Colossians 1:3-14Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer Paul begins many of his letters, including Colossians, by thanking God for the body of believers to whom he is writing. Like any church, the Colossian church must have been a mixed bag of people with different levels of spiritual maturity...
Genesis 44:1-34The Silver Cup Caper Here, Joseph’s brother Judah shows us a picture of true repentance. Pastor Todd reviewed Judah’s sordid resume from Chapters 37-38, emphasizing that Judah’s modus operandi was disregarding God’s commands and looking out for himself. In...
Genesis 43:1-34Dealing with Crisis “… so that we … may live and not die.”(v8) Pastor Dave noted that God sometimes uses extreme circumstances, even a life-and-death crisis, to move people in His direction. I thought about how often we try to protect someone we love...
Genesis 42:1-38The Good of Sin Being Exposed In this passage, God is beginning to expose the decades-old sin of Joseph’s brothers. It is certainly an uncomfortable process for them. Before the Lord, let’s admit that, like the brothers, we dread the prospect of our sin being exposed...
Genesis 41:37-57Joseph Rises to Power Pastor Dave asked a thought-provoking question: “As Joseph sat in prison, what was he hoping for? What was he praying for?” Dave looked back to verse 14 of Chapter 40 to hypothesize that Joseph was hoping to get out of prison. Perhaps he was...
Genesis 41:1-36Humble Trust in a God of Sovereign Care Pastor Shannon taught that this account of Pharaoh’s dream and its interpretation shows us something about God, namely that He is a God of sovereign care. God is clearly the one in charge, and He will use Pharaoh and Joseph to bring...
Palm SundayCheers and Praise With No Understanding Praise God for His word to us, the Bible, because it is cohesive. It is not an anthology of miscellaneous ancient writings. The golden thread of God’s redemptive plan begins in the early chapters of Genesis and is woven through the whole...
Genesis 40:1-23What Walking with the Lord Looks Like Joseph, not Pharaoh’s cupbearer or chief baker, is the focus of this passage, and his words and actions illustrate for us what walking with the Lord looks like. First, Joseph is not consumed by his own hard circumstances. He notices that...
Genesis 38:1-30Another Son of Jacob Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, was a failure. He failed as a brother by selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders. He failed as a son of the covenant by, in disobedience, marrying a Canaanite woman. He evidently failed as a father, since two of his three sons were...
Genesis 37:1-36Joseph Sold by His Brothers The story of Joseph is an incredible example of the providence of God – God’s ability to orchestrate events to bring about His good purposes. But, as Pastor Shannon noted, when we’re in the midst of difficult circumstances, we often...