The Story Begins: God Is Faithful to His Covenant

The Story Begins: God Is Faithful to His Covenant

Genesis 41:38-57    

How Do You Like Me Now?! Toby Keith

I was always the crazy one… You were always the perfect one

…I only wanted to get your attention, But you over looked me somehow

…How do you like me now… Now that I'm on my way

…I heard that you made fun of me, You never imagined I'd make it this far

Then you married into the money girl, Ain't it a cruel and funny world

He took your dreams and he tore them apart

He never comes home and your always alone…

And your kids hear you cry down the hall…

How do you like me now, Now that I'm on my way 

Hebrews 12:15 – “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Marks of Bitterness toward a person:

Hates thinking or even hearing about a person.

Refuses to forgive and release.

Refuses to do good or pray.

Will not celebrate victories.

Often self-righteous, cynical, critical and unhappy.

Holds rigid expectations for other’s lives.

Wants punishment.

Seeks to make the person look bad.

Often distrusts and despises authority and accountability.

Refuses to believe God or His promises.

I. God always brings godly fruit out of our affliction.       Genesis 41:38-57

Genesis 45:1-15

Psalm 105:16-18 - “And God called for a famine upon the land…He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They afflicted his feet with fetters, he himself was laid in irons; until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”

II. God always overrules evil with good.                  Genesis 50:15-25        

Hebrews 11:22 - “It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.”

1 Peter 2:23 - “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.”    

Faith Sheet

 Series Memory Verse - Genesis 1:26-27 - “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Monthly and Weekly Verse - Genesis 50:20 - “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Reviewing This past Sunday

The Story Begins: God Is Faithful to His Covenant

Genesis 41:38-57

 1. What are some challenges or tests in your life that have made you a better follower of Christ, spouse, parent, and/or friend?

2. In what ways can God bring fruit out of your past difficulties in your present ministry to others in similar circumstances?

3. How does holding a grudge contradict the gospel?

4. How can meditating on the gospel empower you to be patient with and forgive others?

5. What wrong actions toward you would make you consider someone an “enemy”?

6. How does the gospel help you put the bad things that happen in your life in the right perspective?

7. What is your overarching purpose in life and how does it impact your daily living?

“Biblical forgiveness does release us, and not simply from our own anger and hurt. Biblical forgiveness releases us to bring the mercy we received from God out into the world to others.”

-Leslie Leyland Fields

Preparing for Next Sunday

The Glory of Christmas

John 1:14-18

1. Read the passage and ask the Lord to reveal Himself and His truth. (John 1:14-18)

2. HIGHLIGHT a verse or truth that stands out to you and write it out.

3. EXPLAIN the text in your own words to make sure you see the big picture of God’s Story.(Who wrote it and why was it written? To whom it was written? What is the context? How does the text point to the Father, Son or Spirit? What is the text telling us about our new identity as believers in Christ or what we are to be doing?)

4. APPLY a truth from the text to your own life. (Focus on what God is saying to you. What is your response of obedience, confession, praise, giving thanks?)

5. RESPOND in prayer and go apply what God reveals to you from the Scriptures.