Kaleo Church Podcast

Relief, it’s something all of us long for. Relief from guilt and shame; relief from the insidious fear that perhaps our God is against us; relief from the sorrows that we bear and the pain that we carry. In this passage we will get to see both Joseph and his brothers find relief from some of their greatest burdens. In their story we will not only see that relief is possible, but we will also find out exactly where it can be found.

Like all of us, Jacob struggled with letting things in this world become more important to him than God. Over and over in Jacob’s life we see that he looked to a person to give him what only God is able to give. But God did not let Jacob live comfortably with his disordered love, but instead he pursued him, often through disappointments, in order to bring him to the place where he was finally ready to look to God as his only hope. In God’s pursuit of Jacob we get a picture of the way our God pursues his people in order to loosen their grip on the things of this world and put their trust in him.

Sometimes the brokenness of this world can seem overwhelming. Sometimes loss can seem irreversible. Sometimes even the promises of God seem unable to bring us the comfort we long for. What then? In John 20 we encounter a woman who was so overwhelmed with grief that she had lost all hope of things ever getting better. But Jesus was not content to leave her in her despair. Instead, we will see how the resurrected Jesus comes to offer comfort to his people even in the midst of their darkest nights.

We are a people who are haunted by the sins and the sufferings of our past. But what are we supposed to do about that? What do we do with the things we wish we could forget, but can’t? The memories that seem to spring up uninvited and often end up controlling us in ways that we know are unhealthy. Tonight we are going to look at a family that is haunted by a tragic event that took place over 20 years earlier. An event they all wish they could forget, but can’t. And in this story something happens to each of them that triggers their memory of the past. And in the midst of the many unhealthy responses to the past that we will see, there is one that I believe offers us hope and direction for dealing with the sins and the sufferings in our past.

Have you ever begged God for something that you knew was good, only to have God say no? Have you ever pleaded with God to let you keep someone that you loved dearly, only for him to take them away? Why? For 13 years Joseph asked God for good things and over and over again God said no. In Genesis 41 we finally see why. My hope is that in understanding why God said no to Joseph, we will get a better understanding of why he sometimes says no to us as well.

Disappointment and self-pity are two things that most of us are pretty familiar with. But what do we do about them? In tonight’s message we will see how Joseph was able to endure terrible injustice without falling prey to feeling sorry for himself. We will also consider what it is that God wants to say to us in the midst of our disappointments.

Temptation is something that can feel inescapable, and if we are honest, hard to resist. In Genesis 39 we will see that Joseph resists temptation because he is driven by something more than just resisting. Listen and hear how the Gospel empowers us to resist sin and live for the glory of God.

Some of you have endured some dark things in your lives that continue to haunt you with questions. You find yourself wondering, “Where was God when all this was happening?” “Did he see?” “Does he care?” “If I told anyone, would they believe me?” “Is it possible for God to use someone as broken as I feel right now?” And some of you haven’t just endured some dark things in your life, some of you have been so impacted by the pain that you have gone on to hurt others as well. Now a whole new set of questions arise. “Can I be forgiven?” “Will this terrible cycle ever be broken?” “Is it possible for someone to know everything about me, all my darkest secrets, and still love me?” In Genesis 38 we will get a glimpse into the darkest closet of both a victim of abuse and a perpetrator of abuse and we will get to see how God responded to the different questions that haunted each of them.

Have the devastating consequences of sin ever made you wonder if God would still keep his promises? Have you ever encountered something so broken that you questioned if it could ever truly be restored? In Genesis 37 we witness firsthand the devastating consequences of sin as we see Jacob clinging to the blood robe of his beloved son and refusing to be comforted. From his perspective it seemed like the promises of God had failed. But was he right to trust what he saw with his eyes more than the promises of God?

The story of Genesis 37:1-11 is the story of a Father’s favorite Son who was chosen by God to rule over his brothers. But the reason this story was written down is because it was always meant to point us forward to an even greater Father who had an even greater Son whom he chose to rule over his people. In this message we will show the stark contrast between Joseph’s pride and Jesus’ humility.

The book of Colossians ends with a list of names. Each of the people that Paul mentions has a unique story. In this message we will consider the story of four of these men and what it can teach us about faithfulness, redemption, forgiveness,. and the power of prayer. As we consider the way the Gospel transformed each of these individuals, we will have an opportunity to remember the influence the Gospel has had on our story as well.

How are Christians supposed to interact with those who don’t believe the things that we believe? In this passage Paul gives us three components to sharing the Gospel. What we will find is that while many of us are naturally better at one of the components, all three of them are vital if we are going to faithfully share the good news of the Gospel. In this message we will see why they are all necessary and how it is that we can grow in the ones that we are weak in.

Sharing the Gospel with others is hard. Most of us wish we talked about Jesus more than we do, but find that our fears or weaknesses often keep us silent. So what do we do? How do we overcome our fears and our weaknesses? Where do we find the boldness to talk about Jesus even with those who may not want to hear about him? These are just a few of the questions we will try to answer in this message.

For a lot of people, work seems like a necessary evil to survive. What if it wasn't always that way and won't always be that way? Would that change how we work in the present? Listen and hear how our work can have dignity, cultivation, and excellence because of the Gospel

Power has a tendency to change people, often for the worse. Now the reason this is important to note is because all of us have been given a certain degree of power. In this message we will consider two different ways to use the power we have been given. Will we use it gain control in order to protect our vulnerabilities or will we abandon control and instead seek to use our power to love others and protect their vulnerabilities. Power for love or power for control. In this message we will consider where it is that we learn to use our power for the sake of love and how it is that we are able to abandon control even when it inevitably leaves us very vulnerable.

Some estimate that nearly half of the population in Paul's day were slaves. Many of these slaves had no rights, received no compensation for their labors and were often the victims of sexual exploitation. Here in Colossians 3 Paul takes a moment to address these slaves personally and in his words we get a glimpse of God's heart for them. A heart committed to reminding these slaves of the dignity that they had because they were created in the image of God himself and the love that was demonstrated to them when the creator of heaven and earth chose to take on flesh and come near to them in the form of a slave.

Why should I pray? Does God really listen to me? Looking at the importance of the role of prayer in a Christian's life through the example of Christ and his followers.

The overarching storyline of the Bible is about One God who is on a mission to bring people into his family. The Bible ends with a massive feast where Jesus, God in the flesh, feasts with his people. So what are the people who are part of God's family supposed to do until then? Feast! We are called to feast with those who do not know God and introduce them to the One who considers sinners his friends. Listen and hear how the Gospel empowers us to continue God's mission by feasting together.

All of us have put our trust in things that have eventually let us down. We are familiar with disappointment and the regret that comes with it. Often this regret leads to shame as we begin to wonder if perhaps it’s too late. But Christmas is about the day the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared in order to free us from our shame and rescue us from regret. It’s not too late! In fact no one who puts there trust in this Savior will ever be put to shame!!