1. Sarah’s Laugh
Genesis 15:1-6; 17:1-8, 15-22; 18:1-15; 21:1-7

2. Abram and Sarai were old—almost 100 years old!

3. God had promised to give Abram his own land.
Many years earlier,
God had promised to give Abram his own land.

4. God promised that the land would belong to Abram’s children and grandchildren in the years to come—

5. …and there would be more children and grandchildren than there are stars in the sky!

6. But Abram and Sarai had no children.

7. The years kept passing by and they got older and older waiting for God to keep His promise.

8. In the years in between, Abram had fathered a son with Sarai’s servant Hagar. His name was Ishmael. But God was clear: Ishmael was not the child He’d promised.

9. When Abram was 99, God reminded them He hadn’t forgotten His promise

10. Abram fell upon his face and God talked with him
“My covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations… Your name will no more be Abram, but you name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you

11. I will make you exceeding fruitful and I will make nations of you and kings shall come out of you I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you …for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you and to your seed after you.

12. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

13. Then Abraham fell upon his face and Laughed!
And said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is 100 years old? And shall Sarah, that is 90 years old bear???

14. Then Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

15. God gave Abram and Sarai new names and made promises, called a covenant with them.

16. “father of many nations.”
“Abraham” means
“father of many nations.”

17. His new name reminded Abraham that he would have man descendants.

18. “Sarah” means
“princess.”

19. There was still NO child to prove this promise true!
God told Abraham that kings would come from Sarah’s womb. But even as Abraham worshipped God,
he laughed. What an impossible, ridiculous idea that he and Sarah could be parents of a baby now!
There was still NO child to prove this promise true!

20. One day, Abraham was sitting at the opening of his tent when he noticed three men traveling toward him.

21. As the guest came closer, he ran to meet them
and bowed before them.

22. Perhaps he knew that these were no ordinary men—
and he was right! One of them was the Lord Himself, appearing as a man! The others were angels.

23. Genesis 18:3-5 tells is what Abraham said to the three men, “My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: …”

24. “…Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts:…”

25. “…after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said,
So do, as thou hast said.”

26. Then Abraham went back to talk to his guests
The guests sat down to rest and Abraham hurried to Sarah, inside the tent.
‘Quick! Could you make some bread? Use the good flour,’ Abraham may have told Sarah.
Then before she could ask any questions, he had hurried off to select a calf to prepare for their meal and told a servant
how to prepare it.
Then Abraham went back to talk to his guests
while they waited.

27. Soon the meal was ready and the guest were served. They ate and talked
Soon the meal was ready and the guest were served. They ate and talked. The One who was really the Lord asked, “Where is Sarah?”

28. ‘Over there in the tent.” Abraham answered.

29. and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.”
Genesis 18:10 tells us what the Lord said, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life:
and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.”

30. Well, Sarah was listening
Well, Sarah was listening. And when she heard what the Lord said, she laughed! Two people THIS old, having a baby DID seem pretty funny!

31. Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”
Genesis 18:13-14 tells us, “And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying,
Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”

32. “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?
At the time appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

33. and that scared her a little! So she lied! ‘I didn’t laugh,’ she said.
Although Sarah thought no one could hear her, she was wrong. The Lord had heard her loud and clear—
and that scared her a little! So she lied!
‘I didn’t laugh,’ she said.

34. But the Lord replied, ‘Yes you DID laugh
But the Lord replied, ‘Yes you DID laugh!” Sarah couldn’t hide her thoughts and feelings from the Lord.

35. Even though Sarah didn’t believe the Lord at first,
God kept His promise.

36. The very next year Sarah gave birth to a baby boy!

37. Abraham named their son Isaac, which means
“he laughs”—after all, they’d both laughed at the thought of having a baby at their age.

38. Now here he was: God’s living “last laugh” on them!

39. Now it didn’t matter that they’d waited all these years.
It didn’t matter that they were FAR too old.
God’s promise had come TRUE!
All their friends praised God for keeping His promise.

40. Abraham and Sarah laughed at the thought of having a baby when they were so old, but God kept His promise.

41. When God’s promise was fulfilled and baby Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah and their friends celebrated!

42. all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”
And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that
not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you;
all are come to pass unto you,
and not one thing hath failed thereof.”
Joshua 23:14

43. all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”
And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that
not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you;
all are come to pass unto you,
and not one thing hath failed thereof.”
Joshua 23:14
This verse reminds us that
God keeps ALL of His promises—
that is a BIG reason to celebrate!

44. Sometimes when people have a party, they rent a bounce house.

45. Jumping in a bounce house is a way to celebrate
Jumping in a bounce house is a way to celebrate. So a bounce house can remind us to celebrate when we see God keeping His promises!

46. Connecting Kids To

47. The Gospel of Matthew starts with a list of people in Jesus’ earthly family—

48. great-great grandparents,
His grandparents,
great-grandparents,
great-great grandparents,
and so on.

49. And the list goes all the way back to Abraham and
baby Isaac!

50. God sent us His own Son, Jesus, to be born in
Abraham’s family line!

51. And now, people all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus, God’s One and Only Son.

52. God promised to send Jesus—and God always
keeps His promises!