Slices
Prepare
Bring your most immediate challenges before God. Throw your anxieties at his feet and receive his peace.
Bible passage
9 ‘Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11 ‘Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
17 ‘As the time drew near for God to fulfil his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt”. 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
Explore
There is a game I play with my children on car journeys sometimes, called ‘Fortunately, unfortunately’. We tell a story, taking turns to add to the plot, each person starting their contribution with either ‘Fortunately…’ or ‘Unfortunately…’. Today’s passage could have been crafted around this concept: Unfortunately, Joseph was sold as a slave. Fortunately, God was with him and so he gained favour with Pharaoh. Unfortunately, there was a famine. Fortunately, there was grain in Egypt. Unfortunately, this led to 400 years of suffering in Egypt. You get the picture.
Life can feel like a series of setbacks and recoveries, can’t it? All the drama is exhausting and, if you are like me, you may sometimes wonder if the next setback will be the end of everything.
The story of the world, the story of the church, Stephen’s story (of which more next week) and our own stories have a ‘fortunately’ to crush any possible ‘unfortunately’ times along the way, however. Fortunately, we have a saviour who has secured our happy ending. Of this we can be sure.
Respond
Meditate on these words, based on Acts 5:31,32: ‘God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might bring us to repentance and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him, is witness to these things.’
Deeper Bible study
Worship the Lord God who is everywhere with you and with other Christians worldwide.
The second part of Stephen’s sermon is about Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt because of the jealousy of his brothers – but God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles, making him ruler over Egypt and the palace. If Mesopotamia was a strange place for God to speak to Abraham, then Egypt was the equally surprising scene of God’s dealings with Joseph. Stephen is showing that God was at work everywhere – not just in the Temple.
Jesus showed us that God was everywhere. He told the woman of Samaria, ‘… believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem … God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’1 There are no obligatory pilgrimages for Christians, no holy spots; because God is everywhere, from Bangalore to Boston. As I have travelled around the world I have met Christians everywhere, preached in their churches and worshipped with them.
We need to uphold the worldwide church and pray for those who are under persecution – though in spite of this persecution the church is growing rapidly all over the world. As one writer said, ‘As I knelt in prayer with my Saviour by my side, I travelled on my knees and I saw souls saved, twisted persons healed and God’s workers’ strength renewed while labouring in the field’. Can we be so faithful?
Pray for Christians all over the world, that you may share in their joys and problems, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Nehemiah 7,8; Luke 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for all of those who have been part of Rooted Hubs in high schools across the north, that they will have more opportunities to explore their self-worth and value in light of who God is and the love he has for them.
