Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Genesis chapter 23. Where does this take place? Who is involved?
• How does Abraham interact (as a forgeiner) with the inhabitants of the land? How do they refer to him in vs. 5? What do they offer him?
• What does Abraham make sure he has taken care of before he buries Sarah in this place? What does it seem Ephron offered in vs. 11? Describe what ends up being done with the property.
• How would you describe what takes place in this chapter in just a couple sentences? How would you describe Abraham’s relationship with the natives of the land?
• The Sermon Study equipping class notes are available online for anyone wanting to dig deeper. Please review this week's notes to help study this passage. Click here for the notes.

Prayerfully Meditate

• Considering Abraham’s lifelong journey, would there have been anywhere else he could have been inclined to place Sarah’s body? Why do you think he chose this place? (reference Gen. 15:18-20)
• How does Abraham refer to himself and the place he is living? Are there any parallels between his interactions with the Hittites in comparison with how we are called to interact with the world around us as New Testament believers?
• Why do you think Abraham insisted on paying for the land, considering the promise God made concerning this land in Genesis 15? Would you have been inclined to respond to Ephron differently then Abraham did? Why or why not?