Wednesday, December 5, 2012
December 5 - Abraham: Covenants and Sacrifice
The Lord chose Abraham to be the one whose name is connected with His sacred covenants of salvation and exaltation – the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic covenant is extended to all people who accept the gospel of Jesus Christ as Abraham did. One of the promised blessings in this covenant is posterity “as the stars of heaven,” which is represented by this star ornament.
Timeline: c. 2000 B.C.
Opening Song: Christmas Bells, Children’s Songbook 54
Have the children ring bells while singing.
Ornament: Stars on Night Sky (promised posterity)
I sewed the above ornament from felt, sewed on the tiny stars (beads) and glued on the large sparkly stars.
The priesthood existed before the earth. It was given to the firstborn on earth – the first man, our first father, Adam. The priesthood and its blessings were handed down from Adam to his righteous sons and to their righteous sons, and so forth. These “blessings of the fathers” were given to Noah when he was ordained to the priesthood (Abraham 1:19, Moses 8:19). Abraham sought for the priesthood as well and the Lord blessed Him to be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Melchizedek himself.
When Abraham was a young man, Jesus Christ appeared to him and said, “Abraham, Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee…. Behold, I will lead thee by my hand, and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name, even the Priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee. As it was with Noah so shall it be with thee; but through thy ministry my name shall be known in the earth forever, for I am thy God” (Abraham 1:16, 18-19).
My friend Julie made this very similar ornament, a bit larger than mine.)
I made this one from sparkly foam, and added the adhesive stars.
Show GAK 105. When Isaac was a young man, God commanded Abraham to use Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham chose to obey the Lord. Read Genesis 22:1-14.
Abraham learned what it would be like to sacrifice his most beloved son. The Lord told Abraham: “Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: …I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven …I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations. And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; …in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) …shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Gen. 22:16–18; Abraham 2:9-11).
The blessings of the Priesthood and the covenants Jesus Christ made with Abraham are the same offered to all of us. As we receive the Gospel (the teachings and revelations of Christ) and are baptized, as boys obtain the priesthood, and both boys and girls enter the temple and make covenants with the Lord there, we are counted as Abraham’s seed. Through the priesthood and the covenants we make with the Lord, we and our families are blessed by all the good that comes from living Christ’s teachings, by utilizing the power of the priesthood in our lives, and by the priesthood’s sealing power. When we keep our covenants, we receive the blessings of salvation and life eternal.
Show the E. Young painting or pictures in Old Testament Stories 33-41: Abraham and his wife Sarah couldn’t have any children, which made them very sad. When Sarah was 90 years old and Abraham was 100, the Lord finally blessed them with their firstborn son, Isaac. They loved Isaac dearly. (Abraham already had a son named Ishmael from his handmaid, Hagar. The Lord promised Hagar that a great nation would descend from their son. But…) The Lord promised Abraham that his seed would descend from Isaac – the seed meaning priesthood holders and covenant keepers (Genesis 21:12) that would be “called by his name.”
I love this painting (I got my print from a calendar of Elspeth Young’s paintings of the women in the Old Testament).
I like this coloring page for showing the love in Abraham and Sarah’s faces. The kids drew their own pictures of the sacrifice part of the story.
Complete Devotionals HERE.
Having been blessed with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the priesthood, we are part of the “Abrahamic Covenant” and must bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to all of Heavenly Father’s children.
Through his covenant with Abraham, the Lord has promised to bless all the faithful people in the earth with truth, priesthood ordinances, exaltation, and eternal increase. If we, like Abraham are willing to sacrifice for the Lord, His blessings will be as the stars in the sky.
Challenge: Think of the blessings you have as a member of Christ’s church. Remember the covenants you have made with the Lord. Pray to find someone with whom you can share the gospel.
Closing Song: “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful” Hymns, 202 ~ think missionary work
Watch “Special Witness - Elder Nelson” (Elder Russell M. Nelson bears his testimony about the Abrahamic covenant.) (3:28) or “Seed of Abraham” by James E. Faust (1:11)
For older kids (this first video is a little odd, so preview it first): “Deliverance of Abraham” (1:38) and “Abraham” (0:58) in the LDS media library.
Watch “Abraham” (3:10)
...or relate the following (the blue parts aren’t included in the videos):
