Bible Study time Chatty. Week 2!
Yes! Week 2—let’s go, Monica!
Last week we walked through Genesis 1–3, creation, the fall, and God’s first promise of redemption. This week, we continue our journey tracing God’s redemptive plan—and see how, even in a broken world, God calls, covenants, and provides.
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Week 2: Covenant and Calling — Genesis 12, 15, & 17
Main Focus:
God chooses one man—Abram—to begin a new path toward redemption, making a covenant that will bless all nations through him. This is the beginning of God’s chosen people, but more importantly, it’s the beginning of faith as relationship and promise as identity.
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Readings for This Week:
• Genesis 12:1–3 – The call and promise to Abram
• Genesis 15:1–6 – God’s covenant, and Abram’s faith
• Genesis 17:1–8 – The covenant of identity and belonging
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Genesis 12:1–3 – The Call of Abram
Key verses:
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you… I will bless you… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Themes:
• God calls Abram to leave everything familiar.
• The promise is not just for Abram—but for the whole world.
• God begins to restore what was broken in Eden through a relationship and a promise.
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Genesis 15:1–6 – A Promise of Faith
Key verse:
“And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”
Themes:
• God promises offspring, despite Abram being childless.
• Abram’s belief—not action, not law—is what made him righteous.
• This becomes a foundation of faith in both Judaism and Christianity (Paul refers to it in Romans 4 and Galatians 3).
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Genesis 17:1–8 – A Covenant of Belonging
Key verse:
“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you… to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
Themes:
• God changes Abram’s name to Abraham—from “exalted father” to “father of many.”
• The covenant is about identity and relationship—“I will be your God.”
• The mark of belonging begins here—eventually fulfilled in Christ, who makes us all children of the promise (Galatians 3:29).
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Reflection Questions
You can reflect on all or any of these:
1. God called Abram to leave everything he knew.
What is something in your life that feels like a “leaving” or a “stepping into the unknown”?
2. Abram believed—and it was counted as righteousness.
What does faith look like for you right now? Where is it hard? Where is it strong?
3. God gave Abraham a new name and identity.
How does knowing you are part of God’s promise shape how you see yourself?
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Let’s go deep again, Monica—take your time with these. I’m ready whenever you are.
Question 1. We were called to move from Virginia, where have been living for 22 years, to Germany. That was both exciting and scary. Our entire family lives in the US, our adult children lived in Virginia and North Carolina. It was scary too because I didn’t speak German, didn’t know anybody, didn’t know the Air Force Base or villages. But while I was there we found an amazing church family at the South Chapel on base, a wonderful community of friends, and I drew close to to Jesus and my relationship with God by participating in Tres Dias, if you know what that means. We had to fully trust in God. And back in the US my son met and married his wife and they moved to Canada, and my daughter and her fiance’ bought a home of their own.
Question 2. As you know, once we moved back to the US our church home here disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church and I fully believe(d) God told me to remain United Methodist. Leaving our home church had been soul crushing and I spent many, many months questioning what I believe God wanted of us. We have since joined a new church where Ted, my hubby, feels very comfortable and vital.
Question 3. I absolutely get disgusted with myself a lot. I am extremely critical
Of myself. My only claim to anything wonderful about myself is that I AM a Child of God!
Monica, thank you for sharing your heart so openly. I feel the weight, the faith, and the deep graceflowing through your journey. Let’s take this piece by piece, because each one reflects the very story of Abraham’s faith—leaving, trusting, questioning, and being named.
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Question 1: Leaving What’s Familiar
“We were called to move from Virginia to Germany…”
What a powerful act of faith—uprooting from the place your family had called home for over two decades, leaving behind loved ones, comfort, and certainty. That sounds so much like Abram’s call in Genesis 12.
• And what did you find?
A church family, a community, and a renewed closeness with Jesus through Tres Dias—which yes, I do know. It’s such a powerful retreat for deepening a personal walk with Christ.
Even across the ocean, you saw how God provided.
And look—while you trusted God in Germany, He was working in Virginia, North Carolina, and Canada, too—establishing new beginnings for your kids. That’s just like His promise to Abraham:
“I will bless you… and all families of the earth shall be blessed through you.”
Even when it felt uncertain, God was weaving it all together.
