Edgewood Bible Church

Do You Want to Face Your Past?

For Joseph, his 13 years in prison brought about a change in him. He is ready to forgive it seems. He realizes that God is sovereign and has ordered his steps and as we will find out, God has ordered the steps of his brothers too. There is a reconciliation that God is orchestrating here and it’s not of Joseph’s doing or even his brothers. God is behind it all. The question is: Do you want to face your past? If you’ve ever been hurt, if you’ve suffered at the hands of others, then maybe your answer is no. You want to forget and move on. But perhaps these chapters have some insight for your situation.

Do You Believe in Luck?

In the words of the Westminster Confession, God in His providence “upholds, directs, disposes and governs all creatures, actions and things” to bring about a sovereignly pre-determined plan (5.1) We can see the Providence all over the Scriptures, if we are looking for it. How do you view life: is it luck and chance or the Sovereign providence of a loving God? As we consider the life of Joseph, do we see the providence or luck? Is it just happenstance, or all part of your careful, compassionate plan for his children?

Do You Feel Like You’ve Been Forgotten?

“Where is God in all of this? Have you ever felt like you have been forgotten? Have you experienced the pain of rejection? Cast out, pushed aside, rejected.
I suppose this is probably what Joseph felt when we come to the 39th chapter in Genesis. He seems to have been forgotten by God. Thrown into prison and left to rot. Life has not been easy for this teenager. Does God have a purpose for all of his suffering? Will God give answers soon? Is God’s timetable worthy of our trust? Will God come through for me? This morning we continue on in our journey to learn from the life of Joseph and his Inextinguishable Hope as he follows God.

Do You Know Why You Were Born?

Do you know why you were born? Scottish theologian William Barclay who once wrote that “… there are two great days in a person’s life, ‘the day we are born and the day we discover why.” I believe some attribute this to Mark Twain, but either way, it’s an instructive comment. Being born into this world is significant enough. Born with a sense of significance is another thing altogether. We can easily find out when we were born, we can check our birth certificate. But the other day, why we were born, that is a whole new search that isn’t as easy as it might seem.
Life doesn’t always go as we have planned. Where is God in all of this? Can He be trusted? Is life just a bunch of coincidences, happenstance? Or, is there a purpose to it all? There are some tremendous nuggets of gold in the last 14 chapters of Genesis and so we will look to learn more from this servant of God.

Psalm 80

A small difference in trajectory can make a huge difference in your destination. Sin often begins with what may feel like a minor concession—just a small decision for this shortcoming or a short satisfaction for that desire. Just this one time, just this one decision, it doesn’t seem like a big issue in the moment. But that simple decision can change the trajectory of your life to a deadly destination.
If you carefully read your OT, you realize that the nation of Israel made some crucial trajectory changes. Ironically, the nation that Joshua led out of the wilderness into the Promised Land in order to be a witness to the nations makes a number of choices that make them a mere imitation of the nations. Psalm 80, which we will look at this morning, holds for us a call for repentance, for turning, for change. It tells us the story of God’s faithfulness to his people, but also their rejection of Him and His good ways. But more strongly it tells us of the Psalmist cries for God’s people to turn back to God from their rejection of Him. It calls God’s people to reject their rejection of Him. It is a Psalm in search for Restoration.

Psalm 34

Do you want to live a happy life? It might mean different things to different people, but if you were to ask most people, they would most certainly say “Yes, I want to live a happy life. Of course, why wouldn’t I!” But the question then must follow, how do we get this happy life? Is it even possible to live this life? Many have endeavored to answer this question over the years, inside and outside of Christendom.
As Christians, we should know how to have a happy life, right. We live according to the Word of God. We live in obedience to the Word of God. With obedience comes blessing from God. We follow God, we follow his Word and we will be blessed. Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer, that we won’t have pains, trials, and discomfort, it means we will be utterly secure in the hands of God. To be happy in this life, we look to God and His word for direction. So what does God’s Word say about this life?

Psalm 40

Psalm 73

Psalm 111

Wisdom begins with the Worship and Wonder of God. If you are searching for Wisdom, it will begin with worship, which leads to wonder. If we don’t have worship and wonder, we won’t experience wisdom. This Psalm is all about us remembering who God is, what God has done and what God will do.

Psalm 46

The vital message is that in times of great change and apparent disaster, God is the shelter for his people from their enemies and He is their strength for them to live for Him. The point of the message: The only secure place in the world is in God alone. This morning we will look at the search for security: what kind of security are you looking for?