2/26 Sermon on Joseph, Part 7

At the Family Church here in Gainesville, Pastor Philip Griffin concluded his series, titled Upcycling: Trash to Treasure on the life of Joseph from the Old Testament book on Genesis, Chapter 50, Verses 12-21...you can access the passage via Bible Gateway through the following link: [link].  The theme for this past Sunday's message was redemption and summed up the previous weeks...

As Pastor Philip noted, Joseph did three things right: one, he refused to take God's place by not making up his own moral code, giving God the rightful credit for his successful interpretation of dreams, not allowing himself to worry, and to not assume God's position as judge by holding grudges or seeking revenge.  Two, he sought God's perspective, not man's.  Philip gave a word picture of a little child looking up from the "other" side at his grandmother's needlepoint...it looked like a mess from below but was beautiful and meaningful from above.  We don't always know the divine strategy for our lives, and many problems and crises can cloud our sense of God's presence...but he is always there, turning things his way for the good.  And three, Joseph embraced God's grace by being kind to all and reflecting God's grace on his fearful brothers, reassuring them of his forgiveness for their earlier mistreatment of him...

This was a good series and contained many valuable lessons.  Since I've written each successive Thursday following the previous Sunday's sermon, you can read my take on each message by going back in time on this blog.  You can also view the entire series on the church's YouTube video website, which you can reach through the following link : [link].  The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11.  There's good praise music, complimentary coffee, and friendly people...not to mention, of course, the messages themselves...