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September 23, 2024
The Story | Where Is God When Bad Things Happen? | Chapter 3
Beginnings: How God Got Things Started, A Chosen People.
Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son with God-given dreams for the future. And then life went horribly wrong for him: his brothers betrayed him, he became a slave in Egypt, and ended up in prison. Where was God when all of this was going on? God was working everything together to save lives, save a family, and save Joseph himself.
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Chapter 3: Genesis 45:1-14
- Why did Joseph’s brothers want to get rid of him?
- Where was God when Joseph was suffering as a slave and a prisoner? What does that tell us about who God is?
- In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. What good was accomplished because of Joseph’s suffering?
- Where have you seen God work through hopeless and difficult situations to bring about good?
- What answer would you give to a spiritually curious, unchurched friend who asked you, “Where is God when bad things happen?”
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Recent Sermons
Beginnings: How God Got Things Started, A Chosen People. The Israelites were afraid of the Philistine champion, Goliath. They needed a champion to rescue them, and at just the right time, God sent them a shepherd king who risked his life to defeat the enemy. The God who sent David to rescue the Israelites is the same God who came to us as the humble shepherd-king Jesus and gave his life to save us all.
The first human king of Israel was a flop. Saul had loads of promise, but he never learned to keep his eyes on God. God was a duty to Saul, not a friend, which meant Saul was always thinking of himself, what people thought of him, and what he needed to look good.
Expert fire inspectors can tell what started a fire even after it has been put out. They do the forensic work to prevent future fires. As we sort through the ashes of Saul’s life, stay alert to God’s cautions about your life and leadership.
The tiny book of Ruth in your Bible is all about friendship. The name Ruth actually means friendship. Two women lash themselves to each other, wondering what God might do for them during a bleak time in their lives. It’s the story of hard work, courage, and God coordinating the needed pieces behind the scenes.
It doesn’t take too long in the Promised Land for the people of God to begin to behave very badly. All the dreams of being a model nation with God as their king went out the window in a hurry. There’s no greater evidence for this than the last story in the book of Judges. Sometimes the Bible has PG-13 content. Judges 19-21 is rated R.
A Canaanite sex worker, Rahab seemed as far from God as a person could be. But Rahab trusted that God would save her, and he did. God rescued Rahab from shame and into a whole new life with a whole new family. That’s what he does for us, too.
This was Israel’s big day! Everything had been pointing towards this. Everyone was excited and when the moment came, they blew it! Totally dropped the ball. Trusted leaders turtled and turned the people of God against God’s good (and challenging) plan. God still got done what needed to be done—it just took 40 extra years and made for one long camping trip for an entire generation.
