The Vineyard- October 18, 2015

The Vineyard- October 18th, 2015

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5

Genesis 45:1-28

Pray for God to speak to you through the reading of His word. 

Read the passage. 

-          The Two Sides of the Story

o   Every story has two sides.  There is the earthly side, how things appear to us.  But, there is also the heavenly perspective, how God sees things and uses things to achieve his purposes. 

o   Have you ever had an event in your life that appeared to be nothing but tragedy and suffering, but that God used to bring about something good?

o   How does remembering that God is in the business of bringing good out of bad situations help us to keep perspective in difficult times?

-          The Picture of Reconciliation

o   Joseph is able to give to his brothers the very thing they took from him, clothing.  Have you ever been in a situation to repay evil with good?

o   Joseph is able to show mercy to his brothers because he sees what God was able to do through their wickedness.  How does seeing the movement of God in things help us to forgive those who do us harm?

o   A hallmark of reconciliation is when possessions are used to bless people, rather than people used to gain possessions.  Are there relationships in your life when possessions have become more important than people?

-          Back from the Dead

o   Joseph was as good as dead in his brothers’ mind, and in the mind of his father.  How do you think seeing Joseph bolstered their faith?

o   In Joseph’s life, God used a situation that was characterized by death, to ultimately preserve life.  How is Joseph’s story a foreshadowing of the life of Christ?

o   How does Christ’s seeming death bring us life?

Pray for the ability to see the two sides to events in your life.  Don’t focus only on the earthly perspective, but consider how God might be using the trials in your life to bring about something good. 

Pray for reconciliation in any relationship that is broken.  Ask for discernment as to how reconciliation might be accomplished, and what will characterized it. 

Praise God for redeeming us and giving us life through the death, and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ!