El Shaddai
– God Almighty
Open
Dictionary as group
Cards are things only God can do (examples: blind can see, rising Lazarus from the dead, Jonah and the whale, Crossing of the Red Sea, etc)
What are somethings that you can’t
do that God can do?
What are somethings that God leaves
to you to do?
How do you react to those in your
life that are more powerful than you?
El
Shaddai -
El
Shaddai – God Almighty
Websters
says Almighty is “having absolute power of all; having complete power; having a
great deal of power or importance.
Well-known
verse – “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Gen 18:14
Used
48 times in OT - 31 in Job alone!
Abram
was the first in Genesis 17 as He and God talk about the Covenant between them
again
Background to the
Convenant
Background
a.
Genesis
12:1 – 25 years earlier – God’s promise to Abram (75 years old)
b.
Genesis 15 – no child yet
c.
Genesis 16 – Sarah’s idea to fulfill promise
through Hagar
d.
Genesis 17 – Abram is now 100 years old and
tired…loosing hope…things are a mess because of Sarah and his’ own attempt to
fill God’s promise
**SO El Shaddai
has come in during a seemingly impossible situation
a.
God doesn’t want (or need) our help outside of
His plan
b.
We often get in the way of the blessing and
delay God
Read
story Genesis 17:1-10
a.
What were the 2 main parts of the covenant?
God’s and Abram’s? (circumsion and to walk a holy life)
b.
God had already told Abram His own part of the
promise back in Genesis 12 and 15 – why do you think this is the first time He
is mentioning Abram’s part? (He is getting ready to fulfill it so preparing
Abram for action)
c.
Is God’s condition for obedience one He still
expects of us today? (Yes – 2 Cor. 6:17-18 and John 15:5)
i.
Story of the Rechargeable Solar Lights…We are
lights for God – first we need to stay charged with HIS power – second we need
to walk in the Light…if Solar lights stay in the darkness, they lose their
shine and burn out
d.
God’s side of the covenant had several
promises…what are they? (Father of many
nations – fruitful – Kings – to be your God – Canaan)
**List on white board)
Craft and a Look
at How God fulfilled these promises
1.
Each
table has materials to make a scene of Abram looking up at the stars. Your
stars have verses to look up in the Bible
2.
As children cut and paste the stars in the sky, have someone read the
story in the Bible and discuss what part of the promise it fulfills. Write this
on a blank star and color both starts the same color
3.
Why is it important that we can identify these
stories?? (We trust those who have shown their power…those who have kept their
promises)
BLESSINGS from El
Shaddai
Note that
God required both something from Abram but ALSO his descendants the
Israelites….Blessings require us to react with obedience
Quick
illustration of fishing (from Tony Evans)…2 guys fishing…one kept catching HUGE fish but would
throw them back. If he caught anything under 10”s, he would keep it.
Finally the other guy asked WHAT he was
doing?! The first man said – well my frying pan is only 10 inches wide…
WHAT is
something El Shaddai is calling YOU to be obedient and do yet you may not feel you have the tools, the frying pan, to accomplish it?
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