Chapter 3: Sermon (Allison)

[“The Story” page 39, bottom of 41-top 42  

(Gen 45:1-8, Gen 50: 15-21)]

    

SERMON—introduction

We’ve been reading “The Story” now for three weeks. And this chapter about Joseph has proven to be one of those chapters that I couldn’t stop reading. Even though I know how it ends, I couldn’t put it down.

So that makes me wonder. What makes a good story, the kind you can’t put down? What makes something the kind of story that you’ll stay up all night reading? Or so that you’ll read it again?

Or, if reading’s not your thing, what kind of story does it take that you HAVE to buy a movie when it comes out on DVD so you can watch it over and over again?

Or, what kind of story will you listen to grandparent or maybe a great-grand parent tell again and again and again?

What is it about a good story that makes you not want to put it down?

(wait for answers--the story touches you or changes you in some way; you learn something new about life or yourself; it has substance, it’s not just about fluff--usually; it’s the kind of story that’s perfect for you but maybe not for everybody else)

#1

One thing you must, must, MUST have for a good story is conflict and resolution, right?[1]

There’s got to be a conflict between good guys and bad guys. And most of the time, the bad guy (or bad girl) is created in such a way as to be SO evil, SO rotten, SO despicable that it’s OBVIOUS we want to root for the good guy (or good girl), who is usually created to be an underdog, a common person who rises to an uncommon level of bravery or courage or even physical strength in order to swoop in and save the day.

Think Batman and the Joker; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shredder; Jerry Seinfeld and Newman or the Soup Nazi; James Bond and any of the villains he pursued; Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker … the list goes on and on. You can fill in your own favorite here/villain duo.

REFLECTION: Chapter 3

Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh



"Jacob had 12 sons. But Joseph was his favorite." 

Right there.
Those two little sentences sure don't bode well for Joseph.

Favored as he was by his father, his "lower story" life was decidedly UNfavorable ...

Beaten up by his brothers.
Thrown into a hole by his brothers.
Left for dead, again, by his brothers.
Oops, wait, sold into slavery instead. (Brothers again.)
Thrown into jail.
Framed for rape.
Thrown in jail. Again. 

After reading that list, you might think the moral of the story is: "Don't mess with your brothers." (My brothers would probably give that a hearty, "Amen!") 

But Joseph's story isn't really about them. His brothers are just the minor characters in his story. They're bad guys God uses for GOOD in his "upper story." 

From our perspective (lower story), Joseph is in the very worst place--far from home, abandoned by family, stuck in jail. But from a divine perspective (upper story), he was in the very BEST place--right where God wants him to be.

God uses the sins of others to prepare Joesph for something very, very good: to be second in command to the Pharaoh, a place of power and influence that God can use for his purposes.

It doesn't mean it wasn't painful. It doesn't mean it wasn't scary and awful and probably something Joseph never would have volunteered for. But it was all a part of his story. And the bad part is not the end of his story.

If his brothers hadn't sold him into slavery and if Potiphar's wife hadn't gotten him thrown in jail, he would have never met the king's servant who needed someone to interpret a dream, which was his ticket out of jail. All the bad guys in this story had a purpose and a role: to put Joseph right where God wanted him to be.

God can do amazing things with sin and terrible situations because God is sovereign. He is in control when life feels out of control; he gives meaning to things which seem purposeless.


DO IT
Think about a difficult time in your life and how God used the bad to make something good. Think about a time in your "lower story" where God's "upper story" broke in and gave you hope and the strength to persevere.

Fill in this sentence: "If I had not gone through _____________________________, then I never would have learned _____________________________." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Chapter 3: Questions

Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh 

Week 3, week 3! Congratulations!

Now, let's get down to business. (As always, feel free to answer the questions in the comments but if you don't want to do them all, maybe focus on the "Digging Deeper" questions or sharing how things went with the "Personal Action.")

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION
1. Why did Josephs's brother want to get rid of him?

2. Why does God allow hurtful things to happen to good people? to bad people?

3. What were the positive effects of Joseph's being sold into slavery?

4. What does Joseph's statement to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good," tell you about God?

5. In what was have you see God work through the most bleak and hopeless situations to cause a greater good?

6. Why can God be trusted at all times?

DIGGING DEEPER
Joseph COULD have retaliated and gotten revenge on his brothers for all the wrong they did to him. But he didn't. Instead, he provided for them and extended forgiveness. What makes it hard to forgive people who have intentionally wronged us? What can we do to forgive, even when it is difficult?

Joseph could say, "If my brothers had not turned on me, if Potiphar's wife had not falsely accused me, I would have never ended up becoming the king's right-hand man."  Finish THIS statement for yourself:
"If I had not __________________________, then I never would have _________________________."

PERSONAL ACTION
Forgiveness is one of life's hardest actions. When someone has hurt us, it can be extremely difficult to forgive. During the next couple of days, read Genesis 50:15-21, Matthew 6:9-15, and Matthew 18:21-35. Pray for the courage and strength to forgive those who have wronged you OR to ask someone to forgive YOU have wronged.


This is a safe place to be able to share questions and fears and doubts. You can post using your name or not, whichever you prefer. If you choose to respond to someone's comment, please be gentle with your words.  

Blessed to Be A Blessing

Chapter 2 Sermon (Allison)

SCRIPTURE  (from “The Story” book page 13; Genesis 12:1-5) 

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

SERMON—introduction

There’s an old wives’ tale that suggests that if your ears feel like they’re burning, it’s because someone’s talking about you. And apparently, if it’s your LEFT ear, someone’s saying good things but if it’s your RIGHT ear, someone’s saying something not so nice.[1]

I’m pretty sure this is all a bunch of baloney … but for the purposes of today’s sermon, I gotta ask: were your collective LEFT ears burning this week? Because I was talking about you … and rest assured, it was all good stuff!

Tina, the pastor from the Paris Church, and I were pondering what part of this week’s chapter from “The Story” we might use for worship. And we ended up talking about how a lot of people from both of our churches have lived here forever.

#1

In my mind, as I thought about you--picturing where each of you usually sit on Sunday morning--I was pretty sure that most of you have lived here or somewhere nearby your whole lives. Or, if you were born somewhere else, you’ve now lived here for a significant part of your life. This has become home to you.

And whenever you find a place to call home, more often than not, you are reluctant to leave it. I’m not talking about vacation; I’m talking about uprooting the life you’ve come to know and moving somewhere you’ve never been before. I’m talking about packing up your house and your family and moving across country to a place you’ve never seen before, don’t really know anything about, and don’t really know what to expect.

Leaving behind your friends and family and friends who are like family. Leaving behind your social network and those who support and encourage and love you. Leaving behind your doctors and dentist and the plumber, electrician, and car mechanic you’ve come to know and trust.

What would it take to get you to leave this place and stay away? What kind of a promise would God have to make to you get you to start a completely new life with no looking back?