****Sparks
Highlights**** Again, after the flood, the people on the
earth began to sin and do what was right in their own eyes. Yet, again, one man named Abraham and his
wife Sarah, were found to be faithful to God.
God promised great things to Abraham as he was obedient to God –
including the fact that Abraham would be the father of a great nation. This would seem impossible because Abraham
and Sarah were very old without any children.
God fulfilled that promise in the birth of Isaac. When Isaac was young, as a test of Abraham’s
faith, God told Abraham to sacrifice his own son. This seemed so improbable to Abraham, because
after all, he was old and God promised him to be a great nation. Out of great faith and obedience to God, though,
Abraham obeyed. He believed God’s
promise to him even though the situation seemed improbable. He took his son to the place God commanded
and began to prepare Isaac as a sacrifice.
How puzzling it must have been to Isaac, but Isaac trusted his father
and was obedient – obedient to the point of understanding his own father would
sacrifice him. He did not struggle, but
obeyed even unto the point of death.
When God saw Abraham’s obedience, God halted the sacrifice and provided
a substitute for Isaac. A ram was caught in the thicket and Abraham sacrificed
the ram in place of Isaac, a substitute – so Isaac wouldn’t have to die. God provides us today the substitute for our
own eternal death – that in his own Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ willingly laid down his life on
the alter as a sacrifice for our sins.
The Bible states, like Isaac, he didn’t struggle – he willingly layed
down. Jesus Christ was like the ram who
died in Isaac’s place. Jesus Christ died
for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. He
didn’t stay dead, as the ram stayed dead, because He conquered the power of
death when He rose from the grave. In
order to enjoy that freedom from eternal death, we must have faith in the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and be obedient to God, trying to live
for Him by being repentant of our sins and turning away from them. This can be found recorded in Genesis 17-21. Tonight their decorated photo albums are to
remind them of how God is faithful to all generations. You are welcome to join us anytime at
Sparks! You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org
.
Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb
Stein.