1. Abraham’sTimeline

2.   Chapter 12 in Genesis begins the story of Abraham  The biblical writers uses FOLK STORIES (passed on by word of mouth) and EYEWITNESS STORIES (reported by someone who witnessed the event) Genesis 12

3.   Abraham was married to Sarah  Sarah could not have children  So God said he could have a child with Hagar (a slave girl) named Ishmael ABRAHAM

4.   God makes a covenant with Abraham and promised him  Many descendants  Land

5.   Sarah finds herself pregnant now and they have a son named Isaac  God tests Abraham and ask him to sacrifice his son Isaac  http://www.biblewise.com/archives/2012/februar y/kids_korner/bible_characters/god_tests.htm http://www.biblewise.com/archives/2012/februar y/kids_korner/bible_characters/god_tests.htm

6.   First son of Abraham and Sarah  He married Rebecca and they had 2 sons Esau and Jacob  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UOW57YML R4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UOW57YML R4  Message: God did not program people to be saints or puppets but gave people FREEDOM to do as they wanted ISAAC

7.   Jacob experienced God’s presence in dreams  His name is changed to ISRAEL as he is now the official bearer of God’s covenant promise  He is the successor to Abraham JACOB

8.   Jacob had 12 sons  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfNMB7LAnR Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfNMB7LAnR Y

9.   Joseph is the 11 th son of Jacob  His brothers were all very jealous of him because he was his fathers favorite. Jacob is father gave him a coat  They sold him into slavery and told Jacob he died JOSEPH

10.   He was sent to Egypt and became famous as an interpreter of dreams  He foresaw famine in Egypt and was put in charge of storing grain  His brothers became very poor and couldn’t afford to eat  Joseph forgave them and made sure they had everything they needed  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjUrY- pbQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjUrY- pbQ&feature=related

11.   There is only 1 God.  He created the universe.  He saw that it was good.  He created man and woman equally in his own image.  He asked humans to be caretakers of the earth.  Sin leads to chaos and disorder. 6 Religious Truths found in Genesis

12.   God-hiding  Themselves-shame  Nature-curses  Other people-murder  Other nations-Tower of Babel Sin alienates people from:

13.   Creation: 7 Days of Creation and Adam and Eve  Decreation: Sin Destroys. Destroying what was made Adam and Eve (Temptation, obey what Gods asks us to do) and Cain & Abel (Jealousy is an emotion that leads to sin) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49PSsfvbDT0 Creation/ Decreation/ Recreation

14.  Noah’s Ark Noah was chosen because he was a righteous man and believed in God. He lived a faithful life. The earth was flood to rid it of evil as God did not like what people were doing.  God will never again flood the earth.  The rainbow is a sign of this promise after the flood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq3JyAg7ZjM Re-Creation – Working to put back together what was destroyed; God chooses people to do His Work

15.   Patriach: Male head of a family or tribe: (ex. Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph)  Matriach: Female head of a family or tribe: (Ex. Sarah, Rebekah). Rebekah told son Jacob to deceive brother Esau. She played a dominate role in who received the blessing from Isaac. Lets Review

16.   Abraham was the man called away from his home country to wander as the Lord led him. This covenant with God was passed onto his son Isaac which in turn was passed onto Jacob.  Message : Follow God’s word and you will be rewarded.  Jacob and Esau the twin brothers: Both did things they shouldn’t have to each other. Jacob tricked him in the blessing and Esau made Jacob run away to be safe.  God did not intervene between Jacob and Esau.  Message: Be careful with the choices that you make, you will never know how they will change your life later on. Message of the Stories

17.   Joseph: Was banished by his brothers to prison in another land, then became a well off person  Message: Good things do come from bad situations. You need to make the best of them and along the journey forgive those who have wronged you. Holding a grudge hurts your progress for the future  Tower of Babel: You cannot build a tower to reach God but use your energies in other ways to find your path towards him. It’s a journey through your heart.

18.   The main understanding of these stories is that God did not always choose holy people to become involved in his work of re- creating the world  He often used “regular” people like you and I  Pandora’s Box: A Pandora's box can refer to a gift that appears valuable, but in fact will inflict no end of misery on its owner. New appliances and pets come to mind. To open a Pandora's box means to unwittingly unleash chaos on yourself and those around you. There is also HOPE in the box as well, this is what you use to carry on and move forward. Share this hope with the people around you. NEW UNDERSTANDING