Community Groups

Week 5: May 19-25

Series: The Gospel According to Genesis

Title: “God's Covenant with Abraham”

Text: Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon Outline:

1. Covenantal Signs

2. Circumcision and the Old Covenant

3. “Circumcision made without hands” and the New Covenant

My Story:

1. Tell the story of your baptism. 

2. Read Philippians 3:3. In what ways are you perhaps tempted to “put confidence in the flesh,” if any?

3. What impacted you or stood out to you the most in the sermon this week?

Digging Deeper:

1. Read Genesis 17:1-14. According to this passage, why did God institute circumcision? What specific promises are attached to God’s covenant with Abraham?  

2. Read Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:1-4. What is the difference between physical circumcision and the “circumcision of the heart”? Read Romans 2:28-29. What do these verses communicate about what matters most between the outward sign and the inner work of the heart?

3. Read Colossians 2:11-13. Many see a connection here with circumcision and baptism as corresponding Old and New covenantal signs. However, what kind of circumcision does this passage link to baptism? Why is this significant and how does this highlight the difference in how one enters the Old Covenant versus how one enters the New Covenant community? Read Romans 4:9-12. Although covenantal signs are meaningful and deeply significant, what is more important according to this passage regarding one’s salvation? 

4. Read Hebrews 9:15 & Revelation 21:1-3. How does the new covenant with its promised eternal inheritance ultimately fulfill the land promises given to Abraham and his offspring?