Bible Passage: Genesis 12:1-19
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: March 1, 2026

Bulletin – March 1, 2026

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

The other day I ran across this “Pre-Travel Checklist.”  It is supposed to be a helpful tool for someone about to travel somewhere.  It contains nearly sixty things you need to do before you travel.  Before travel, you should “clear fridge of perishable items” and “water house plants” and “charge electronic devices.”  As I said, it recommends sixty things you MUST DO to travel.

Abram was about to travel.  He was going to travel from a place called Haran to the land of Canaan.  It was about a 400 mile journey.  That doesn’t sound like much to us today.  Today you can travel that distance in about 6 ½ hours.  It’s a drive from here to St. Louis.  Easily doable in a day.  But at the time of Abram, let’s just say 2000 years before Jesus was born, it was a pretty significant journey.

What’s interesting is that when the LORD tells Abram to make this journey, he does not give Abram a check list of things that Abram must do.  The LORD promises Abram all the things he will do for Abram!  And that is what makes Abram ready to travel!  Abram sets out Traveling On Only the Promises of God.

Genesis 12 is a very significant development in salvation history.  In Genesis 12 we begin to hear the story of how the LORD singles out a single family from the line of Noah and his son, Shem, to be the family from whom the Savior will one day come.  Our text contains the story of the LORD inexplicably, graciously singling out the man Abram.  The LORD comes to Abram and says, Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your father’s house and go to the land I will show you. (v. 1)  In short, the LORD said, “Pack up.  Say goodbye to your family.  You’re moving!  I’m not telling you where just yet.”

And then, to get Abram to make the journey, the LORD does not threaten.  He does not stick a bayonet in Abrams ribs and say, “And you WILL comply or I will strike your flocks and herds dead!” “If you refuse, I will strike you and Sarai with a disease.”  He does not threaten; he PROMISES.  He draws Abram along with a cord of wonderful promises of what he will do!

I will make you a great nation. (v. 2)  Disconnecting from his family there will not mean the end of the line.  Quite the opposite!  The LORD promises Abram will be the father of a great nation!  I will bless you. (v. 2)  Abram would live under the benediction of God long before the benediction was ever spoken by Aaron and his sons!  I will make your name great. (v. 2)  Abram’s fame will spread far and wide.  To this day, Abraham’s name is revered by many!  You will be a blessing. (v. 2)  Because Abram would live under the LORD’s blessing, people who came into contact with Abram would enjoy “residue” of all that blessing.  Like hugging someone wearing a lot of aftershave.  You smell good because you got close to them!  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse anyone who dishonors you. (v. 3)  Because Abram is the LORD’s man, the LORD promises to be for those who are for Abram and against those who are against Abram.

And then there is the last promise!  The LORD saves the best for last!  All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you. (v. 3)  How are all families blessed in Abram?  How is YOUR family blessed through Abram?  Through Jesus!  One of Abram’s descendents would be the Savior of the world.  Abram’s descendent would come to carry all the guilt of humanity on himself and pay the dreadful bill!  He carried the guilt of great grandma and grandpa who lived in the “old country.”  And the guilt of grandma and grandpa.  And the guilt of mom and dad.  And your guilt.  And the guilt of your children.  And your grandchildren.  And great-grandchildren.  You get the point!  The blessing of forgiveness and eternal life has come to your family through Abram’s descendent, Jesus!

And so Abram sets out, his faith clutching this cluster of seven promises.  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. (v. 4)  Abram and wife, Sarai, his nephew, Lot, all the servants, and the flocks and herds.  “Move ‘em out!”  He doesn’t even know where he is going!  All he has are these promises of God!  They are enough!  He travels on only these promises of God.

Your life is remarkably like that of Abram!  The LORD in his grace has singled you out.  He has initiated a relationship with you.  At the font he said to you, I have redeemed you.  I have summoned you by name. You are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)  Jesus tells us where it all ends in a prayer he prayed the night before he died.  He prayed to his Father, Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory…(John 17:24)  So here we are.  Loved, redeemed, called by God.  The “promised land” is off in the distance where we will be with Jesus and see his glory!  But now we must travel the road between here and there.  How shall we do it?

Traveling on the promises of God!  Step firmly and confidently first and foremost on the promise of God’s love for you in Christ, for it is faith in that promise that sets the course for heaven!  It will be a long and tiring journey; you must eat.  Eat and drink the promise of forgiveness in the supper Jesus prepares for weary travelers.  Search the Scriptures every day for the promises of God that will strengthen you on your way!  Grab hold and clutch those promises to your heart.  Perhaps you will often experience what Abram did in our text.  When he arrived in Canaan he found that the land was crawling with…well, Canaanites!  What does the LORD do?  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” (v. 7)  The perfect promise for the moment!  Abram can’t help himself.  He builds an altar and worships!

So may it be with us!  Wherever we lodge for the night, or camp for a lengthier stay on our journey to heaven, may the Canaanites around us always see our altars and hear our praise to the LORD whose promises lead us on to the heavenly Promised Land.

Amen.