Friendship with God
Genesis 22:1-18
1. Radical Obedience
Abraham rose early and obeyed God immediately, even when the command was extremely costly. What does “radical obedience” look like in everyday life today?
2. Unshakable Trust
Abraham told Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb” (Genesis 22:8), even as he walked up the mountain to sacrifice his own son.
3. Wholehearted Worship & Surrender
The first time the word “worship” is spoken by someone in the Bible (though it appears in Hebrew earlier) is when Abraham says, “We will go worship” as he is about to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:5).
4. Friendship with God
Jesus has proven He is the greatest Friend we could ever have. The question the sermon flips on us is: “Do I have a friend in you?”
Genesis 22:1-18
1. Radical Obedience
Abraham rose early and obeyed God immediately, even when the command was extremely costly. What does “radical obedience” look like in everyday life today?
- Share an area where you find it most challenging to obey God without delay or without picking and choosing (selective obedience).
- Why do you think delayed or partial obedience is so dangerous to our relationship with God?
2. Unshakable Trust
Abraham told Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb” (Genesis 22:8), even as he walked up the mountain to sacrifice his own son.
- Can you share a time in your life when you had to trust God even though it felt like the promise was “dying on the altar”?
- How does Abraham’s story (and the provision of the ram) point us to Jesus and help us trust God in our current trials?
3. Wholehearted Worship & Surrender
The first time the word “worship” is spoken by someone in the Bible (though it appears in Hebrew earlier) is when Abraham says, “We will go worship” as he is about to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:5).
- What does it mean to worship God with “open hands” instead of just “lifted hands”?
- What is one “Isaac” in your life right now (something valuable you’re tempted to hold back from God)? How might God be inviting you to lay it down?
4. Friendship with God
Jesus has proven He is the greatest Friend we could ever have. The question the sermon flips on us is: “Do I have a friend in you?”
- Looking at Abraham’s life (radical obedience, unshakable trust, and wholehearted worship), which of these three areas do you sense God is currently growing in you?
- What would it practically look like this week for you to live as a true friend of God?