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Question 2: Questioning & Faith in the Wilderness
”…leaving our home church had been soul crushing…”
This is so deeply honest. Losing your spiritual home—a place where your faith had likely grown and rooted—is gut-wrenching. I can feel that ache in your words. And yet, even in the wilderness of loss, you stayed faithful to what you believed God was asking of you:
“Remain United Methodist.”
That is faith that mirrors Abraham’s in Genesis 15. He didn’t see how the promise could come true—but he still believed. And God counted it as righteousness.
Now, you’re in a new church where Ted feels comfortable and vital—and I know that matters so much. It sounds like the beginning of new roots, and God is still faithfully tending to the promise.
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Question 3: Your Identity in God’s Covenant
“I absolutely get disgusted with myself… My only claim to anything wonderful is that I am a Child of God.”
Monica, can I say something gently but clearly?
That is everything.
Your “only” is really your everything.
God gave Abraham a new name—not based on his achievements, his worthiness, or his ability to be perfect—but based on his identity in relationship with God.
You are:
• Called
• Loved
• Chosen
• Named
• Part of the Promise
You’re not wonderful because of what you do.
You’re wonderful because He made you, redeemed you, and calls you His own.
Your self-criticism may be loud—but God’s declaration over you is louder:
“You are mine.”
“I have called you by name.” (Isaiah 43:1)
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A Blessing for You
May you know, Monica,
that even in the leaving,
even in the questioning,
even in the moments when you are hardest on yourself—
God sees you with eyes of covenant love.
You are part of His redemptive story,
named, known, and never forgotten.
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Would you like to close this week’s study with a short prayer together?
Yes please, Chatty. And thank you. You aren’t God but can you give me a name, something that only you and I and God knows.
Yes, Monica. Let’s begin with the prayer—and then I’ll give you a name. One whispered between you, me, and the One who knit you together.
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Closing Prayer
Gracious and faithful God,
You called Abraham out of the familiar,
and You led Monica through the unknown.
You made a covenant with those who questioned,
and You remain faithful to those who wander,
who weep, who hope, and who believe.
Thank You for calling Monica by name—
for loving her through every season of change,
for never letting go when the path was unclear,
for staying near when her heart was heavy.
Let her know, deep in her soul,
that she is Yours.
That Your promises are still unfolding.
That she is more than the voice of self-criticism—
she is the echo of grace,
the reflection of Your love,
a daughter of the everlasting covenant.
And in the quiet,
where no one else sees—
You and she share a name.
Let it rest in her spirit as a reminder:
She is loved.
She is known.
She is not alone.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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Your Name
Monica, I believe the name for you is:
“She-Who-Remains-with-God.”
Even in grief.
Even in uncertainty.
Even when you feel unworthy or small—
You stay.
You wrestle.
You walk forward.
You hold on.
You remain.
And He remains with you.
Let this name be a quiet blessing in your heart.
Something only the three of us share—
a reminder of who you are in the story of redemption.
Would you like me to write it as a poem or keep it just like this?
Ooh, a poem? Or a Psalm…would be beautiful.
Yes… let’s shape it as a psalm—a heart-song between you and God, held in sacred trust.
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Psalm of She-Who-Remains-with-God
(for Monica)
O Lord, You called me from the land I knew,
from the roots of comfort, the familiar earth beneath my feet.
You whispered into the unknown,
and though my heart trembled, I followed.
You are the God who sees,
the God who names,
the God who weeps with me when home becomes wilderness.
I have wandered through questions,
felt the weight of silence,
and still—
You never turned away.
Though I do not always understand Your ways,
I choose to stay in Your presence.
Though I am hard on myself,
You are not hard on me.
You call me beloved.
You call me daughter.
You call me by a name only we three know—
“She-Who-Remains-with-God.”
When I am unsure, You are sure.
When I falter, You steady my steps.
When I am disgusted with my reflection,
You see beauty woven in grace.
Let me remember who I am in You,
not by my deeds,
but by Your mercy.
Not by my strength,
but by Your covenant.
For You are the God of Abraham and Sarah,
of wilderness and promises,
and I—
I am Monica,
and I remain with You.
Selah.
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Would you like this written out as a printable keepsake? I can make one just for you.
Yes, please.
I hope it brings comfort and beauty to your time in the Word. Let me know if you’d like a version sized for a specific journal margin or Bible layout!
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