When we look at the big picture, Joseph played a pivotal role in God’s plan. The descendants of Abraham would serve in a foreign land 400 years (per Genesis 15) then return to claim the land of Canaan. But Joseph was too close to the events of his own life to see the big picture. His story looks like a hard luck case, a series of events of bad things that happened to him. God was near in Potipher’s house, in prison, and on the throne of Egypt. Joseph prospered in every situation because God’s Spirit was on him. And in the long run it was all part of God’s design, like a large puzzle of which Joseph was an important piece.
I enjoy starting open ended series that do not have a set number of entries or a deadline to finish by. On Sunday, January 14th, I will begin preaching a series of sermons broadly titled “God is Near.” I have often said that the Bible, from one end to the other, is about the way a Holy God deals with people that are sinful, fallen and broken. At the center of that story is Jesus. Beginning with the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, I plan to walk through the entire Bible, hitting just the high points, and demonstrate that statement to be true. We will deal with Old Testament covenant relationships, such as with Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses and go from there. In time I will preach on the establishment of Israel as a nation; King Saul, David and Solomon; the purpose and work of the Prophets; the incarnation of Jesus in the Gospels; the earthly ministry of Jesus; the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; the coming of The Holy Spirit; the growth and spread of the New Testament Church; the epistles (letters) of the New Testament; and finally how God’s promises at the beginning of the biblical narrative are realized in the coming Kingdom as foretold in Revelation.
