God's Presence with Joseph

It won't be long....

While the bright sun is busy burning off the crisp morning chill, Brad greeted us with his usual greeting, "I'm grateful you're here this morning." Today's message is designed to underscore once again that God's blessing is available to each one of us.

Announcements
-- Next Sunday is our Spring Rummage Sale at Grand Lake Comunity Center/Twig Town Hall & Fire Hall. Sale will run from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. But don't be afraid to come early as there will also be a Car Wash and Bake Sale as a fundraiser for the CHIC Youth Conference.
-- Men will meet Saturday night May 9 to prepare next weekend's Mother's Day breakfast

Chuck introduced our time of worship with a few words about home, followed by a passage from the book of John. "I am the bread of life." The trio then sang a Gaither song about feeling at home in the presence of Jesus, followed by the easy-listening tune "Jesus we just want to thank you." Then we all joined in singing a few pieces from the silver songbook.

The offering taken we turned to the Lord in prayer.

God's Presence with Joseph

Brad began by reading from Genesis 48:10-22, a story about the blessing of Joseph's sons. Why did Israel bless the younger rather than the older? What is God's blessing about?

The sermon today was a series of insights taken from the story of Joseph, and though the message was easy yo listen to and nourishing to the soul, it was not as easy to write about today, and these notes are but a pale shadow of the real thing.

Birth order continues to have relevance in some ways, but in the ancient world it was even more significant. It was an agricultural world, and the firstborn got the land because it was important to keep the land together for future generations.

Yet over and over in the Old Testament, things didn't work that way. For some reason it seems the youngest got the blessing. Abel and Cain, Jacob and Esau, etc. The stories continue to have surprising twists.

In our modern world who seems to be the ones with the blessing today? Athletes who make 12 million a year. Smart ones, attractive ones, wealthy ones are the ones who seem "blessed" in our current culture.

But God's ways are not our ways. And Joseph spends a lifetime learning about the meaning of God's blessing. He began at the top of heap, being his father's favorite son. Joseph had a beautiful coat of many colors that set him apart from his brothers, and it only made his brothers jealous. But it gets worse. He tells his brothers about a dream his had in which his brother's sheaves of wheat bowed down to his. And another dream in which even his parents bowed down to him. They were more than indignant. The brothers so hated him they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery where he ended up in Egypt.

Despite no evidence of Joseph's character being humble and worthy of blessing, God is with him. Joseph did not earn God's blessing. Yet God did not abandon him there. In fact, everything Joseph put his hand to in Potiphar's house was blessed.

Unfortunately, in a turn of events in which he kept his virtue, he ends up in prison. It would appear not to be a blessing, yet God is at work in him, and present even there.

Brad then interjected: This week I want you to ask God to reveal Himself in your hard place.

While in the prison Joseph notices others there and is no longer self-absorbed as in his youth. He has softened, become more sensitive.

We picked up the story in Genesis 39 and 40. Joseph was given a wife in Egypt. Joseph's wife was Egyptian so that Joseph's sons were half pagan. But when Israel blesses Joseph's sons in Genesis 48, the meaning is this... everyone is available to blessing. Old, young, insider or outcast.... it makes no difference to God.

Brad noted that when the Promised Land was split amongst the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph was not one so allotted. Instead land was split for his two sons, Ephraim and Manassah, parcels for the half-tribes.

The blessing is for everyone, and at any time. Brad closed with the story of Jesus on the cross, blessing one of the thieves on the other cross. God was there. And Jesus was in the tomb, He went in confidence that God would be there to bring Him back.

* * * *
After the service we had a semi-annual meeting in which we discussed status of the new church building, budget matters, and elected new officers. The most exciting news was that we are ready to transition into the new building at the end of May. are you ready?

Righteousness

It was a very special service again this morning. The primary announcement this morning pertained to tomorrow's Christmas Eve service, which will be at 4:00 p.m.

After the congregation sang a pair of beautiful Christmas hymns, Brooke Shannon talked about what God has been doing in her life this past year in a ministry moment. Her sharing was all the more powerful because the only Brooke we have seen publicly seems to be a bright-spirited, cheerful leader in our church family. This morning she allowed us to see through the windows into her heart and what it meant to lose her home in a house-fire 15 months ago.

Brooke began by sharing that there's one word that came to mind when she thought about this matter: Home.

To put things into a bigger context, she stated that she has moved 27 times in her life. When she lost her house, and her wedding dress, she had three things she was grateful she did not lose: her family, her faith and her church. Now that they've moved into the new house they built, she shared how this word is an acronym for the lessons she learned.
H... Humility  What I have is not mine.
O... Ongoing  The journey doesn't end. There will be more trials or victories.
M... Maturity  A deepening knowledge of God
E...  Endurance

Brooke shard her low point this past year. "Honey, should we just move?" But then she recognized that they have been called to this community. It was a very powerful message.

