Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9
Main Themes: God’s call into an unknown future; trust in God’s providential love; blessing that flows through us; service rather than prosperity; joining what God is already doing.
Discussion Questions
1. Leaving What Is Familiar
- God asks Abram and Sarai to leave the familiar without giving them a detailed destination. What makes that kind of trust difficult?
- When have you sensed that faith was asking you to move beyond what felt comfortable or predictable?
2. Trusting the River of God’s Love
- Richard Rohr describes faith as trusting the ‘big river of God’s providential love.’ What does that image suggest to you about God’s presence and care?
- When you feel anxious or hurt, are you more likely to trust the flow or try to create and control your own river? What helps you return to trust?
3. Blessing That Flows Through Us
- Pastor Mark says, ‘The call of God is not so much to be blessed as it is to be a blessing.’ How does that challenge common ideas about success, favor, or prosperity?
- What gifts, experiences, relationships, or resources have been entrusted to you that could become a blessing to someone else?
4. Joining What God Is Already Doing
- What is the difference between asking God to bless our plans and looking for what God is already doing?
- Where do you see love, justice, healing, or hospitality already taking shape in your community, and how might you join that work?
5. Applying the Sermon
- Who might need ‘just what you can do’ this week, and what is one concrete way you could reach out?
- What comfortable boundary could you cross – individually or with RPPC – in order to serve and become a blessing?
