God Who Sees You (Genesis 16)
Group Guides | Sharing the gospel, sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
By way of introduction: Why might we feel and think that God doesn’t see us in our “smallness”?
Read Genesis 16
1. Abram has been the recipient of grand promises from God (Genesis 12:1-3) and as they wait, we see here Sarai’s impatience. What could Sarai be concerned about?
2. In verses 1 – 6 we see the implications of impatience for Abram & Sarai, as well as for Hagar. What is really going on in our hearts when we are impatient with God’s promises?
3. When the angel of the Lord finds Hagar, he sees her and hears her like no one else has ever done. He then gives her promises for the future – discuss what they are and how those promises comfort her.
4. As we read Genesis 16 through Christ so as to apply to us, we see how another angel comes to a young woman and gives a promise in Luke 1:31 where she responds like Hagar in Luke 1:46–47. So, discuss how we can apply Genesis 16 to our hearts, through the lens of interpretation which is the gospel.
5. Knowing that all families of the earth shall be blessed through the promises to Abram, how can we relate now to our neighbours – even those of the line of Ishmael?
6. How does Genesis 16 help us in our ministry to the disadvantaged and the distressed?
7. If the Lord is a “God of seeing”, and that we have “seen him who looks after me” – what will that mean for:
a. Our own lives?
b. Our church life?
Pray for one another, by calling out to the One who listens to our affliction.