Genesis
The Gospel According to Moses
The Power of Providence Over Bitterness and Regret
June 18, 2017 • Brad Mortenson
The story of Joseph gives very practical help to us as we navigate the difficult realities of day to day life, be they overwhelming or mundane. As we follow the journey of Joseph and his brothers, we see a clear demonstration of the truth that embracing God’s providence destroys bitterness and regret and builds hope.
Guilty Sons and Their Reigning Brother
June 11, 2017
In todays message, we will look at the concept of guilt as a biblical idea. We will trace the role of guilt in the experience of Joseph's brothers in Egypt and watch how God uses guilt to bring grace to everyone involved. We will ultimately see that God-given guilt leads to grace, so we ought to confess and not cover our sins.
Warnings From Potiphar's Wife
May 21, 2017 • Brad Mortenson
"Life sometimes seems like a series of good news events followed by bad news reality. This certainly seems to be the case when reading the story of Joseph in Genesis. Joseph goes from favored son to slave, from slave to favored manager of his masters household, and then from favored manager to prisoner. This would all be tragic and hopeless were it not for a sovereign God who orders all things for His purposes. Scripture shows us that the events of Joseph life are significant because they are part of God's provision to save the people of Israel during a devastating famine. The story of Joseph is an encouragement for all who struggle in life to follow Jesus in the good times and difficult times. It helps us to see the pain and difficulty we face in the context of the bigger reality of God's love for His people as His plan unfolds in real life."
The Disruptive Grace of God
May 7, 2017
In today's message we see a dream from God create chaos in the life of Israel's family. What we want to understand is: does this disruption come from a hand of grace or ambivalence? We will examine the context of the dream, the politics and the political consequences of the dream, and we will close by reflecting on the dream and God's graciously disruptive purposes in our lives.
Indefatigable Faithfulness
April 30, 2017
As we looked at the close of Jacob's story in Genesis 35-36, we discussed the difficulty of using human language to describe the faithfulness of God. I talked about an uncommon word "indefatigable" and worked through the story describing why that word offers a helpful starting place to begin thinking about the faithfulness of God.
Violence, Victims and the God of Grace
April 23, 2017
In todays message we consider what God would say to us in the story of the defiling of Dinah. As we explored the way Moses tells the story we found that sin always make things worse therefore we should walk in repentance, forgiveness, and faith in God.