We often do everything in our power to avoid being completely alone. In the verses preceding this passage, Jacob is terrified. He is about to face his brother Esau, the man he cheated out of a birthright and a blessing years ago. In an act of self-preservation and deep anxiety, Jacob sends his family, his servants, and all his possessions across the Jabbok River ahead of him. Once the noise of the caravan fades, the reality of his situation sets in. Jacob is utterly, inescapably alone in the dark.

In Genesis 32, Jacob is returning home after twenty years. He is about to face his brother Esau, whom he cheated out of a birthright and blessing. Jacob is wealthy, but he is, as you might expect, terrified. Let's see what's in store for him in his reunion with his brother.

There is a distinct moment in every difficult season when the clock strikes midnight and you realize: It is time to go. For Jacob, this realization came after fourteen years of hard labor and the birth of his son, Joseph. Until this point, Jacob had been surviving. He was a refugee fleeing his brother’s wrath, living under the roof of his manipulative uncle, Laban. He was reacting to life rather than leading it. But the birth of Joseph—a name that implies "adding" or "increase"—shifted Jacob’s perspective. He looked at his growing family and realized that being a servant in someone else’s house was no longer sufficient. He needed to build his own "place and country." Join us in our study of Genesis 30:24-43.

Before we dig into our story for today in Genesis 29:14-30, it's vital for us to understand WHO is walking into Laban’s house. Jacob is not an innocent traveler, he’s a fugitive. He recently exploited his brother Esau’s hunger to buy a birthright and wore a disguise to steal his blind father’s blessing. He has spent his life manipulating outcomes to ensure he comes out on top. Now, he meets his Uncle Laban—a man who might just be better at the game than Jacob.

We've reached week four and despite the lies, the betrayal, and the dysfunction, God’s sovereign plan for the lineage of Israel is moving forward through the events of Genesis 27. In our study, we'll seek to answer questions like: "If God can use such a deeply flawed family to build the nation of Israel, what does that imply about how He views our current failures? Does this comfort you or does it make you complacent, and where is the balance?

In this stage of the House of Deception, Isaac faces a transition. He has stopped lying about his wife, but he is now being squeezed by the world's envy. The Philistines are filling his wells with dirt, trying to choke out his future. This study of Genesis 26:12-33 explores how we handle "clogged wells" and where we find the "room" to grow.

In the House of Deception, the walls have ears and the habits of the parents become the blueprints for the children as we see in this episode studying Genesis 26:1-11.

House of Deception is a raw and honest look at the family that God chose to establish His covenant people and the generational cycle of favoritism, deceit, rivalry, and fear that plagued the patriarchy. The core message is that God's sovereign plan and covenant promises are not dependent on human perfection. He uses flawed, broken, and even deceptive people to advance His purpose, ultimately leading to forgiveness and preservation. Welcome to the house!

Our year-long according to Paul series comes to a conclusion with this fourth and final study of Letters for the Waiting from Romans 8:35-39.

This third Advent study is our penultimate study in our year-long series in the life and writings of the Apostle Paul. Our focus today is Romans 15:7-13.