Mt. Lassen Community Church

Jesus was hated without cause. And He promised His followers they would be hated in the same way.

Luke 6

22   “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 

23   “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

Joseph and Jesus’ stories both speak of going from PIT to PALACE—from the lowest place to the highest place, in order to achieve God’s BIG PLAN. 

You, too, will find yourself in the PITS, where everyone and everything seems to have turned against you—unfairly. It might not make sense. It will certainly be heartbreaking in that season of tribulation. But Jesus’ promise is that the final reward will bring unspeakable JOY! 

So, let’s not be too attached to this world. Like Joseph and Jesus, we might have to let it all go and find ourselves with nothing in this world, even cast into a pit, in order to take hold of all that GOD has for us.

Hang in there. Don’t give up hope. The day of your salvation approaches.

Isaiah 25:9 • And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

October 26 Sunday Service (9:30 AM) - From Pastor Jeff:

Genesis 29:16-31 • The Bride

The tale of Jacob and Rachel is one of the most romantic love stories in scripture. Jacob goes on a long journey to find his bride, and when he meets Rachel, they quickly fall in love and Jacob offers seven years of hard labor to win her hand from his uncle, Laban.

This story has an amazing start, but it quickly goes downhill. Laban sneaks Rachel’s elder sister Leah into Jacob’s tent on his wedding night and he unknowingly marries the wrong sister. He is shocked when he wakes up with the wrong woman by his side.

Jacob the scheming deceiver was duped by the master of manipulation: Laban, as Jacob learns the hard lesson: you reap what you sow.

So—what does Jacob do at this point? A major decision must be made.

Here are some possible options—

He could simply stay married to Leah and leave Laban’s family, not wasting another day suffering under his treachery.

Or, he could give another seven years to Laban so he can marry Rachel, the true love of his life. Of course, he would have to tolerate the polygamy in order to meet his heart’s desire.

Tough choice.

Jacob follows his heart—he can’t walk away from Rachel. So he waits a week to complete his honeymoon with Leah, and then he marries his true love.

Now we get to the BIG LESSON: What about Leah?!? Jacob is technically married to her, and they even have children together. What does their marriage teach us? And, especially, how does their marriage reflect the Gospel message of Jesus?

To prepare for Sunday’s message, please ponder Ephesians 5:25–33.