1. Adult Bible Study Guide Jul Aug Sep 2015 Adult Bible Study Guide Jul Aug Sep 2015 powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com

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4. Biblical Missionaries Our Goal We will look at mission first and foremost as God’s means for commu- nicating the gospel. Mission is a core part of God’s sovereign activity in the process of redeeming humanity. We will study how God’s eternal purpose has been accomplished in the lives of individuals in the Bible whom He has used to be missionaries to the lost.

5. Biblical Missionaries Contents 1 The Missionary Nature of God 2 Abraham: The First Missionary 3 The Unlikely Missionary 4 The Jonah Saga 5 Exiles as Missionaries 6 Esther and Mordecai 7 Jesus: The Master of Missions 8 Cross-Cultural Missions 9 Peter and the Gentiles 10 Philip as Missionary 11 Paul: Background and Call 12 Paul: Mission and Message 13 Must the Whole World Hear?

6. Biblical Missionaries Lesson 2, July 11 Biblical Missionaries Lesson 2, July 11 Abraham: The First Missionary

7. Key Text Galatians 3:6-8 NIV “ So, also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ ”

8. Abraham: The First Missionary Quick Look 1. The Call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) 2. The Travels of Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-19) 3. The Household of Abraham (Genesis 18:19)

9. Abraham: The First Missionary Initial Words God gave Abraham, and his family after him, a three-fold purpose: (1) to be recipients and guardians of the divine truth of God’s kingdom; (2) to be the channel through which the Redeemer would enter history; and (3) to be, as God’s faithful servants, a light to the nations, a light to those who need to know the Lord.

10. Abraham: The First Missionary 1. The Call of Abraham Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curse you....”

11. 1. The Call of Abraham For His Sake Abram—whose name meant “the father is exalted” and whose name was changed to Abraham, “the father of multitudes”—God called to separate from his familiar social and spiritual context and migrate to an unfamiliar country, where God conducted a 100- year spiritual makeover, turning him into the “father of the faithful.”

12. 1. The Call of Abraham For His Sake We may be required to abandon a career that promises wealth and honor; to leave congenial and profitable associations and separate from family; to enter upon what appears only to be a path of self- denial, hardship, and sacrifice. But if called, how can we refuse?

13. 1. The Call of Abraham Testimony to the Kings To the kings he conquered, Abraham revealed the power of God. Even during this rescue mission [of] Lot, the “father of the faithful” did not loose his divine call to be a blessing to the nations.

14. Testimony to the Kings Patriarchs and Prophets 135 “[Abraham] had not only rendered a great service to the country, but had proved himself a man of valor. It was seen that righteousness is not cowardice, and that [His] religion made him coura-geous in maintaining the right and defending the oppressed. His heroic act gave him a widespread influence among the surrounding tribes.”

15. Abraham: The First Missionary 2. The Travels of Abraham Hebrews 11:8-19 NKJV “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place...not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise...for he waited for the city...whose maker is God.... By faith Abraham...offered up Isaac...concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead....”

16. 2. The Travels of Abraham Exemplar of Faith 1. L EFT his past behind. Pasts that are not in harmony with the will and law of God. 2. Did not know where he was going. Not knowing is prerequisite for truly being able to live by faith. 3. Look to the city of God. Whatever toils and struggles here, it would all be worth it in the end.

17. 2. The Travels of Abraham Exemplar of Faith And, of course, the greatest example of faith in the Old Testament was what Abraham was willing to do to his son on Mount Moriah at the command of God. In what ways have you experienced what it means to step out in faith?

18. 2. The Travels of Abraham The Shaping of a Missionary 1. Moreh at Shechem (Gen 12). “The Lord appeared...and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ ” 2. Hebron (Gen 13, 14). “So he brought back all the goods, and also his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.”

19. 2. The Travels of Abraham The Shaping of a Missionary 3. Mamre (Gen 18). “ ‘Would you destroy the righteous and the wicked?... Suppose ten [righteous] should be found there?’ ” 4. Mount Moriah (Gen 22). “And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad...for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.’ ”

20. Abraham: The First Missionary 3. The Household of Abraham Genesis 18:19 NKJV “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice....”

21. 3. The Household of Abraham Faithfulness and Service “God called Abraham to be a teacher of His word, He chose him to be the father of a great nation, because He saw that Abraham would instruct his children and his household in the principles of God’s law. And that which gave power to Abraham’s teaching was the influence of his own life.” —Education 187

22. 3. The Household of Abraham Faithfulness and Service Missionary activities will be more successful when they are backed by a family life that is in harmony with the designs of God. God’s purpose in the family equals His purpose in missions; namely, “to do what is right and just” (Prov. 21:3 NIV).

23. Abraham: The First Missionary Final Words “God called Abraham, and prospered and honored him; and the patriarch’s fidelity was a light to the people in all the countries of his sojourned.... In Mesopotamia, in Canaan, in Egypt, and even to the inhabitants of Sodom, the God of Heaven was revealed through His representative.” —Patriarchs and Prophets 368