7/9/2026 Midtown Church Thursday Service

Dr. Efrem Smith

Biblical Foundation:

• Genesis– God Providing in a Perplexing Situation
• Jehovah (YHWH)- Yahweh, Yehovah.
• I Am that I Am- The Self-Existent One and Self-Sufficient One.
• God Has Never Needed a Provider; God Provides Everything God Needs and That We Need.
• Jehovah-Jireh: “The LORD Will Provide” or “The LORD Will See to It.”

Big Question of The Sermon:

• How Is God Our Provider?

1. God Connects Provision With Purpose

• Genesis 12:1-5, Genesis 15:1-5
• God Resourcing a Relationship-Based Purpose (Covenant, Connection)

2. God Works Through Our Self-Provision and Dependence on Worldly Provision

• Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 16:1-101
• Choosing Our Own and Otherworldly Systems of Provision Instead of Trusting God As Provider

3. God Provides In Problematic Circumstances 

• Genesis 22:1-18
• God’s Provision, Our Trust and Obedience.
• What if We Own Nothing and It All Belongs To God?

Final Thought: God Provides What The World Needs

• John 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 6:17-19
• God’s Provision and Our Generosity Point to True Living.