James Reapsome - Abraham. Model of Faith

A BRAHAM
A S HAW B OOK
P UBLISHED B Y W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
A division of Random House, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

eISBN: 978-0-307-76924-4

Copyright 2000 by James Reapsome

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher.

v3.1

Faith lies at the heart of Gods message to us in the Bible. Strip the Bible of faith and you have very little left. God confronts his people with their duty to trust, love, and obey him. Yet, except for a skimpy definition in Hebrews 11:1, the Bible does not offer a lengthy theological treatise on faith. Rather, the writers go to great lengths to describe people of faith.

One such person of faith is the patriarch Abraham. We find his story not only in the book of Genesis, but throughout Scripture. He is one of many listed in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame of the faithful, and there he shines above the others. When we discover the critical meaning of saving faith in Romans 4, Abraham is our model again. This ought to tell us something about the importance and value of studying his life of faith.

But the narratives in Genesis do not exalt the man; they exalt his God. These studies will help us discover what kind of person Abraham was. At the same time, since faith is useless unless it rests on a rock solid foundation, we will also learn more about the God whom Abraham trusted. God was completely trustworthy, even though at times it seemed to Abraham that God had forgotten to keep his word. We shall also discover a God of grace and forgiveness when our hero of faith stumbled.

This study will also attempt to translate Abrahams battles for faith and obedience into meaning for our similar battles today. You will find many questions to help you focus on how Abrahams struggles can help you to grow stronger in faithful obedience to God. I pray that you will become as excited as I was when I studied the life of Abraham. He became known as Gods friend (James 2:23)a worthy aspiration for all of us.

James Reapsome

Fisherman studyguides are based on the inductive approach to Bible study. Inductive study is discovery study; we discover what the Bible says as we ask questions about its content and search for answers. This is quite different from the process in which a teacher tells a group about the Bible, what it means, and what to do about it. In inductive study, God speaks directly to each of us through his Word.

A group functions best when a leader keeps the discussion on target, but this leader is neither the teacher nor the answer person. A leaders responsibility is to asknot tell. The answers come from the text itself as group members examine, discuss, and think together about the passage.

There are four kinds of questions in each study. The first is an approach question. Used before the Bible passage is read, this question breaks the ice and helps you focus on the topic of the Bible study. It begins to reveal where thoughts and feelings need to be transformed by Scripture.

Some of the earlier questions in each study are observation questions designed to help you find out basic factswho, what, where, when, and how.

When you know what the Bible says, you need to ask, What does it mean? These interpretation questions help you to discover the writers basic message.

Application questions ask What does it mean to me? They challenge you to live out the Scriptures life-transforming message.

Fisherman studyguides provide spaces between questions for jotting down responses and related questions you would like to raise in the group. Each group member should have a copy of the studyguide and may take a turn in leading the group.

For consistency, Fisherman guides are written from the New International Version. But a group should feel free to use the NIV or any other accurate, modern translation of the Bible such as the New Living Translation, the New Revised Standard Version, the New Jerusalem Bible, or the Good News Bible. (Other paraphrases of the Bible may be referred to when additional help is needed.) Bible commentaries should not be brought to a Bible study because they tend to dampen discussion and keep people from thinking for themselves.

. Read and study the Bible passage thoroughly beforehand, grasping its themes and applying its teachings for yourself. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you into truth so that your leadership will guide others.

. If the studyguides questions ever seem ambiguous or unnatural to you, rephrase them, feeling free to add others that seem necessary to bring out the meaning of a verse.

. Begin (and end) the study promptly. Start by asking someone to pray for Gods help. Remember, the Holy Spirit is the teacher, not you!

. Ask for volunteers to read the passages out loud.

. As you ask the studyguides questions in sequence, encourage everyone to participate in the discussion. If some are silent, ask, What do you think, Heather? or Dan, what can you add to that answer? or suggest, Lets have an answer from someone who hasnt spoken up yet.

. If a question comes up that you cant answer, dont be afraid to admit that youre baffled! Assign the topic as a research project for someone to report on next week.

. Keep the discussion moving and focused. Though tangents will inevitably be introduced, you can bring the discussion back to the topic at hand. Learn to pace the discussion so that you finish a study each session you meet.

. Dont be afraid of silences; some questions take time to answer and some people need time to gather courage to speak. If silence persists, rephrase your question, but resist the temptation to answer it yourself.