Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues our Servants & Stewards series on Joseph.

Every one of us has been hurt by someone — and if we're honest, we've hurt others too. We say things we wish we could take back. We show up when we shouldn't, or disappear when we're needed most. We break trust. We wound. And even after forgiveness is spoken, something deep inside still hesitates. Because forgiveness and trust aren't the same.

Joseph knew that pain. He was beaten by his brothers, sold, forgotten, and left for dead. Then, decades later, he stood face to face with the very people who betrayed him. Imagine the tension in that moment. The ache. The question pounding in his heart: Can I trust them again?

This story isn't just about Joseph. It's about us. Because every follower of Jesus eventually faces that same crossroads — when forgiving isn't the end, but the beginning of something harder: the slow work of rebuilding trust.

And when it happens, when restoration finally breaks through… It's not just reconciliation between people. It's redemption in motion — a glimpse of the God who restores what we thought was gone forever.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 9, 2025, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

• 00:00 Welcome
• 01:43 Message: The Journey of Rebuilding Trust
• 04:44 Joseph's Tests for His Brothers
• 08:26 The Final Test: Can Trust Be Restored?
• 24:48 The Process of Forgiveness and Trust
• 35:49 Pharaoh's Joy and the Bigger Picture