During the offering Brad mentioned that normally the church does not take an offering during the Christmas service, but that tomorrow an offering will be taken to support the missional commitments of the Covenant churches here and abroad. After a time of prayer, Pastor Shannon delivered the sermon.

Righteousness

Brad began by asking, "What was going through Joseph's mind when he learned his betrothed was pregnant?" And also, "What does it mean when the Bible calls Joseph a righteous man?" We looked closely at a detail that often gets lost in all the more familiar details of the Christmas story.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Matt 1:18-19)

Our English translations of the Bible vary, but the original word that the NIV translated "was faithful to the law" is translated "a righteous man" which still fails to fully convey the meaning of the word. The word here is "sadiq" which means "uncompromising obedience to the Torah."

A sadiq was one who did what was right. He kept the Sabbath and all the laws. He was someone people looked up to so that his identity was associated with this honorable behavior. This is why it was an exceptionally problematic situation when he learned the woman to whom he was betrothed was now pregnant, and he himself had not had anything to do with it.

Joseph's identity was associated with being a righteous man. The problem is, the letter of the law would require that he make her sin public. This was a stoning-level offense. His reputation was on the line in how he handled this. 

When Mary explained the situation to Joseph, that she was "with child" but that she had not been with any man, that this was God's child, Joseph did not initially believe it. This was just too much, and he undoubtedly experience great anxiety as her wrestled with what to do. He'd already decided to divorce her quietly when an angel came to him with words of comfort and instruction.

It's interesting here that God allowed Joseph to experience this anguish while his world was being turned upside down.

At this point several things became clear in Joseph's mind. First, by taking Mary back as his wife, he was about to lose his reputation (as a righteous man, as a sadiq.) Second, if he married a pregnant girl his life would never be the same. Third, his identity as a sariq would be lost.

But the angel said, "Don't be afraid." And Joseph brought Mary home to him.

Brad pointed out an interesting detail from the Gospel of Mark. In Mark 6 it is noted that Jesus had four brothers, named after the Patriarchs of Israel. In verse 3, there is a reference to Jesus as "the son of Mary." At the time, and through most of history, the designation for sons would be as sons of their fathers. Being a small town, it would appear the lost reputation of Joseph continued, and when it says in verse 4, "they took offense at him" it was tantamount to calling him a "son of a ___."

In short, Joseph gave up his reputation and identity for Jesus, and did so even before Jesus was born.

Could this upbringing be one more reason Jesus had a heart for the downtrodden, the rejected, the women who had been stained, because he saw that his father was this kind of man who demonstrated a new kind of righteousness, based on mercy and compassion.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared, "Unless your righteousness passes that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law" -- the old system -- "you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus must have been thinking inside, I've seen the better kind of righteousness firsthand; my father was such a man.

When Joseph made the decision to wed Mary, he thought it was the end of his being known as a righteous man. He did not know fully that the child he would adopt would bring to the human race a new kind of righteousness. That is what we're celebrating this Christmas.

God’s Thirteen Year Plan

Today is the Third Sunday in Lent and a beautiful sunny morning for gathering here at New Life Covenant. Pastor Brad began by calling out, "Good morning. I’m grateful you’re here this morning to worship with us. We worship a big and gracious and awesome God." He went on to say, "We learned last week that God does have a plan for our lives, but He is more concerned with what we become than where we are going."

Because it was Dorothy Theiry’s 90th birthday this week we sang “Happy Birthday.”

Ken and Vicky had to leave early this a.m. because his mother passed away. For this reason Chuck and Darlene sang a pair of duets for us to open the worship time. The Shepherd’s Song, talks about being led by Christ. “He shall lead His flock like a shepherd…” Next they sang Wonderful Peace, by Ralph Carmichael, a song Chuck and Darlene first sang together 35 years ago.

After a time of worship, Brad invited Walt to come forward and share what was happening in the building committee. Slides were projected on the screen and the disclaimer that this is all really preliminary. Ideas have been stirred as we approach the next step, preliminary design work for building plans. Environmental due diligence is also part of the process.

The building as currently conceived will have three sections, including offices, Sunday school rooms and a large multi-purpose room with high ceilings for a variety of activities including worship.

Dale also presented how the needs of the church family were the primary considerations while also being realistic about costs. Dale explained the details of this tentative layout which included the challenges of working around the various building codes. The space is in the neighborhood of 85,000 square feet. If you were not here today, all this information is available by contacting the building committee.

Next steps include refining choices, looking at a similar church in Grand Rapids, and sorting out the real costs. Currently, the whole of it “is a dream on paper,” Walt said. “And please keep praying for the process.” There are many decisions to make.

