Background Scripture (read 2-3 times during the week)
Story Summary
Genesis 1-11 tells the stories of the origins of humanity: creation, the first humans, the flood, and the tower of Babel. As we turn the page from those early stories of the Bible, we learn about the man God called to be his partner to bless all people on the earth: Abram. Abram's faith became the prototype for the faith God wants us all to have. Here's his story...
God Calls Abram to Leave Haran (Genesis 12)
Abram was a descendant of Shem (Noah's son). His father was Terah. Terah and his household lived in a place called Ur of Chaldeans, which was a region of Babylon (remember last week's story?) and began to move to Canaan. But for some reason, on the way, they made the decision to stop and live in Haran instead. They lived there for many years.
- Babylon is in modern-day Iraq.
- Haran is in modern-day Turkey.
- Canaan is in the area of modern-day Israel, Lebanon and Palestine.
God called Abram to leave Haran and his people and finish the journey to Canaan (Genesis 12 and Acts 7:2-4). Abram was married to Sarai. At this point in the story, they did not have any children. Abram left as the Lord told him. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all their possessions and established his own household - just because God told him to.
God's Promise: A Great Nation and a Blessing to All
God promised Abram that he would make him into a great nation that would be a blessing to the whole earth.
- "I will make you into a great nation...I will make your name great...All nations on earth
will be blessed because of you." (Genesis 12:2-3) - "Can dust be counted? If it can, then your family can be counted." (Genesis 13:16)
Now, Abram and Sarai were starting to get pretty old and God's promises that he would become a great nation with so many kids, grand-kids, great grand-kids (and so on) that they couldn't be counted...well...that depended on them having at least one kid, right? But so far, zero kids. This was becoming a problem.
Abram started to get discouraged and was talking to God about it (a good idea!). "Lord and King, what can you give me? I still don’t have any children." (Genesis 15:2).
Once again, God gave Abram a promise about his family, but this time instead of using dust as the example of how big they will be, used the stars:
- "The Lord took Abram outside and said, 'Look up at the sky. Count the stars, if you can.' Then he said to him, 'That’s how many children will be born into your family.'" (Genesis 15:5)
At this point, Abram's faith wavered. He was 86, and still didn't have a child! So he came up with his own plan to have a child with his servant Hagar instead of Sarai. Although the "faith of Abraham" is the model we are called to follow (see Galatians 3:9), it sure wasn't perfect!
From Abram to Abraham: Why God Changed His Name
Abram was now 99 years old and...still no children. But God once again gave Abram another promise about his family:
- "I will now act on my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you." (Genesis 17:2)
As another promise for Abram to believe, God changed his name from Abram (which means "Exalted Father") to Abraham (which means "Father of a Multitude").
- "You will not be called Abram anymore. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you a father of many nations. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you. Nations and kings will come from you." (Genesis 17:5-6)
In this same conversation, God also changed his wife's name from Sarai (which means "My Princess," the princess of a specific family) to Sarah (meaning "Princess," a universal princess).
- "Do not continue to call your wife by the name Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. 16 I will give her my blessing. You can be sure that I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of nations will come from her." (Genesis 17:15-16)
If you are keeping score at home, that's 6 times God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah about the family he would give them! God also gave him promises about the land Abraham would inherit: "You are now living in Canaan as an outsider. But I will give you the whole land of Canaan. You will own it forever and so will all your family after you. And I will be their God." (Genesis 17:8)
By this point in the story, though, Abraham hadn't seen any of this come to pass. That's why you'll need to tune in next week for the story of Abraham, Sarah & Isaac.
My Notes
What You Will Need
Supplies
- A world map that contains the Middle East (including Iraq, Turkey, and Israel)
Snack
sugar cookies in the shape of stars. Decorate the cookies with icing and add sprinkles
Take Home
Glow in the dark stars for bedroom ceiling
Resource Sheets
Use this camel outline for some of the reinforcement activities below.
This coloring sheet depicts Abram's journey of faith
1 Warm Up get your kids talking and engaged
Ask the children if they have ever moved. Were they nervous? Was it scary? Imagine if you packed up your house and started moving before you even knew where you were going! In this lesson, we learn about a man who did just that.
2 Teach the Story teach a holistic story
The key things to focus on in this lesson are:
- Abram did what God asked him to do in faith. He moved from Haran to Canaan.
- God promised Abram children, even though Sarai could not have any children at that point.
- Sometimes God asks us to do things, and we aren't exactly sure how it is going to turn out. It takes faith to believe God and do what he asks of us anyway.
- God did fulfill his promise to Abram - and in the next couple weeks, we will learn about Abraham's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Read story from a Children's storybook Bible for younger children.
For older children, you can read Genesis 12:1-9 directly from a Bible (especially an easy-to-understand version like the NIrV)
3 Bible Mastery give them basic Bible skills
Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Genesis 12:1-5, Genesis 15:1-6
4 Comprehension Questions make sure they understand the story
First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. What to do if you don't know the answer?
- Where did Abram live when God asked him to move?
