in particular, a man whose descendants would be the chosen race, the Jews. He made this plan in eternity past, before man was even on earth. This would be a new beginning for man. Abram was the man God would choose for His new beginning. Later we will hear about how his name was changed to Abraham.
Have you ever been chosen for something? Maybe you are in the fourth grade and the teacher needs to choose a student representative for the class. Don’t you think the teacher knows what kind of person they need for the job? So she considers one by one each person in the class to see who would best represent her, as well as the whole class someone who would be faithful to carry out the responsibilities of the job. Wouldn’t you feel so special to be chosen? Or would you run away from taking the responsibility? [Storyteller, add a personal story of being called and chosen for a particular task because of the kind of person they were.]
Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldeas. In this place, the people worshipped many idols. Abraham’s father was a man named Terah. Eventually, Terah decided to go to the land of Canaan with his son, Abraham’s wife Sarai, and Abraham’s nephew Lot. But before they got all the way to Canaan, they stopped in a place called Haran. It was in this city that God came to Abraham and called him.
What does it mean to call someone? When I call, “John,” [Call out a name of one of the children in the room.] you see, he looked at me because I called him by name, and he knows I am about to speak something to him. Well, the very God Himself not only called Abraham, but God came to visit Abraham and speak to him. In this visit God told Abraham, “Go from your land and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you; and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2)
Out of all the men on earth, God chose this man. And one day, while Abraham was worshipping other gods, the one true God visited him to call him to a better place. Next week we will hear how Abraham responded to God’s call.