Genesis 12:1-8 2nd Sunday in Lent Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
March 1, 2026
If you’re planning to buy something, a model of some kind can be helpful—something physical or a picture of the item. For example, you could visit a new subdivision that’s being built and walk through a model home. That lets you imagine what your house could look like—before you realize you can’t afford the upgrades! A burger and fries, you can afford, but the picture on the sign that helps you decide to order looks a lot better than what they threw in the bag for you! Sometimes models are helpful. Sometimes they’re misleading. The purpose of a good model is simple: it shows you what the real thing is meant to be like. When it comes to our faith in God, we have models in Scripture. In Genesis 12, we begin to get to know a man named Abram, also called Abraham. God holds him up as an example—not because he was flawless, but because his life shows what faith looks like when it is rooted in God’s promises. So today…
CONSIDER ABRAM AS A MODEL FOR YOUR FAITH He Trusted the LORD (1–3)
Abram was a descendant of Noah through Shem’s family line. His father Terah came from Ur—a powerful and prosperous city in what is now Iraq. It was also deeply pagan. Archaeologists tell us that the city had thousands of idols, and the Bible tells us that Abram’s father worshiped some of them. Into that idolatrous land and home came the voice of the one, true God. He called to Abram. “Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. Notice what God doesn’t say. He mentions no specific destination. He doesn’t give directions. He doesn’t provide a timeline. He doesn’t show a map. There was no “turn left at the Euphrates River” and no Google Maps on a screen Velcro-ed to his camel. Just: “Go.” And along with that command came seven tremendous promises. “I will make you into a great nation.” To a 75-year-old man and a 65-year old barren wife, that must have sounded like a ridiculous promise. Yet within centuries, God would cause their family to grow to a nation of over 2 million people! “I will bless you.” This was a promise of prosperity and success—and God kept that promise. Abram became an extremely wealthy man. “I will make your name great.” God promised Abram that he would be famous. There can be no denying that his name is still great today—all over the world! Three major world religions still revere him. And how about this: God even identified himself to people as “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob!” (Matthew 22:32) His name is forever linked to God’s name! When Jesus told a story about a rich man and poor Lazarus, he called heaven “Abraham’s side!” (Luke 16:22) A great name? I think so!