LET’S MEET JOSEPH!
Family feuds, jealousy, favouritism, conspiracy, deceit, hardship, from
rags to riches, success, popularity, intrigue, pride, forgiveness,
reconciliation – this is not a description of the latest blockbuster at
Barrow Cinema! This is ‘snapshot’ of Joseph and his family who we read
about in the Bible and who we will be learning about during our Sunday
Worship in July and August.
Over the next few weeks, as we recall Joseph’s remarkable story, we will
look at some of the things that go wrong in family relationships and seek
biblical approaches to handle such problems. You may recall, Joseph was
his father’s favourite son; this favouritism, expressed in the expensive
‘coloured coat’ Joseph received from his father, created bitterness and
jealousy among his brothers. They conspired against him and Joseph
became an exile in Egypt. As a slave in Egypt he was subjected to
temptation and false accusation and ended up a prisoner. However, he
was eventually released and ended up as Prime Minister of Egypt! During
our Summer Worship in South Barrow Team we will be considering how
God wants us to react to temptation, false accusation and stress, as well
as popularity and success.
Despite past hurts and hostility Joseph and his family later become
reunited; there is a need for pride to be overcome and forgiveness to be
received and given. Joseph’s loving and practical provision for his family is
an example of how God wants us to live and points to the importance of
reconciliation between people who have been estranged. Joseph became
the ‘rescuer’ of those who rejected and abused him. Do you detect a
parallel between the lives of Joseph and Jesus? As those estranged from
God, because of our ͥ