1. “So he built an altar…”- Genesis 12:7
Spiritual fatherhood
“So he built an altar…”- Genesis 12:7

2. Fuel For faithful living
Genesis 12:4-7
“So Abram went as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.”

3. Altar
Built To Remind
A Place Of Sacrifice

4. Why do we need to remember?
Covenant Requires Remembrance
Our relationship with God calls for remembrance to receive the benefits of a covenant relationship, such as assurance, purpose, direction and comfort
Every act of worship, praise, prayer or obedient work is triggered by remembrance and depends upon remembrance.
Forgetting is synonymous with turning away
Remembering implies submission and undivided loyalty

5. I’ll Make Altars of Remembrance

6. Memorable movements of god
At Shechem:
“The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord…”
Genesis 12:7
Between Bethel and Ai:
“There he built and altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord”
Genesis 12:8

7. Memorable movements of god
At Hebron:
“‘All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go and walk the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents, There he built an altar to the Lord.”
Genesis 13:15-18

8. Memorable movements of god
Upon Returning from Egypt to the spot between Bethel and Ai:
“He went…to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord”
Genesis 13:3-4

9. Altars we don't want to build …can be the most meaningful
At Moriah:
“When they (Abraham & Isaac) reached the place God had told them about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it”
Genesis 22:9

10. Altars we don't want to build…can be the most meaningful
At Moriah:
“When they (Abraham & Isaac) reached the place God had told them about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it”
Genesis 22:9

11. An Altar is where trust is commemorated
What would happen if we built an altar in the midst of suffering or difficulty?

12. I’ll place everything on the altar
Remembering God’s faithfulness renews our trust
When Abraham came to Moriah to offer Isaac on an altar of sacrifice, would Abraham remember the promise & recognize the character and power of God?
Hebrews 11:17-19
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called (accounted for).” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

13. We build altars to remember the promise keeper
For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
2 Timothy 1:12

14. As far as the land goes… Hebrews 11:13-16
“All these people (Including Abraham and Sarah) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

15. I’ll Place It All On The Altar