Joseph and His Story of Many Layers

Wouldn't it be great if we could see the end of our problems from the beginning? In the midst of our pain, suffering, disappointments, heartbreak, loneliness, etc... we would have the assurance that the intensity of the moment would not last forever. We would have already read the final chapters of our story and learned how things would wrap up. Unfortunately we can't know for sure how anything in our life will end up.

Joseph is a true bible hero in that no matter how bad life became for him he continued to "trust and obey" the Lord. He didn't know how things would turn out but acted like he did. Every step of the way it appears that he lived his life believing that God was at work (which in fact He was!).

I choose to live with the belief that God is going to use my life, the experiences of my life, and my life's work in some way to benefit future generations. I have no idea how. I've just read enough of the Bible to know that my perspective is too small and that I need to live by faith. "God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance," Joseph said when he finally was able to connect all the dots. He couldn't say that while he was in the pit, living in slavery, or in his prison cell. He could only say this years later when God reveled it him. Lord, give me the faith to push through the difficult parts of life with the hope of a brighter tomorrow.

Standing Against A Flood of Evil

I loved the movie Evan Almighty and it's depiction of how utterly humiliating it would be if God called a person to do something as ridiculous as building a giant boat to survive a coming flood. Perhaps that's why the Biblical narrative of Noah has captured the attention of story tellers for generations. One man stands alone to protect his family. Who cares what others might say--Noah was convinced that what God said was going to happen and because of that he would endure any amount of ridicule.

But the Genesis story is about more than that. It is about one man who believed God and thus followed God's leading. This is what the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews calls faith. "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." (11:7)

I thought the building image might connect with guys who often enjoy building things with their hands. But whether we are literal builders or not; keeping our homes as places of spiritual safety and security is the responsibility of us all. God is looking today for the same type of men and women as he was in Noah's day - people of faith who will follow his leading.

Don't Blame Me!

At our visitor lunch today after church one of our new members remarked that for they felt like they had been in the desert but in the past few weeks have been in an oasis. Praise God for using our worship services to have such a positive influence in someone's life. Those, like myself, who take a very public role in our services have a great responsibility to be prepared and to do our assigned jobs well. However, I want everyone to know that your friendliness, thoughtful questions, and genuine interest in our visitors and new members goes a long way to encourage people in their spiritual growth. May all who pass through our doors find a spiritual oasis for their souls.

Next Sunday is Father's Day. For the past couple of years we have held "Man Church" on Father's Day, complete with a sport's theme and manly gifts. This year we're going to stick with our Bible Adventure theme and build the service around the story of Noah. We will be encouraging our men (and everyone else) to "Stand Against a Flood of Evil".

Creation: True Self Esteem

I am anxious to hear reports from families about what happened as they played the board game we created for this sermon series. My hope is that parents (or grandparents) and their children will have a fun and creative way to talk about things that are important. Who knows what kind of information we might learn about one another as we have these informal discussions. Maybe we could even have a few testimonials about the value of talking as a family about what was presented at church. Let me know if you want to volunteer.