Abraham Longs for a Son:
One day long ago, God came to talk to Abraham and he asked the Lord, "Who
will have all my things when I die? Will it be my relative, Eliezer
who lives in Damascus?" The Lord replied, "No, it will be to your
own son."
You see, God had already promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that one day
they would have a son, even though they were old and had no children.
Does God keep His promises? (Let the children respond).
Too Many Stars!
That night God said, "Look at all the stars that are in the sky."
Abraham looked up and the whole night sky was full of stars. God
said, "Can you count them?"
Abraham must have stood there counting, "Ten thousand and one, ten thousand
and two, ten thousand and three, ten thousaand and four ... Oh,
I can't count any more, there are just too many stars!"
And then God said, "That's how many children and offspring you will have!"
How Many?
Wow! Do you think God was talking about hundreds and hundreds of
children? (
Let the children respond). And thousands of
children? (
Let the children respond). What about millions
of children? (
Let the children respond).
And what about every child in the world? (Let the children respond).
Yes, God wants to bless every boy and girl and every person in
the whole wide world!
Too Old?
Quite a few years later when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God changed
his name from Abram to Abraham, which means "Father of Many". He
also gave his wife the name of Sarah, which means "Princess". God
again reminded them that they would would have a son.
This time Abraham laughed so hard he fell on his face! It was too
much! He and Sarah were to have a child in their old age!
The Visitors:
One day three visitors came to Abraham's tent and he hurried out to meet
them. "May I get you something to eat and drink?" asked Abraham,
"Please come and rest under this shady tree."
Abraham then ran into his tent and asked Sarah, "Please bake some bread
for our visitors, while I get my servant to roast a calf." When
the meal was ready, Abraham carried it out and set it before his
visitors and stood near them under the tree.
Sarah Laughs:
While the visitors were eating, they asked Abraham, "Where is your wife
Sarah?" Abraham replied, "She's in the tent. Then the Lord
spoke and said, "I will come back about this time next year, and Sarah
your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the door of the tent and started to laugh to
herself, "How can I have a child when I'm almost ninety years old and
my husband is even older?"
Were Sarah and Abraham too old to have children? (Let the children
respond). Could God give them a child? (Let the children
respond).
The Lord then said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really
have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the
Lord?" Later after their visitors had left, Abraham and Sarah
realised that they had been visited by God!
God Keeps His Promises:
A year later Sarah did have a son as God had promised. Abraham named
him Isaac, which means, "He Laughs". They were very excited and
remembered to thank God for Isaac. His name must have often
reminded them of how Sarah had laughed, but that God always keeps His
promises!
And God always keeps His promises to us as well. This story tells us
that God can answer our prayers, heal our sicknesses and do miracles
for us, because He said, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
Nothing's too Hard:
Is anything too hard for the Lord? (
Let the children respond)
No, nothing is too hard for God, because He is our Great, Big, Wonderful
God and loves each one of us very dearly.
Whenever you are sick, feel sad or have a need, ask God to heal you, make
you happy and answer your prayer. And then say, "Thank-you for
answering my prayer, because nothing is too hard for You."
God bless!