- Haran, 12:4
- Where did Abram move to?
- Canaan, 12:5
- What is it called when you do something God asks you to do, even though you don't know exactly how it is going to work out?
- Faith
- What was God's promise to Abram when he got to Canaan?
- That his children would own that land
- How old was Abram when God told him his children would inherit the land?
- At least 75 years old - WOW!
5 Faith Questions open up a conversation about faith and the gospel; close with prayer
- The story of Abram gives one of the first real pictures of faith in the Bible. Faith is a really important word to God. It means to trust what he says and then to act on it.
- Do you have faith in God? Do you believe in Him and will you obey Him when he asks you to do something like Abram did?
6 Memory Verse hide God's Word in their heart
Suitcase Relay
- Divide class into two teams and have them line up one behind another.
- Give the first child in line the suitcase.
- Put all the items (clothes, toys, etc) at the opposite side of the room, in a pile on the floor.
- The first child in line for each team must run to the pile of clothes and toys, fill up the suitcase, run back to the line, and hand the suitcase to the next child in line.
- The next child must take the suitcase to the opposite side of the room, unpack it, run back to the line, and hand the empty suitcase to the next child in line.
- Repeat until all children have gone for each team.
- Remind the students that Abram and Sarai packed up everything they had to move, just because God asked them to.
He Walked How Far?!?!?
- Show a map of modern day Turkey and modern day Israel (Haran is now in Turkey and Canaan is Israel)
- Emphasize that Abram had to walk the entire way from Haran to Canaan
- Compare the distance between Turkey and Israel and the distance between your location and another state.
- It is about 550 miles from Haran to Israel
- How long do they think that took?
- Find creative ways to help them understand how long it took. For example, if your parking lot is a half-mile around, tell them it would be like they walked around the parking lot 1,100 times
About Camels
- Camels were the most popular mode of transportation in ancient times. Abraham would have had a large caravan of camels to carry the tents and supplies needed for all of his family and workers.
- The camel is a large, strong desert animal.
- Traveling at a rate of 2 to 3 miles per hour, camels can carry 500 to 1,000 pounds on their backs.
- They are able to keep up this pace for 6 or 7 hours a day. Camels will refuse to carry loads that are not properly balanced.
- The hump of a camel is mostly a lump of fat. Bands of strong tissue hold pads of fat together, forming the hump above the backbone. The hump of a healthy, well-fed camel may weigh 80lbs or more.
- Most kinds of animals store fat in their bodies, but only camels keep most of their fat in a hump. If food is hard to find, the fat in the hump provides energy for the animal. If a camel is starving, its hump shrinks. The hump may even slip off the animal's back and hang down on its side. After the camel has had a few weeks' rest and food, its hump becomes firm and plump again.
- The tough, leathery skin pads on a camel's legs act as cushions when the animal kneels to rest. The camel bends its front legs and drops to its knees. Then it folds its hind legs and sinks to the ground. To get up, the camel straightens its hind legs and then jerks up its front legs. A camel can lie down and get up again even with a heavy load on its back.
Salty Star Art
- Mix 1/4 cup of water, food coloring and 1 Tbsp of salt into your containers.
- Mix salt each time you dip your brush into the water.
- Paint stars onto your paper.
- Preheat oven to its lowest setting.
- Place paper in oven for 10 minutes or until dry.
Tent Lesson
- Teach the Bible story while sitting in a tent or allow children to play in a tent prior to lesson, if the class is too large.
- While you are teaching the lesson, emphasize to the children that Abram stayed in a tent while he was traveling to Canaan.
- Ask the children if any of them have ever slept in a tent.
Follow the Leader
- Play a game of the classic "Follow the Leader"
- Remind them that Abraham followed God, even though he didn't know where He was leading him
Star Craft
- Glue printed stars (or die cuts) to black construction paper.
- Have students draw a line to connect the stars with chalk.
- Remind the students of God's promise to Abram.
Crystal Stars
- God promised to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.
- Make stars out of borax powder
- Students can take them home to let them grow overnight or leave them in the classroom to be picked up the next week.
Origami Stars
- God promised to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore
- Children love making origami crafts
- You can have them make these origami stars and remind them of God's promise to Abraham
Follow God's Voice
- Choose two confident student volunteers.
- Blindfold one volunteer.
- Have the second volunteer go across the room as far as possible.
- The volunteer across the room must try to guide the blindfolded student to himself by only using his voice.
- An adult should walk next to blindfolded student to prevent accidents.
- Encourage the speaking student to give thorough instructions and for the blindfolded student to listen carefully.
- For older students, you can choose a few in the audience to try to distract the blindfolded student.
- Explain that Abraham had to follow God without seeing Him. This took much faith!
- Since the completion of the Bible, God speaks to his children through his Holy Word the Bible.
- Just like God had a plan and a promise for Abraham, God has a plan and a promise for us.
- We must be listening to God's voice like Abraham by reading our Bible, praying, and coming to church to hear the Word preached. It takes faith!
- Are we following God's voice?
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Star Craft Example
