AS YOU MEET WITH EACH OTHER THIS WEEK, CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:
This week we considered Ishmeal, the son of Abraham often thought to be outside of the covenant of God. Pastor Charlie discussed the reasons why we may have missed the greater point regarding the firstborn son of Abraham, -That while the blessing would not come through him, he was indeed loved by both Abraham and God, and the blessing was for him.
1. Ishmael was cast out of his family. What are some ways the church has drawn lines to say "you are not one of us" and made divisions where God has not? How can we be on guard against this attitude where we fail to love those who are loved by God?
2. Ishmael was cast out apparently for mocking Issac. But what is interesting is that the same Hebrew word used for Ishmael's "laughing" is that used for Abraham and Sarah's expressions of unbelief in Genesis 17 and Genesis 18. So it is easy to see Ishmael's treatment was unfair. He was only guilty of what Abraham and Sarah had also done. Why is being hypocritical in this way so damaging to the Gospel message?
3. We know the church is to be a place where we speak the truth in love. How can we speak the truth about unbelief and sin, without having the posture that tells people they are unwelcome and unloved?