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 38
• Who is Judah?
• Who are the Canaanites and Adullamites? Are they people who fear God?
• Who is Tamar?
• What was Er known for?
• How does the law of Moses speak to the marriage practice of a brother’s wife? (Deuteronomy 5:25)
• Did Onan obey the Law of Moses?
• What was the consequence of Onan’s decision?
• What did Tamar do to ensure her family line? Was this right?
• What did Tamar request as a pledge for Judah’s payment?
• Why did she request these specifically?
• What was Judah’s response to Tamar’s sin?
• Does Judah confess his sin? What evidence do you have for your answer?
• Does the struggle for a firstborn birthright remind you of any other biblical characters? If yes, who?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What is significant about his family line? (Matthew 1:3, Hebrews 7:14)
• What does it say about God and his grace knowing that Christ descended from the line of Judah?
• What are the effects of the relationships Judah had with the Canaanites?
• What does the rapid judgment of Er and Onan teach us about God and his tolerance of wickedness?
• How does Judah’s quick judgment of Tamar’s sin, yet failure to see his own sin speak to the power of sin to blind and make hypocrites?
• What does this passage have to say about repentance?
• Why is this passage placed between chapters 37 and 39 which are about Joseph? What contrast does this provide?