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

• What does Isaac command Jacob regarding the taking of a wife? Who does Isaac say to marry?
• How does Esau respond to hearing his father give this direction to Jacob?
• According to verses 13-15, what does God promise to Jacob?
• What does Jacob do in response to the dream? What does he construct?
• What is unique about Jacob’s vow in verses 20-22?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What was Esau seeking to accomplish by marrying Mahalath, the Canaanite woman?
• How do Isaac’s words to Jacob (in vv. 3-4) find fulfillment in the words of the Lord a few verses later (vv. 13-15)?
• How is the promise God makes to Jacob similar or different than His covenant with Abraham?
• What does the conditional aspect of Jacob’s vow reveal about his faith (or lack thereof) in the Lord?