Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 5/14/2026
Sermon Prep
Unlike other sermons we did as a church, this was the first time I had a direct hand in shaping the series itself outside of working with the teaching team to outline said series. Typically Andrew, our lead pastor, outlines and shapes each series himself before running it by the teaching team to tweak. Given the Fall is incredibly busy, especially for him he assigned me to figure out the Joseph section while he mapped out the rest. Since Joseph is one of my favorite figures of the faith, I took on the arduous challenge gladly.
When it came to this teaching though, I didn’t have a lot a lot of prep time. I too was overwhelmed by Halloween Street planning and work, along with Joseph research so I feel like I dropped the ball a bit here getting this one ready. It all worked out, but preferably I like to dedicate the week leading up to a teaching to prep it and I just didn’t do that here. Anyways, here’s the YouTube recording and the notes below:
Sermon Notes
Opening Prayer
- Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.
Intro
- Dad promised we’d love Colorado and my family moved there becoming middle class.
Main Point
- Faith is counted as righteousness because faith rests on God’s fidelity, not human ability.
- Like Abram trusted God, we too are right with God when we trust his promises.
Covenant Confirmed | Genesis 14:21-15:21 (NRSVue)
“[21] Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” [22] But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, [23] that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ [24] I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.” [1] After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” [2] But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” [4] But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” [5] He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” [6] And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. [7] Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” [8] But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” [9] He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” [10] He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other, but he did not cut the birds in two. [11] And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. [12] As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. [13] Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years, [14] but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. [15] As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. [16] And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” [17] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates, [19] the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, [20] the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, [21] the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.””
- Abram rejects spoils of the sword knowing that God is his shield (Genesis 14:21-15:6).
- Abram’s deep sleep links to Adam when God acts, while humanity rests (Genesis 15:12).
- Exodus prophecy ties Abram’s story to Israel’s bigger picture (Genesis 15:13–16).
- God binds himself by way of a royal grant covenant cutting honor (Genesis 15:17-21).
- Someone powerful gives an unconditional promise to someone powerless.
“Genesis 15 provides an example of a covenant sealed by divine oath. The theophany-ritual described there symbolized the conditional selfmalediction that inheres in the swearing of oaths. To his promise to Abraham God added a second immutable thing. Passing between the slain and divided beasts beneath the threatening birds of prey, God invoked the curse of the oath upon himself should he prove false to it. That curse, so effectively portrayed by the combined ritual and natural features of the scene, was a common one among ancient treaty-curses… By undergoing this ritual God declared in effect that if he failed to fulfill the promises of the covenant, he was like these creatures to be slain and devoured as a feast for the fowls.” – Meredith G. Kline, By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of Circumcision and Baptism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 8. Available on meredithkline.com
Why It Matters
- Trust grows where promises hold. Therefore we lean on God’s fidelity, not our ability.
Power Text
“[5] But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness… [13] For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith… [16] For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace… not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham… [20] No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, [21] being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. [22] Therefore “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” [23] Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone [24] but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, [25] who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.” – Romans 4:5, 16, 20-25 (NRSVue)
- Faith produces loyal obedience and justification is grounded in God’s promise, not merit.
“[13] When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14] saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” [15] And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. [16] Humans, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute among them. [17] In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, [18] so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. [19] We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, [20] where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” – Hebrews 6:13-20 (NRSVue)
- Assurance in God’s promises fuels our endurance in the faith. God’s oath anchors hope.
Outro
- As a daily holy rhythm, rehearse one promise God has sworn and live from that place.
- Treat God’s promises as the most concrete and real things about your future.
Final Thoughts
This ended up being a solid sermon and overall my sermons from this series I believe were on another level when compared to previous series because I had such a strong hand in shaping it. Especially the Joseph sermons I did I think worked particularly well. Combining my in-depth series research with typical weeklong sermon prep brought about some unique preaching work on my part I think.
As for this teaching it had some fun improv and off-the-cuff pivots I made mid-preaching. The most notable being the whole section on Luke 8 being ad-libbed. Also except for Eddie, everyone else didn’t get the Shaun of the Dead reference. As a Cornetto Trilogy fanatic, that made me so sad but it’s fine most people don’t appreciate the genius of those films. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.
Footnotes
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