After the offering was taken, we spent some time in prayer and Brad moved us into the sermon.

God’s Thirteen Year Plan

Disclaimer: These notes are an inadequate reflection of the message Pastor Brad delivered. For best results, read reflectively Genesis 37-50.

Essentially, Brad gave an overview of the life of Joseph and drew out several key thoughts, the first being: God really does have a plan for our lives.

The coach in the press box can see things that the players can’t see down in the field. So it is that God sees things we can’t see. He sees all things visible and invisible. When we're in the thick of it, we can trust Him because God has a better perspective.

Most people who have grown up in the church remember the story of Joseph and how had been given a coat of many colors which made his brothers jealous. Even many unchurched people know the story through literature and plays. Chapter 37 begins with Joseph sharing a dream he had, which made his brothers hate him even more. He dreamt that he and his brothers were binding sheaves of grain out in the field and all of a sudden his stood upright and the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to his. This naturally infuriated his older brothers.

Joseph was 17 when this happened. Thirteen years later, at age 30, Joseph was a ruler in Egypt with such authority from the Pharaoh that nothing would happen that didn’t go through him. Nevertheless, the thirteen years between these events was a pretty wild ride. It would have been easy to lose hope. It would be easy to give up if you went through what Joseph went through.

Joseph’s brothers were out attending sheep and their hatred of Joseph had festered to a boiling point. They decided to throw him into an empty well and teach him a lesson. Some of his brothers even wanted to kill him. "We can kill a wild animal and put blood on it so they can tell their father he was killed by an animal."

But after throwing him in the well and trying to decide how far to go with this, a Midianite band came along and the brothers sold Joseph for 20 shekels of silver. These gypsies went on to sell Joseph to a man named Potiphar.

Despite the hardship and impossible circumstances, it is written, “And the Lord was with Joseph.” Everything Joseph did achieved success, though things didn't always go his way.

Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, but Joseph kept his integrity and escaped from her clutches. Being humiliated by this rejection she turns the tables and accuses him of rape. Next thing, Joseph is behind bars.

Joseph could have complained about his lot in life. But instead of railing against God for his circumstances, he chose to bloom where he was planted. Even in jail he rose to the top of the inmates. Then one day, the Pharaoh’s cup bearer and baker were thrown into jail. While there the two men had dreams. They asked for help from Joseph.

Interpreting the dreams, Joseph said that in three days the baker would be toast, but the cup bearer would be released and returned to Pharaoh’s house. Joseph made a deal with the cup bearer, asking the man to remember him upon his release. But even in this Joseph got the snub.

Much time had elapsed and it would have been easy for Joseph to get discouraged, but in all those days Joseph made a choice to trust God.

God does have a hope and a future for us. It doesn’t necessarily look like the American dream. What we sometimes do is let the culture paint the picture our dreams should look like.

Too often, we paint a picture of what we think God’s will should look like for us so that we say, “As long as my life looks like this I will worship you.”

“Jesus promised those who would follow Him three things: they would be absurdly happy, entirely fearless and always in trouble.

“One thing I’ve learned, God is more interested in my character than He is in my comfort.”

Second principle: God is always with you. Even when it’s dark, He is working behind the scenes.
Joseph could have been tempted to say at any point along the way that (a) God was wrong, or (b) maybe God changed His mind, or (c) I did something wrong and God kicked me off the master plan track, or (d) maybe God just wasn't real to begin with.

Joseph could have given up. He could have said, "Maybe I better figure out how to do this life by myself." But the truth is, when it's dark for us God doesn’t sleep. God doesn’t need engery drinks to keep going. God watches over us all through the night. His grace is sufficient for you.

When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, God’s plan was not derailed. When it looks dark, God is there with you, has not abandoned you. He is committed to working all things together for good for those who trust Him.

Third: God’s plan is always this, to have the right person in the right place for the right purposes.

Joseph's prison experience ends with Pharaoh having a couple troubling dreams himself. His magicians were helpless to interpret it for him. Suddenly the cup bearer remembers this fellow in prison who could interpret dreams. Joseph said with God’s help he could do this.

Pharaoh's dream showed Joseph that seven years of famine coming, but only after seven good years. Joseph described a solution to the famine problem, that by preparing in advance they would have storehouses of food and grain. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the plan.

When the famine hit, it hit far more than Egypt. Joseph's brothers came to get food for their families. What a shock when for Joseph when they came and bowed down to him without them knowing who he was. And a shock for the brothers who were terrified at the prospects of retribution.

But Joseph had God's perspective once again. "God sent me here, not you. I’m not bitter about the pit and the slavery… God has used it all for His purpose." Indeed, that purpose was to preserve the sons of Jacob for the preservation of Israel for the ultimate purpose of preserving the lineage that would one day produce a redeemer for mankind… that Jesus might be one day born to become the light of the world and savior.

