The Family on the Move

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 46:1-34

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The Family on the Move — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 46:1-34
Sermon Series: Genesis
January 5, 2020

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   What is your approach towards new year’s resolutions?  What areas of growth from the Lord are you seeking as you move into a new year and decade?
2.   Why does Jacob go to Beersheba and offer sacrifices to God? How does this guide us into a new year?
3.   How does God’s message to Jacob relieve his fears?  What is Jacob’s response?
4.   In what ways have you experienced delayed comfort?  How does this story help us to endure in those seasons of life?
5.   How does the genealogy point us to Christ?
6.   Why would Jacob’s reunion with Joseph have been a time of deep joy as well as worship?
7.   Why is Goshen an ideal place for Israel and his descendants to settle?

References: Genesis 12:2; 22:1; 28:13-15; 15:13-14; 10; Romans 9:5; Matthew 1:1-3.

Like Father, Like Son, Part 1

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 26:1-11

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Like Father, Like Son, Part 1 — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 26:1-11
Sermon Series: Genesis
May 19, 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What are the priceless treasures of friendship with God that were discussed in the sermon? How do we experience these in the Christian life?
2.  Where do we see Isaac’s faith, and how does it reflect that of his father? What does this brief description teach us about the nature of faith?
3.  Where do we see “generational folly” in this passage? How should this affect our parenting?
4.  How would you describe the various facets of Isaac’s sin in this passage?
5.  How does Isaac’s frailty point us to God’s grace in and through Christ?

References: Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23; Galatians 3:29; John 15:14-15; Hebrews 1:2; 1 John 1:1; Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Peter 1:4; James 2:21-22; Deuteronomy 11:1; Genesis 12; 20.

The Climactic Test, Part 2

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 22:1-24

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The Climactic Test, Part 2 — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 22:1-24
Sermon Series: Genesis
March 24, 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What have we learned about God’s character from this story before we even get his response to Abraham’s obedience?
2.  Why is this the only fitting test for Abraham? What is the relationship here between faith and obedience, and why is it so important that we get this right in the Christian life?
3.  How does God affirm Abraham? In what ways have you seen God give affirmation and assurance in your life?
4.  How does this story picture Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God?
5.  Why does God make an oath? How does this text show his trustworthiness?
6.  How does the genealogy at the end of the chapter point us both forward and backwards in the book of Genesis?

References: Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:19; Proverbs 8:13; 9:10; Job 1:1; 1 Peter 1:7; Matthew 3:17; John 3:16; Romans 8:32; Isaiah 53:7, 10; John 1:29; 18:12; 19:17-18; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:6, 9; Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 6:13-20; Genesis 11:26-32; 21:33.

The Climactic Test, Part 1

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 22:1-24

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The Climactic Test, Part 1 — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 22:1-24
Sermon Series: Genesis
March 17, 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  Why does this weighty test come at this particular time in Abraham’s life? What does this imply about how God tests us?
2.  What do the opening verses suggest about the relationship between God and Abraham? Why is this so important for understanding Abraham’s response?
3.  What does it mean to say that Isaac represents Abraham’s heart and hope?
4.  In what ways do we see Abraham’s obedience? How do his words show what is going on in his heart?
5.  How does this narrative help us to trust God during times of much confusion?
6.  What does it mean to say that Abraham valued the Giver over the gift and that the Word was supreme over his will? What does this look like in our lives?
7.  How do we explain the incredible strength of Abraham’s character depicted in this passage, and what does that suggest about our own lives? How does it show the glory of God’s grace through the work of Christ?

References: Genesis 12:1; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Deuteronomy 8:2, 16; Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:19; James 2:18-24.

The Two Sons, Part 2

Genesis 21:8-21

8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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The Two Sons, Part 2 — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 21:8-21
Sermon Series: Genesis
24 February 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  Discuss how God meets his people, keeps his promises, accomplishes his purposes, and establishes his praise in and through Jesus Christ.
2.  How do we see Sarah’s sin and God’s sovereignty in this passage?
3.  Where do we see God’s grace in how he relates to Abraham in particular?
4.  How are faith and obedience linked together in Abraham’s response to God?
5.  Why did God separate Ishmael from Isaac?  What does this have to do with our salvation?
6.  Discuss Paul’s use of this passage in Galatians 4.  What is he trying to teach his readers?
7.  What does God’s care for Ishmael teach us about his character?

References:Matthew 1:23; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Galatians 4:4; Acts 2:23; Ephesians 1:12; Genesis 16; Galatians 4:21-31.

