Genesis
An Old Testament Survey (Current Mid-Week Study)
Healing Happens In Phases
May 15, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer
The story line is tapering down in Genesis, but healing is still needed in the family among the Patriarchs before the next sequence of history surfaces. Famine is happening, Josephs brothers come to Egypt for food & return home. But Simeon is held in prison until the youngest brother Benjamin is brought back. Their father, Jacob, still back at home is mad at his sons.
God Spoke To You
May 8, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 42
Joseph’s is about 39-yrs old in this chapter. He’s had no contact with any of his family since they sold him into slavery. Now he’s married & has two boys. Plus he’s the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt during a famine & people are hungry! So Jacob, Joseph’s dad, sends 10 of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. The journey is about 265-miles from Canaan to Egypt thru a wilderness of desert land. Now Joseph stands face to face with his brothers who betrayed him, but how does he respond?
I Had A Dream
May 1, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer
As we continue to move forward in our study of the Bible we see the bigger purpose of Joseph’s life take shape. Finally, victory comes after more than a decade of difficulty. About 10-years earlier… in (Gen. 37:5)… “Joseph had a dream…” and he told it to his family but they hated him for it! Tonight in chapters 40 and 41 we see three other dreams occur. The butler, baker and Pharaoh each had a significant dream.
Trials, Temptation, & Testing
April 24, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 39
As we move forward in the unfolding story of the Bible, today we come to a serious moment in the life of Joseph. We get to peak into a life that’s being perfected for a bigger purpose and it’s a beautiful reminder of how gracious & caring God is! God was with Joseph in the middle of this season when strange things & hard times were happening to him. Joseph was still being prepared for his life’s calling. But the testing in bad circumstances forged into his soul an unrelenting faithfulness!
Deception, Sex & Lies
April 10, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 38
In chapter 38 we come to a pause in the main storyline of Genesis and our attention is turned to Judah (the 4th son). In the previous chapter we see Judah involved in human trafficking which the bible tells us is worthy of death! As the story goes on Judah leaves the family and marries a woman outside the faith (covenant). He begins to make more bad decisions that even begin to affect his children!
An Unfolding Story
April 3, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer
God works out His plan above human weakness. As awful as the sons of Jacob are, yet they’re the chosen ones to carry on the work of God as they full fill the covenant promises made to Abraham. Jacob is being moved off center stage and Joseph becomes the prominent character from here to the end of (Genesis 37 - 50).
Faith & Obedience
February 28, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 35
Jacob is being called to new steps of faith and we witness that these steps of faith bring new problems & trails into his life. After his sons, Simeon & Levi take revenge upon a whole city, Jacob is driven right back into a place of fear & panic. Right in the middle of this chaos, God speaks to Jacob directing him back to Bethel, a place of worhip and hearing the voice of God. Part of maturing as a Christian is learning that my prayers are not always for getting out of something, but rather asking for understanding in the middle of our difficulty. This is how God grows us in faith & obedience!
The Test After Change
January 31, 2024 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 33, Genesis 34
Genesis 33 continues the story about the crisis Jacob was facing. After Jacob had spent time wrestling with God he was about to face his brother who wanted to kill him the last time they were together. Instead of manipulating the events of his life, he enters into this situation with courage & humility because he had been changed by God upon surrendering.
WED: "Changed Forever"
December 13, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 32
In this chapter we see God’s plan continue to unfold. There’s a few difficult conversations approaching. One with Jacobs brother, Esau, from 20-years earlier. When a family meltdown left emotions high and anger boiling over! The second conversation is with God as desperation leaves Jacob grasping for help. He’s in a conflict between faith & fear as the past catches up with him. God was using it as an avenue of healing & permanent change. It may take several decades but when we leave our struggles in God’s hand He brings healing.
The Next Season
December 6, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 31
God has a plan that He’s working out. And in part of His plan we may sense something is happening. Tonight, in God’s unfolding plan, a course change happens as Jacob is being re-routed back to his home town after 20-years of being away. As we begin this study, may we recognize the people in Biblical history is ordinary people with natures just like yours. We can understand in this chapter, God was getting Jacob’s attention and preparing the circumstances around his life for a change.
WED: "A Messy Situation"
November 15, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 29, Genesis 30:1–24
Jacob is running from his brother Esau and he’s fleeing from Beersheba, 450-miles to the north, to his mother’s brother (Laban) in Haran. On the first night of his journey God appeared to him in a dream. Jacob responds to God’s promises by committing to honoring God with all of his increase. It’s such a beautiful thing when a person begins to grow in the Lord and the lights come on. That’s what’s happening to Jacob when he’s 77 years old! It’s no longer his families faith, now it’s his faith.
Personal Promise
November 1, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 28
It’s important to grasp the contemporary issues within this chapter because Jacob’s decisions on the road of life are just like ours! We’ve seen a man engage in family drama, pressure, strife, manipulating. The very actions, attitudes, & emotions we wrestle with. Commentators say that Jacob is a great picture of just being human! I think he’s a perfect display because his encounter with God leads to change! I believe the same thing happens in our lives too. God patiently transforms us thru the trials of life as we look to Him for help.
A Divided House
October 25, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 27
In today’s study, we begin to see Isaac fading and Jacob coming on the scene. This was the younger son chosen by God, not the older son Esau. However, the younger brother (Jacob) tricks his father and steals his brothers natural blessing. The story opens with the scene of an aging man (Isaac) who is 137-years old. He was the same age as when his older brother Ishmael died. Because of this, Isaac believes he’s dying and calls for his oldest son – Esau. He wanted to have one last good meal and to pass off an inheritance to him. In a casual reading, we can overlook that this is a huge lapse of faith by Isaac!
Repeating The Past
October 18, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 26
In today’s study, the Bible focuses in on Isaac as we see his faith over an extended period of time. When he was faced with a famine, God wanted Isaac to stay in the promised land This type of story is repeated throughout the Bible and our lives. In the end, it was devastating decision that took a decade before the full consequences to played out. God wants us to know that growth in the Christian faith happens as we follow Jesus with steps of faith.
The Family Story Continues
September 6, 2023 • Pastor Jeff Cramer • Genesis 25
Chapter 25 backtracks a little to give us a few more details about the family of Abraham after Sarah’s death. Abraham lived another 38-years after Sarah died and he got married again – to a woman named Keturah. There's a powerful observation here, because we see the lasting effects of the hand of God on Abrahams “reproduction system." It lasted beyond Sarah’s death - He’s having kids at 140 years old! This is important because it reminds me about the gifts & calling of God on our lives. Just because I go thru a season of change OR difficulty God does not retract His gifting upon my life. We can trust His faithfulness!