Adam North - May 10, 2026
God's faithfulness in family failures
Genesis 26: 1-33 Isaac receives the same promise as his father (verse 4), he commits the same sin by lying (verse 7), he is found out to be lying (verse 8), his lying leads him to get rich (verse 13), he secures wells (verse 18), he builds altars (verse 25), he makes a treaty with the leaders of other kingdoms (verse 28). All of this just like his father! Isaac relives his father’s greatest and worst hits. The promised child seems no more ‘promising’ than his father. Yet, we see God’s promised presence with him no less. God says ‘I will be with you’ in the future (verse 3) and ‘I am with you’ in the present (verse 24), and Abimelech says ‘the LORD has been with you’ in the past (verse 28). God’s plan does not ultimately depend on how good God’s people are, but on how good God is to his people. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church
From Series: "Genesis - God's people in God's plan"
The Bible has clear instructions in parts, but most of it is story. Stories of people messing up. Stories of people discovering God’s grace. Stories we can learn wisdom from. The middle bit of Genesis tells the story of three generations who discover what it means to be God’s people in God’s plan for his world. And they don’t always get it right. Their stories include: marriage problems, death and grief, parenting struggles, choosing a spouse, sexual immorality, deception, reproductive ethics, unjust employers, relationships that distort God’s design, the strength of friendship, birth, infertility, abuse, betrayal, forgiveness, aging, value of life from womb to tomb, loneliness, racism, politics, war, buying land, wealth management, and learning wisdom from all the ambiguity of ordinary life trying to trust God in a fallen world. We face many issues in life where we have to ask: What does it mean to be God’s people in this? What’s God’s plan for it?
