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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.
Songs for this week: Spotify
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
Ezra 3:10-13 - The book of Ezra tells the story of the return of God’s people from exile. The account details the extra care that was taken by the returnees in doing their best to reproduce what they once had. Very quickly, they got the old altar operational and began to rebuild the temple. Our story is about what they chose to do on the day the foundation of the new temple was in place. There was a party that didn’t feel like a party for everyone, and that’s just honest!
Daniel 6:1-24-The book of Daniel is all about the Sovereignty of God. The God of Israel proves himself sovereign even in faraway Babylon: boys receive foreign favour and are released from having to eat rich and potentially unkosher food. Young men are saved from a fiery furnace, and old man Daniel doesn’t get eaten by a den of hungry lions. God proves he’s not limited by international borders, arrogant kings or wild beasts. All of this points forward to Jesus, who demonstrated his sovereignty (he is God, after all!) in different ways.
Ezekiel 36:22-28- The people of God deserved to be in exile in Babylon. They had betrayed their relationship with God by worshipping idols and committing horrible acts of violence. But instead of giving up on his people, God goes with them into exile. He shows up with a message of hope: he will bring them back, clean them up, and make them new. It was good news for the Israelites, and it’s good news for us today.
Isaiah 6:1-10 - Most of Isaiah’s writings don’t have a timestamp on them, but one event does. The day that he had his most profound encounter with God was shortly after King Uzziah died. King Uzziah would have been on the throne long before Isaiah was born and would have been the only king that Isaiah knew. That’s a big loss. Sometimes, God is able to meet us best when we’re tender from loss or grief.
1 Kings 18:16-39 - Elijah lived at odds with his culture. An evil king (and queen!) wanted him dead, so he went into hiding. After 3 years, God prompted him to set up a showdown: Yahweh vs. Ba’al, good vs. evil, a battle to the death. Sadly, good’s triumph barely left a mark on the life of his country. Thankfully, there was another good vs evil showdown years later, and its impact is still being felt around the world.
1 Kings 12:1-16: King Rehoboam continues the descent that has been the story of the kings since the throne was established. No one seems to be able to get it right. Leadership is tough. It requires listening to God and keen self-awareness. Rehoboam’s legacy is that he divided the people of God. May that never happen again.
