Friday, November 9, 2007

"What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).

IDEA: We know a great deal about people when we see them in their family relationships.

PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate how biblical writers tell us indirectly about the characters in the Bible.

When you read a biography (the story of someone’s life), are you interested in learning about that person’s family and growing-up years? Why?

I. One way we get to know the characters in the Bible is through the relationships they have.

We know about people through their relationship to their parents. Examples: Abraham and Isaac, Isaac and his two sons, Moses and his parents, the prodigal sons and their father.

We know people through their relationship to their siblings. Examples: Joseph and his brothers, David and his brothers, the prodigal sons to each other.

II. Do you think that we get to know people today through the relationships they have with parents, siblings and friends?

As we study characters in the Bible, we are wise to look at the relationships they had.