This week, we will be exploring Genesis 28:1-22 together, Grace According to God.
Grace, grace, God's grace.
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
Grace is such a beautiful word and such a beautiful attribute of our God.
We see His grace in Jacob's life.
Jacob is a heelcatcher, a finagler, a deceiver, a coward.
There is not much "good" in him when we meet him in Genesis 25-27.
But God has a purpose for him and God pursues him despite himself.
Genesis 28 is a beautiful chapter of God's grace.
Alone, wandering, discouraged, uncertain, exhausted, fearful. Jacob does not know what is next in his life. He is on the run. From his brother, from his family, from God.
But in the middle of the darkness, God reveals His glory and His grace to Jacob. Jacob has a dream that reminds him that he is always in the presence of God and he is never too far for God to reach down to him.
He also has a revelation of the future glory and grace to be revealed in Jesus Christ!
May God open our eyes to His glory and His grace as we worship Him together this Sunday!

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 29:1-30 together, Disappointment According to God.
Have you ever felt disappointed in life?
Have you ever wondered why life hasn't turned out as you expected?
Have you ever faced the stark reality that the people, things, relationships, and circumstances of this world will never fully satisfy?
In Genesis 29, Jacob is about to get a big dose of reality. In fact, he is going to get a big dose of his own medicine.
Life has pretty much always worked out the way Jacob planned. He was able to finagle situations, make things work, use his smarts to get what he wanted. He was pretty self-confident in his own abilities.
But in Genesis 29, Jacob meets his match... Laban.
He also meets his match made in heaven... Rachel!
He is in love. He is smitten. He is excited about the future. He is walking on cloud nine. And then it all comes crashing down.
It is a major lesson in big disappointment.
And a major step in his growth in the Lord.
This Sunday, we will examine seven practical principles for life in Genesis 29 based on Jacob's experience in Haran.
May God open our eyes to the realities of this world--not so that we will live in disappointment--but so that we will put our hopes in the only One who can truly satisfy!

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 26:34-28:9 together, The Blessing According to God.
In many ways, this passage is a sad story.
Isaac and Rebekah's marriage appears to be in shambles.
Rebekah rules the roost.
Isaac is ruled by his palate.
Jacob deceives his own aged father.
Esau wants to kill Jacob.
This is the last time that we will see this family together.
But in the midst of the dysfunction, God's sovereignty and grace still function.
God overrides the foolish decisions of His people for His own redemptive purposes.
And His blessing is passed down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob.
What is the blessing? Why is it important? And what does it mean for us today?
We will answer these questions on Sunday.
May God's blessing be poured out on us for His glory and our good!
Study guides will be available in the foyer this Sunday. A $5 donation will help cover the cost of printing. You can also access a digital file online by visiting the Digital Resources section of our website, 516church.org.

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 26:1-33 together, Digging Wells According to God.
I originally titled this chapter, "Flashback according to God." A strange title. But in Genesis 26, you really have an interruption in the narrative with a flashback to an earlier time in Isaac's marriage (before the twins) with many parallels to Abraham's life before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac.
Isaac follows in his father's footsteps in many ways...both good and bad.
But Genesis 26 as a whole focuses on Isaac digging wells.
Not the most relevant topic in today's world but a vital project when you live in the desert.
Isaac tries to restore Abraham's wells and digs four of his own--Esek, Sitnah, Rehoboth, and Shebah.
So what is the point of all these wells in Genesis 26?
Actually quite a lot.
In the midst of uncertainty, difficulty, and opposition, Isaac chooses to keep digging wells rather than building walls. He pursues peace. He learns to trust the Lord even in unfair circumstances. And he experiences greater and greater blessings from the Lord.
There is a message to all of us in Genesis 26. There is also a small glimpse into the conflict that is taking place in the Middle East even to this day.
May God fill us with His Spirit, give us His wisdom, guard our hearts with His peace, and empower us to serve Him!

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 25:29-34 together, Foolishness According to God.

Esau and Jacob are very different twins. Esau is hairy. Jacob is smooth. Esau is an outdoorsman. Jacob is an indoorsman. Esau is physically strong. Jacob is mentally strong. Esau is a fool. And Jacob is a heelcatcher who knows how to take advantage of a fool.

Genesis 25:29-34 is a strange passage in many ways. It is only six verses long but it packs massive implications for the story of Jacob and Esau. The birthright of the oldest son does not mean as much to us today but back then it meant everything, particularly in this case when the birthright is tied to the blessing of God.

Esau traded a treasure for a trifle.

He gave up the blessing for a bowl of soup.

He despised what was significant to get what was insignificant.

He put immediate gratification over enduring satisfaction in God.

Neither Esau nor Jacob are "heroes" in this story. Both are acting selfishly. But whereas Jacob is a finagler, Esau is a fool. And his foolishness exhibits a heart that is totally oblivious and obstinate toward God.

This week we will revisit the differences between Esau and Jacob and the struggles in the family. We will then examine the danger of putting the temporal over the eternal, of pursuing immediate gratification over enduring satisfaction in Christ.

May God fill us with His Spirit so that we will walk in His wisdom and pursue the things that really matter in this life and in eternity!

For the next twelve weeks, we will be exploring the life of Jacob in Genesis 25-35.
Jacob's life is quite interesting. He is not much of a "hero" in the traditional sense of the word. He has his faults, failures, struggles, weaknesses, sins, and just plain foolish decisions. There is not much to admire in his life and he doesn't have any great acts of faith that make us want to tell flannelgraph stories about him in children's church.
But God loved him...and changed him...and used him for His glory.
Jacob's story is one of struggle and transformation.
Indeed, God calls Himself the "God of Jacob" which is an unusual title when you consider what the name "Jacob" means and all the failures that he had.
But in many ways, we are all "Jacobs" trying to control life, make things work, and wrestling against God's will in our lives.
And God still loves us and wants to change us and use us for His glory.
I love the story of Jacob and I pray that it is an encouragement to you and our congregation this summer.
This week, we will be exploring Genesis 25:19-28 together, Twins According to God.
It is not the best title. A better one may be Different Personalities According to God or Family Problems According to God.
Jacob and Esau are twins who are as different as night and day. And their births have a great impact on Isaac and Rebekah, mostly in a negative way.
But there is much to learn from this passage and from the story of Jacob as a whole so I pray that you will pick up a study guide and dive into God's Word this summer!
Study guides will be available in the foyer this Sunday. A $5 donation will help cover the cost of printing. You can also access a digital file online by visiting the Digital Resources section of our website, 516church.org.