Guilt only grows heavier the longer we hide it.

The sons of Jacob have lived for over 20 years carrying the secret guilt of selling away their brother into slavery in Egypt and letting Jacob believe his beloved son Joseph was dead. Then a terrible famine threatens the lives of Jacob and his household in the land of Canaan, and news comes to Jacob that Egypt is selling grain. When Jacob sends his sons to Egypt, will they find salvation from the famine, or the uncovering of the guilt they buried long ago?

This week we read through Genesis 42 and see what happens when Jacob's sons come before Joseph in Egypt and don't recognize their brother. We'll see how Joseph reacts to the fulfillment of his dreams from decades earlier and how his brothers react when faced with their past sins. And as we examine the steps God takes to confront the secret guilt of Jacob's sons, we'll examine our own lives for the traces of buried guilt and learn the steps God will lead us in to deliver us today.

The night may be silent, but God hasn't stopped moving!

Joseph has been forgotten in an Egyptian prison for two years, betrayed by family and wrongfully accused and imprisoned, but not abandoned by God. While Joseph remains faithful to serve God even in prison, unknown to him, God has begun moving in the dreams of Pharoah himself, putting into motion the events that will exalt Joseph from prisoner to prominence.

This week we read through Genesis 41 and see Joseph interpreting the nightmares of Pharoah. We'll look at how God was not only working on behalf of Joseph, but also working on the heart of Pharoah. We'll study how the events of Joseph's life foreshadow the events of Jesus Christ, and remind ourselves that God is still working in the waiting places of our own lives.

God has not forgotten you!

What's worse than being sold by your brothers into slavery? Being a slave who is imprisoned for a crime you didn't commit. Yet that's where Joseph finds himself, abandoned by brothers and by masters, but not by God. When two high ranking officials in Pharoah's court are imprisoned with Joseph, will Joseph finally have a way to plead his case before Pharoah?

This week we read through Genesis 40 and read of Joseph interpreting the dreams of his fellow prisoners. We'll see the effect of God's continued presence in Joseph's life and how Joseph reacts to disappointment and delay as he waits for God to fulfill the promises He made in Joseph's youth. And we'll glimpse God's perspective when we find ourselves dealing with disappointment and delay in our own lives.

The Lord is with you. From an earthly perspective, Joseph has become the victim of the sins of his family. After his brothers sold him to slave traders, Joseph finds himself a slave in the house of an Egyptian leader. Far from home, in a strange land that speaks a strange language and worships strange gods, can Joseph remain faithful to the God who promised him great things? This week we read through Genesis 39 and see the how Lord was with Joseph in a strange and foreign land. We'll see how the sins of Joseph's brothers could not stop the faithfulness of God to bless Joseph, and we'll examine Joseph's response to temptation and learn how we can remain faithful to God in the midst of our own temptations. And together we'll learn that the God who was with Joseph through his trials is the same God who promised us in the New Testament that He would never leave us or forsake us. Walk bold and courageous, dear child of God, the Lord is with you!

Is my life too messy for God to redeem?

The story of Joseph in Genesis is an inspiring illustration of how God can keep us safe throughout the trials and injustices that we face in our lives. But what about the trials we face that are of our own making? It's easy to believe God can save the blameless. But is there any hope of redemption for the guilty?

This week we read through Genesis 38 and see what Judah gets up to back in the land of Canaan. We'll see how Judah's small compromises lead to big sin. But more importantly, we'll see God's grace play out when Judah's sin comes to light as God works His story of redemption through the lineage that will ultimately lead to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world.

Victimhood doesn't have to define you.

Joseph didn't choose to be born into a family full of drama. He didn't choose to be his father's favorite and he didn't choose to receive prophetic dreams. And yet this young man found himself subject to the murderous intent of his envious brothers. Can God still work His good will in the midst of such evil?

This week we finish reading through Genesis 37 and see the violent result of Jacob's favoritism among his sons. We'll look at all the events that led to Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery and see how God's hand was still working through every circumstance. And we'll find encouragement for ourselves to see that when envy and evil throw us into the pit, we don't have to live as a victim of circumstance but can entrust our lives to a sovereign God working all things together for good.

Can God still work in my dysfunctional family?

While Esau moved out of the Promised Land and his family grew and gained power and wealth in the eyes of the world, Jacob and his family remained shepherds who dwelled in tents in the land God had promised to give to Abraham. But it's in Jacob's family, with all its problems, that God would continue to work out His grand plan of redemption that He first promised in Genesis chapter 3.

This week we begin reading through Genesis 37 and the beginning of the final section of the book of Genesis. We'll see the introduction of the young man, Joseph, and the continued family drama that would set Joseph and his brothers at odds with each another. We'll look at the dangers of favoritism within families and examine how God's hand of providence can work His plan of redemption in the midst of the choices of every day people. And we'll learn how to be intentionally set apart for God in a godless world.

What are you living for?

Before Jacob and Esau were even born, they were at odds with one another, wrestling in the womb of Rebekah and fighting over blessings and birthrights as adults. Through the brothers' fights and estrangement and reconciliation, they each become an example of how our priorities and decisions today can have a lasting effect on the generations that will come after us.

This week we read through Genesis 36 and see the legacy that Esau leaves behind him. We'll see the record of how Esau became the father of a mighty nation and compare his legacy with the legacy of his brother, Jacob who became Israel. And then we'll take some time to examine our own lives to see what we are living for today and what kind of legacy we are leaving behind us.