The Two Sons, Part 1

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 21:1-21

1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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The Two Sons, Part 1 — Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 21:1-21
17 February 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How does the birth of Isaac mark both the beginning and the continuation of the line to Christ?
2.  In what ways has God clarified and confirmed his promises to Abraham between chapters 12 and 21?
3.  How do these verses encourage us to put theology at the center of the church? Why might some be uncomfortable with saying that the church is about theology?
4.  How do vv. 1-2 teach us that God meets his people, keeps his promises, and accomplishes his purposes? In what ways are these truths foundational throughout the Bible and in the Christian life?
5.  How does this passage show us that God does everything for his glory? How does he establish his praise in our lives?

References: Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 15:2, 4; 16:1-2; 17:16-21; Titus 1:1-2; Exodus 4:31; Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 14:27; 46:9-10.

The Covenant Confirmed and Sealed

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 17:1-27

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

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The Covenant Confirmed and Sealed
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 17:1-27
6 January 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What is a covenant, and how is this passage a continuation of what we saw in chapter 15?
2.  Why does God begin his speech to Abram by naming himself? What is the significance of this particular name?
3.  Which elements of God’s promise are repeated in chapter 17 and which are new?
4.  How does this passage reassure us that as Christians God will never leave us?
5.  What does circumcision symbolize? What does it mean that Christians have a circumcised heart?
6.  What does it mean to say that Isaac is the son of human impossibility and divine power? What does this teach us about the Christian life?
7.  How do promise and awe fuel obedience?

References: Genesis 12:3; 15:1; Revelation 5:5; 19:16; Jeremiah 4:4; Deuteronomy 10:16; Colossians 2:11-13; Romans 4:11-12; Galatians 5:6; 6:15.

Renewed Faith

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 13:1-8

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Renewed Faith — Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 13:1-18
14 October 2018
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FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission
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Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  Describe times in your life when God renewed your faith. What were some of the means he used?
2.  What does it mean to acknowledge the Lord, and how do we see Abram doing this in our passage? How does this differ from the previous passage?
3.  What would it look like for you to “return and recognize”?
4.  How is Abram portrayed as a peacemaker? Where do we find this quality emphasized in the New Testament, and how does it challenge you?
5.  How did Abram renounce self in his dealings with Lot? Why was he able to do this?
6.  What does it mean to live by faith and not by sight?

References: Proverbs 3:5-6; Revelation 2:4-5; Matthew 7:7-11; James 3:17-18; Matthew 5:9; 1 Corinthians 3:21; Romans 8:32; Matthew 5:5; 2 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:7.

The Faithful God & The Father of Faith

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 12:1-9

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The Faithful God & The Father of Faith -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 12:1-9
30 September 2018
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FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission
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Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  Why do we refer to Abram as the father of faith?
2.  Why would God’s command in v. 1 not have been easy to embrace?
3.  What does it mean to say that God’s word to Abram begins with command but is dominated by promise? What does this tell us about the Lord and how he relates to people?
4.  How would you summarize God’s promises to Abram? What is the significance of the last promise in v. 3, and why does Paul say that this was the gospel being preached to Abram?
5.  How would you characterize Abram’s response to God’s word? How does this challenge comfortable Christianity, selective obedience, and competing priorities?
6.  What is the purpose of God’s appearance to Abram, and what does this tell us about God’s character?
7.  What is the symbolism conveyed by Abram’s worship and altar building as he moves through the land?

References: Genesis 17:5; Galatians 3:9, 29; Romans 4:11; Acts 7:2-3; Hebrews 11:8-10; Exodus 20:2; John 14:1-3; Exodus 1:7-9; Genesis 24:34-35; Galatians 3:8; Genesis 6:22; 7:9; Matthew 10:37.

The Flood Finished

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 8:1-22

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The Flood Finished -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 8:1-22
12 August 2018

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What is the biggest effect that the Noah narrative has had on you so far?
2.  How do we see God’s faithfulness in this passage? In what specific ways have you seen God’s faithfulness in your life?
3.  What does it look like to wait on God, and how do we see this in the life of Noah?
4.  Why did Noah make burnt offerings to God? What does the timing of these offerings tell us about his attitude towards God?
5.  How does this passage direct our attention to Christ?

References: Exodus 2:24; Hebrews 11:7; Psalm 27:14; Leviticus 1:1-17; Ephesians 5:2.

Noah and the Ark

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 6:9-22

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Noah and the Ark -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 6:9-22
29 July 2018

DEEP SHEET:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How would you describe Noah based on the text? How does Noah’s character challenge us in the midst of our generation?
2.  How would you characterize the relationship between God and Noah?
3.  What does it mean to say that God destroyed what man had already destroyed?
4.  How does God’s judgment in the past point us to the future? According to Peter, what practical effect should this have on the Christian?
5.  In what ways does the ark serve as a picture of Christ?

References: Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 15:6; Proverbs 11:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 2 Peter 2:5; John 5:24; Genesis 18:17-21; John 15:15; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:11-12; 1 John 2:17; Exodus 2:3, 5.