Genesis 50:1-26
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Do not miss the final installment in our series on the life of Joseph. If you have ever doubted God's plan, God's forgiveness, God's justice, or God's love be sure to join us as the narrative of Joseph comes to a close we can't help but see Christ and therefore, see ourselves in the story. Join us as we worship a God that brings us face to face with death, suffering, grieving, doubt, forgiveness, and hope!

Genesis 46:28-47-31
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

Sometimes we get what we deserve. Other times we get something way better than we deserve. There is no sweeter word in all the world than grace. "All will be forgiven." In the text this week God is giving to Israel something they didn't deserve and something they never could have achieved on their own. Do you need a reminder of God's unshakable love for you? Join us as we near the end of our study on the Gospel According to Joseph. Come worship the Christ who has given us so much more than we deserve.

Genesis 45:16-46:7
And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”

There is no way that Jacob could know what God meant, or what Israel would do during their time in Egypt. God's promise to be with them is profound given the hindsight that we have of the enslavement that would fall upon the people of Israel. As Jacob comes up to the feast God promises deliverance. Sounds wild. What you can be sure of is that there are times of feast and times of famine in life. We know this and yet God's promise is true. Join us as we get a birds eye view of the kind of God who delivers.

Genesis 44:1-45:15
And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

This weeks passage is some of the most beautiful "speech" language in all of the Bible. Judah, after failing time and time again has finally been transformed to the point of the voluntary exchange of his life so that he doesn't see his father or his youngest brother go down to the grave. His life for theirs. Even thought his father is still full of failures. Judah sees his own failures more significantly. In light of this courage Joseph pardons him from even the thought of hating himself for all he has done. It's simply beautiful and has serious implications for how you and I live and what we even know about love. Have you been having a hard time loving yourself this year, struggling to let it all go and allow others to move on? Join us as we look at the Gospel According to Joseph and worship the Christ who has looked down in love and has said, "Father forgive."

Genesis 43:1-34
But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’” Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”

What are you holding onto hoping to God that it will give you life? Does the dead body of Christ resurrect while Mary clutches to it? Can Israel become a light for the nations with Jacob clinging to his favorite son? Can the church be "good news" if the Gospel hasn't really changed us? Saving faith doesn't make bad people good it makes dead people alive. Join us as we practice heaven through worship and reconciliation. Lord help us all to let go of everything keeping us from you.

Genesis 42:1-38
Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

The time has come for Joseph's first dream, the one of his brothers bowing down before him to come true. For all the other emotional details that surround this story, one thing rings true, and that is that the promises of God, even if they take 20 years to be fulfilled, will not go unfulfilled. The word of the Lord stands forever and what Joseph boasted about as a teenager now brings him to tears as an adult. Reconciliation is the stuff of a cross. It hurts and kills. Join us as we worship God who has reconciled us back to himself so that we might, in some small way, model that reconciliation in our own relationships.

Genesis 41:1-57
This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”

What are we, if not a people exalted by a God had no business exalting us. It is often easy to talk about our cisterns and our prisons while forgetting just how far God has brought us. The story of Joseph being lifted up by Pharaoh reminds us that there are times of feasting and there are times of famine and yet obedience to the word of God is possible in the land of affliction. Join us as we look to Christ who through his humiliation offers us the greatest of all gifts.

Genesis 40:1-23
He restored the chief cup-bearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cup-bearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

While there is a very real psychological trauma that happens when being forgotten, there is equally a theological hope that comes when we find ourselves left alone. As much as it hurts, God refuses waste this emptiness but rather fills it with himself. This paradox is one of the most beautiful attributes of Christianity. Joseph had done a kindness and then was forgotten. We have a lot to learn about being alone and how to help those who are abandoned by the world, their families, and their church. Join us as we worship a God who will never forget his deep love for us.

Genesis 39:1-23
But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.

We live in a hypersexualized culture. There is no doubt about that. We face temptation of a sexual nature on TV, on the internet, at work, at home, and even at the grocery store. However, if you we were honest with ourselves, this temptation is really a symptom of a much bigger longing, one that may or may not have anything to do with sex. The story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife is a tragic and yet all to familiar story-line to today's modern American. If we are going to win the day we need to know the way of temptation and be able to see God's work on our behalf to assist us in that fight. We can't flee on our own strength. Join us as we talk about The Way of Temptation and look to Christ as our model for obedience and joy in the face of looming sin.

Genesis 37:12-36
They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 
 
The story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his family is one of the most famous stories in all of the Bible. On the surface it looks like a sibling rivalry gone bad, but as you did deeper, you can't help but see depravity and divinity playing above and beyond the human agents in the narrative. The beauty of God's actions are undeniable but equally mysterious. The one thing we know for sure is that the actions of evil families and people are not the last say. God has the last word and that word is Christ. Join us as we dive into the pit with Joseph and look for answers when our dreams are shattered.