This week we will be exploring Genesis 44 together, Love According to God.
Can people truly change?
It is a good question. Sometimes we see someone set in their ways and we don't think that they will ever change. Sometimes we look at our own lives and realize how hard it is to change.
But if people cannot change, then that means that a bad marriage will always stay bad, a dysfunctional family will always live in dysfunction, a stagnant church will always remain stagnant, a divided community will always remain divided.
Without the potential of true heart change, then there can really be no true change in the people and relationships around us.
Jacob's family is a mess. Favoritism. Envy. Selfishness. Greed. Hatred. Pride. Deception. Arguments. Fights. Lies. Abuse. It is far from the "model family."
And yet the hopes of the world rest on this crazy, chaotic, conflicted family!
But something changes in Genesis 44.
The family is different. The brothers are different. Judah is different.
Instead of selfishness, you see self-sacrifice.
Instead of envy, you see love.
What in the world has happened?
We will examine this chapter on Sunday and explore how Joseph's final test of his brothers reveals the radical change in their hearts.
May God continue to change our hearts to reflect more and more of the grace, faithfulness, boldness, and love of His Son, Jesus Christ!
This Sunday we will also dedicate two babies and their families to the Lord and celebrate communion together as fellow partakers of God's abundant grace!

Pastor Steve Foster teaches on Genesis 43.

Pastor Zach Benton teaches on Genesis 42.

Pastor Zach Benton teaches us on the sovereignty according to God based on Genesis 41.

This week we will be exploring Genesis 40 together, Dreams According to God.
Have you ever had a weird dream? Or a vivid one that was hard to forget?
In Genesis 40, Pharaoh's cupbearer and his baker, who are both in prison with Joseph, each have a unique dream that puts them in a contemplative, confused state of mind. Joseph's interpretation of their dreams sets a whole chain of events into motion that will eventually take Joseph from the pit to the palace.
But, in the meantime, Joseph will again have to wait and wonder what God is doing in his life as the cupbearer forgets about Joseph for a span of two years.
Nothing comes easy in Joseph's life!
This Sunday we will take a look at several truth principles in Genesis 40 and answer such questions as:
Does God still use dreams today?
How do we avoid our own pity party?
Where is the "land of the Hebrews"?
Why is human trafficking so evil?
How do you respond when someone forgets you?
And where is God in difficult times?
Joseph's story is a challenge and encouragement to us all.
May God strengthen us and fill us with perseverance, hope, and joy as we wait on Him!

This week we will be exploring Genesis 39 together, Conviction According to God.
Just like last week, I am changing the sermon title from what is in the study guide. Yes, Genesis 39 deals with sexual purity but the main message seems to be focused on the strength of Joseph's faith and his convictions.
Genesis 39 is a contrast to Genesis 38.
In Genesis 38, Judah cannot control himself in the face of temptation. In Genesis 39, Joseph can.
Why?
What's the difference?
Joseph knew God and he knew the devastating consequences of sin.
And, most importantly, the Lord was with him.
Joseph had aligned himself with God's purpose and God was strengthening him for the task.
Joseph was living for something bigger than himself.
And he was relying on Someone stronger than himself.
Thus, when the temptation hit, Joseph had the strength to resist.
This Sunday, we will examine the convictions of Joseph and how he resisted sin and we will remind ourselves of one of the most important truths in all of Scripture...
The Lord is with us!
We will also celebrate communion together as fellow partakers of God's grace.
May the Lord strengthen our inner person, refresh our hearts with His love, and remind us daily of His abiding presence!

This week we will be exploring Genesis 38 together, Confession According to God.
Yes, the original title was Sexual Immorality According to God. That title is what is in the study guide. And it makes a nice contrast with Genesis 39 in which we will see Joseph's commitment to sexual purity in the face of enormous temptation.
But studying Genesis 38 more, it becomes apparent that the true heart of the story is when Judah confesses his own sin. The immorality is there, but, praise God, that is not where the story ends!
This is the turning point in Judah's life.
This is what makes Judah into the man whom his brothers praise and whom God blesses.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:10)
Genesis 38 is another one of those "PG-13" chapters in the Bible. (Don't worry, I don't plan on going into the details of any of the sexual content in this chapter, except to read what the text says. I will be sensitive to "younger ears" but as a parent you will need to decide how you want to approach this passage with your children.)
The Bible does not hide the failures of its "heroes" and chief characters. And in this chapter, Judah fails in almost every way possible, as a brother, as a son, as a husband, as a father, and as a man of God. Tamar actually is the "hero" in this chapter, even though her actions are far from anything we would ever expect or endorse.
But the Bible does not tell us this story as tabloid fodder, rather its purpose is to show us the reality of sin and the beauty of grace...and to point us to the pathway forward in the midst of our guilt and our shame...
Humble, honest, self-evaluating confession.
The problem is not with God's love or His grace.
The problem is with our self-righteous, stubborn hearts.
Judah's story is a story we all need to hear as it leads us to praise the One who is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
May we praise together the God whose grace is greater than all our sin!

This week we start our study through the life of Joseph. Hopefully you have picked up a study guide and are committed to diving into God's Word this fall. Joseph's story is one of the most beautiful and powerful in all of Scripture. His life models many aspects of the life of Christ and his faith through many unfair, painful trials is an encouragement to us all.
Joseph's story highlights the providence of God.
God is always at work, moving circumstances and events according to the counsel of His will. He guides human history with an unseen hand. He sovereignly guides our own lives for His glory and our good. But, let's be honest, it doesn't always look that way! Much of what happens to us (and around us) seems random, accidental, purposeless, and out of control.
Sitting in prison as a falsely convicted slave, hated by his brothers, alone and forgotten, Joseph could have thought the same thing. But God was at work in ways that Joseph could not have imagined.
This Sunday we will be exploring Genesis 37 together, Hatred & Envy According to God.
Joseph's story does not start off well. He suffers the loss of his mother at a young age. And, though his dad dotes all over him, the rest of his family cannot stand him. He is a spoiled brat in many ways. And his own brothers envy and hate him.
In one of the most shocking scenes in Scripture, his brothers attack him, throw him like garbage into a pit, and plot his death. Then in an ironic display of "mercy" in their eyes, they decide to sell him into slavery to make a little cash off his demise.
The dysfunction of Jacob's family is on full display in Genesis 37. And these are the people who are supposed to be the vehicles of redemption in the world!
Yet even in their dysfunction, disdain for each other, and determination to counteract the will of God, they end up moving God's plan closer to fulfillment.
We will examine this story on Sunday and consider the state of our own hearts as we live in this world and relate to one another.
May God's glory, power, sovereignty, and grace strengthen our hearts and teach us to live boldly, wisely, and humbly in this present age!