We ended the service by singing that great traditional hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Brad will be back Tuesday evening, so Chuck greeted us and led the service today. Our guest speaker was Pastor David Eaton, a chaplain and Covenant pastor who has been with us before and becoming a friend of the New Life Covenant family.

Announcements
1) Gwen shared II Peter 3:18 with us as an intro to her theme about Sunday School. We're called to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." GROW as an acronym means
God's Word
Relationships
Obedience
Worship

2) Cheryl B. noted that our community of believers sent 28 kids to camp this year, a real achievement and a life changing experience for many.

While Darlene played Worthy of Worship, Chuck read Psalm 29, which in itself is rich, but especially enhanced against the backdrop of Darlene's accompaniment. After a time of worship, Chuck and Gwen sang a duet during the offering.

Our Scripture reading was from Romans 9:1-5. After a time of prayer, Gwen took the pulpit to minister in song, sharing with us The Solid Rock.

David Eaton then stepped up to deliver the message.

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Eaton shared how much he enjoys the stories from the Old Testament, and that today he would be bringing us way back to one of its earliest books, the Book of Genesis. He then challenged us with a series of questions beginning with, "Do you believe God is good? Do you believe God is good in every situation?"

Our response is often filtered through our own experience and we often re-phrase this. "Is God good for me?" We also ask other questions like, "How could you let this happen to me?"

How do we handle it when life treats us unfairly? The variety of ways we can be wounded are innumerable. Terrible things can happen to people. How do we deal with it? Pastor Eaton noted that, "It's all about grace."

At this point he interjected the conclusion of his sermon, Genesis 50:20, noting that it's all about perspective. Joseph, speaking to his brothers, said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

The story of Joseph is a familiar one. He was the "golden boy" of the Jacob's twelve sons. The first ten were born three of Jacob's wives while his favorite wife remained barren. Eventually she gave him two sons, Joseph the first. And Jacob was elated. Joseph got special treatment, not the least of which was the coat of many colors his father bestowed upon him. All this caused a jealousy to fester between he and his brothers. This is the background for today's sermon, and the rest of the story.

Grace Unknown

In Genesis 37 Joseph tells his brothers about a dream he had.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

This and a subsequent dream caused the brothers' jealousy and rage shoot through the roof. Some of the brothers were so angry they actually wanted to kill him, but Reuben prevailed and instead they sold him into slavery, faking his death so that their father believed he'd been eaten by a wild animal.

God's hand was on Joseph, and while in the service of Potiphar, a land owner in Egypt, good things happened for Potiphar and Joseph's value increased. Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife took a hankering for Joseph. When he refused her advances, she told her husband he was putting the moves on her, attempted to violate her, and Joseph was unjustly sent to prison.

But even in prison it was apparent that God was with him, and as time crept forward, Joseph eventually was able to assist in the interpretation of the king's dream. This giftedness led to his ultimate release, after the longest time, to become 2nd in command in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the brothers may have been free of Joseph's dreamings, but they were in no way free of the guilt over what they had done to him. As "luck" would have it, a drought forced Jacob to send his sons to Egypt for food in a time of need.

In Genesis 42 the brothers show up in Egypt to get food for Canaan and it is Joseph to whom they must apply for assistance. Though he recognizes them immediately, they do not recognize him. And since he has been talking with them through an imterpreter, they do not realize he can understand them when they lament over their guilt from their behavior years earlier.

21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

They had done wrong and they knew it, but they did not have the power in themselves to fix it.

Grace Extended

In Genesis 45 Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and extends his grace to them. The revelation must have been an incredible moment, as they undoubtedly never expected to see Joseph again. Though they deserved harsh justice, they received from their brother mercy.

So it is with us. God loves us. Regardless of our checkered past, His grace is extended to all.

Grace Received

Perhaps the most incredible insight from today's message comes from this passage in Genesis 50:15...

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”

It's 17 years later and even though Joseph had forgiven them long ago, they still lived in fear of him. When Jacob died, the brothers connived a plan to make sure they would be safe. They did not understand that Joseph had extended mercy and it was not based on anything but love for them.

The brothers had presumed that Joseph was being kind to them out of deference for Jacob. Jacob was a safety net. Once the net was gone, their old fears returned. Now, they believed, Joseph would do what he's always wanted to do. They still did not understand the extent of his grace and unconditional mercy.

So it is with God, who loves us and desires that we accept -- fully -- His unconditional mercy.

Pastor Eaton said that throughout his life experience, especially in chaplaincy, he has encountered people who believe in God but still do not believe and receive his grace. I you are one of these, in that space between believing and receiving, the time to settle it is now.

Top right: David and Shawnee Eaton