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.

What does a life of revival really look like?

When Jacob followed most of what God said, but not all of it, his compromise led to great suffering for his family and the city around him. But God didn't give up on Jacob because of his compromise. And in HIs grace, God called Jacob to follow Him in complete surrender. Will Jacob succumb to his old nature, or find a place of repentance and revival?

This week we continue reading through Genesis with chapter 35, and see what God can do with a life surrendered to Him. We'll see how the marks of repentance lead Jacob to a personal revival that has a profound impact on his family and how a life of revival isn't a life without suffering, but a life that can withstand the trials of the world. And we'll learn how to spark revival in our own lives.

Warning: At Hosanna we teach verse by verse through the Bible and believe that God will work through the good and the bad. This study is not graphic but does discuss sensitive topics that may not be suitable for children. Parental discretion is advised.

Isn't it enough to do most of what God says? Jacob followed the command of the Lord to return to the Promised Land, where he reconciled with his brother Esau and settled in the plains near the city of Shechem. Even though God had told Jacob to go back to Bethel, Jacob purchased land 20 miles away from Bethel and built a new altar to the Lord there. But this seemingly small act of partial obedience from Jacob would lead his whole family down a road of pain and destruction Jacob could never have foreseen.

This week we return to our study through Genesis with chapter 34, where Jacob's daughter Dinah will become the victim of lust and violence. We'll see Jacob's failure to protect his family lead to vengeful violence from his sons and the destruction of an entire city. And then we'll ask ourselves if we have been following God with whole-hearted obedience or if we have let passivity and partial obedience lead to our assimilation into the ways of the world around us.