NASHVILLE (BP) – This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, Lifeway publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the MasterWork curriculum.
Bible Passage: Genesis 18:19-33
Discussion Questions:
- Whose calls or visits have you always anticipated and enjoyed? What makes that interaction so poignant?
- Who do you know who is a good conversation starter? What score would you give yourself in the category of speaking to strangers?
Read Psalm 95. What do verses 7-8 teach you about hearing God’s voice? What is the instruction it gives?
Food for thought:
Unlike many of us, Abraham had no problem making contact with heaven. He never needed to try. Throughout his long life it was God who made contact with Abraham. We are not always told exactly how God did so. Often we read, “The Lord said to Abraham,” with no explanation whether God spoke in an audible voice or in the stillness of Abraham’s heart.
One time God spoke in a vision (Genesis 15:1); on another occasion He “appeared” to Abraham (17:1). The important point to grasp is that each time communion between the two is mentioned, God took the initiative. God spoke and Abraham responded. Our prayer lives will be much simpler if the same proves true for us. And why should it not be so?
We think of praying as talking, and certainly talking is involved. But the quality of a conversation may well be determined by the person who initiates it. Indeed our whole reaction to a conversation often depends on who first started it. It is comforting in a group of strangers for somebody to greet us and show a friendly interest. It may on the other hand be difficult for us to start a conversation, and it becomes doubly so when our attempt is met with a cold stare.
God is always speaking. To hear His voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to the God who lays a claim on our lives. It is, as Norwegian theologian and author Ole Hallesby once pointed out, “to let Jesus come into our hearts.” For the word here in the New Testament does not commonly refer to an auditory experience.
Abraham, then, was not unique. God approaches all of us in the same way. To hear Him involves no exercise in “tuning in to the right frequency” so much as a humble recognition that it is His prerogative to speak and our responsibility to respond.
We may not have such dramatic experiences as Abraham, but remember that Abraham had no knowledge of God from Scripture. He had never read a chapter of the Bible.
Masterwork
MasterWork is an ongoing Bible study curriculum based on works from a variety of renowned authors and offers pertinent, practical messages that adults will find uplifting and enriching. The list of authors and their books to be studied in upcoming months can be found at Lifeway.com/masterwork.
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