CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. Read Genesis 17:1–8.

2. Abraham waited decades for Isaac, and even laughed at the idea of becoming a father at 99. Can you recall a time when God’s promises felt distant or unbelievable? What helped you keep going—or what would have been helpful to you?

3. Abraham and Sarah tried to solve their pain through Hagar, taking matters into their own hands. What does it look like to trust God when the waiting feels unbearable? What helps you resist shortcuts that might lead to regret?

4. God invited Abraham to walk “before him and be blameless.” Is there an area of your life that feels fractured or unfinished? How might God be inviting you to walk with him in that space?

5. Isaac’s birth was a miracle—life from a womb long closed. Can you share a time when God brought healing, hope, or restoration from a situation that felt hopeless? What did that reveal about God’s character?

6. The with-God life is lived in his presence, even when the future is unclear. What practices, people, or truths help you stay grounded when you’re tempted to doubt or drift?

Title: Abraham
Reference: Genesis 17:1-8
Speaker: Bill Gorman, BillG@cckc.church

It’s been a while since I felt You near to me,
And all I hold is the vagueness of Your memory,
Why did I roam so far from You, oh Lord?

- Antoine Bradford

Characteristic 1: Intimacy

Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for God.’ To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat. - C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

Characteristic 2: Integrity

Characteristic 3: Influence

Love has its speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed.
It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore the speed the love of God walks. - Kosuke Koyama, Three Mile an Hour God: Biblical Reflections

God, in order to deepen my relationship with you…
• What might you ask me let go of or stop doing?
• What step of bold faith might you be asking me to take?
• Is there a promise you’re asking me to trust more fully?