By Every Word - Sermons & Teaching Archive from Vernon Johnson
Every Altar Alters You // Genesis 12 & 13 // 9.27.26
Abraham is called the father of faith. He's also the man who told his own wife to lie about their marriage so Pharaoh wouldn't kill him. This message walks through Genesis 12 and 13, and asks the question most sermons on Abraham skip: what does it cost the people around us when we manage a crisis instead of trusting God with it? This is a sermon on Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 13 , covering Abraham and Sarah's journey from Canaan to Egypt and back, the famine that sent them there, Abraham's decision to pass Sarah off as his sister, Pharaoh's household struck with disease, and Abraham's return to the altar at Bethel before he lets his nephew Lot choose the better land. It traces a pattern across Genesis, seeing something good and taking it, back to the garden of Eden, and forward to Genesis 15 's covenant ceremony and Hebrews 10 's teaching on Christ's finished sacrifice. If you're searching for a sermon on trusting God in difficult seasons, biblical faith and fear, why bad things happen after God calls you, the story of Abraham in Egypt, or what the Bible says about worship and trust, this message speaks directly into that tension. It also touches on Peter's denial of Christ, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , and what it looks like to be sincere in worship one moment and gripped by fear the next. Key themes: Trust and worship Fear-driven decisions Famine and scarcity Genesis 12, 13, and 15 Hebrews 10:11-14 Altars in the Old Testament Abraham and Sarah in Egypt Lot's choice The gospel in the Old Testament Once-for-all sacrifice Scripture referenced: Genesis 12:1-13:18, Genesis 15, Hebrews 10:11-14. By Every Word is a podcast for people who want to slow down and actually read the text, not just skim the highlights. New messages released regularly.
