 Listen /  Download

Other Resources

Study Guide 

How would you describe the phrase “come in full circle?” In your relationship with God, did you come full circle or did it grow deeper and stronger?Was there a time when a loved one’s failings caused problems and heartaches for you and your family? How did it affect you?

Scripture

Genesis 35:1-29

Discussion Questions

1. 1. What’s the most life-changing thing that happened to you because of someone’s presence in your life? Do you know Jesus Christ and are you walking with Him? How has your relationship with Him helped you through life? Describe how God’s presence is the only constant in your life versus other relationships with either family or friends.

2. 2. The most trusting relationships should be between parents and children, and husband and wife, but why is it that there are family members who cannot trust the words of their loved ones? How do lies between loved ones break the circle of trust in various ways? How do you know that you can trust God’s Word and His promises?

3. 3. What promise from the scripture has been real to you because you have experienced how God fulfilled that promise in your life? What promises have you made to God, and what usually keeps you from fulfilling those promises? On the other hand, what motivates you to fulfill the promises you made to Him?

4. 4. How do people try to manipulate God? In what way do you know that in your life, God’s sovereign plan always wins out? Now that you have learned many things about Jacob’s life, how would you relate to him and explain the fact that all you have in life are the works of God?

In Walk: When Jacob returned to Hebron, it seems like his life came in full circle, ending up where it began. But the Jacob that left Hebron to run away from the anger of his brother Esau was different from the Jacob that came back. His life is best described by arcs instead of a circle because of the lessons he learned from the process. We, too, can learn that in God’s companionship versus man’s friendship, God’s presence is the only constant in our life. In God’s promise versus man’s word, God’s promise is better and always fulfilled. In God’s sovereign plan versus man’s manipulated ways, God’s plan always wins out. What particular lesson have you learned from Jacob’s life? How would you evaluate your own life so that you don’t finish it in a circle learning nothing?

In Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that in You, my life is full of meaning. Thank You that I have a personal relationship with You through Jesus Christ my Lord, which makes a great difference even in the way I live my life. Thank You for the sovereign plans you have for me that I know I can trust because Your Word is trustworthy. May my life not go around in a circle learning nothing, but may I continue to learn life lessons from You that would give real meaning to my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.