“Jacob and Esau at Peace”

“Jacob and Esau at Peace” (Genesis 33:1–20)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, August 7, 2016
Genesis 33:1–20 (NIV) 

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. 
Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” 
6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. 
8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” 
“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. 
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” 
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. 
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” 
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” 
“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” 
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth. 
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. 
Main Idea: In spite of our fears and failures, God is faithful to his promises, answers prayer, and rescues his people in time of need.

“From Jacob to Israel”

“From Jacob to Israel” (Genesis 32:1-32)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 24, 2016
Genesis 32:1–32 (NIV) 
32  Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.  
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’” 
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 
7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” 
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” 
13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” 
17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’” 
19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. 
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” 
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” 
“Jacob,” he answered. 
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” 
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon. 
Textual Outline
1. Jacob’s Journey to Meet Esau (1-21).
a. Jacob at the Camp of God (1-2).
b. Jacob’s benevolent message to Esau (3-5).
c. Esau’s ominous response (6).
d. Jacob’s fear-inspired plan (7-8).
e. Jacob’s prayer (9-12)
f. Jacob’s over-the-top gift to Esau (13-21). 
2. Jacob’s Wrestling Match with God for His Blessing (22-32).
a. The all night wrestling match (22-29).
i. Jacob’s fear (22-24a)
ii. Jacob wrestles with a “man” until daybreak (24b).
iii. Jacob’s hip injury (25).
iv. Jacob’s refusal to let the man go without a blessing (26).
v. Jacob becomes Israel (27-28).
vi. Jacob cannot know the “man’s” name (29).
b. Jacob’s Response to his Struggle with God (30-32).
i. Peniel – Jacob’s awareness of God’s presence (30).
ii. Jacob’s permanent hip disability and reminder of his weakness (31).
iii. Israel’s perpetual memorial of this event (32).
Sermon Lessons/Applications
1. God reassures his people of his abiding protection and presence.
2. We should be willing to humble ourselves before others as Jacob did before Esau and admit our faults.
3. When faced with fear or difficult situations, we should not trust in our own abilities or our own wisdom; instead, we must trust in God’s provision and strength.
4. God is faithful to his promises and responds to earnest prayers that are prayed in line with God’s Word and God’s glory.
5. When God chooses and calls us, he radically changes us and causes us to renounce our self-sufficiency and depend wholly on him.
6. God cannot be controlled or manipulated by people, but he is a gracious God who delights in blessing his people.
7. Sometimes, God leaves permanent reminders of the weakness of self-sufficiency, so that we can be reminded to trust in Him.

“Jacob’s Exodus”

“Jacob’s Exodus” (Genesis 31:1–55)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 17, 2016
Genesis 31:1–55 (NIV) 
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. 
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. 
10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’” 
14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” 
17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 
19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. 
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” 
25 Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. 27 Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? 28 You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. 29 I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?” 
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. 
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. 
35 Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods. 
36 Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 37 Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us. 
38 “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 39 I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. 40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 41 It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” 
43 Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.” 
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.  
48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah,  because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” 
51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” 
So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. 
55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.  
Applications and Main Idea:
1. This story shows God’s abiding care and blessing on Jacob’s life.
2. This story demonstrates God’s faithfulness in keeping his promised word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3. This story shows the importance of the chosen land that has been promised to Abraham and his descendants. Abraham’s descendants are to dwell in Canaan. Even when they are away for a time, Canaan is their home.
4. This story foreshadows the exodus of God’s people and Jacob’s descendants the Israelites when they leave a difficult sojourn in a foreign land to return home wealthier and more numerous than when they left.
Main Idea: God watches over his people, even in times of suffering. He will not forsake them, and in his appointed time he will bless them and bring them home.

“Jacob Prospers”

“Jacob Prospers” (Genesis 30:25–43)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 10, 2016
 
Genesis 30:25–43 (NIV)
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30 The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31 “What shall I give you?” he asked.
“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied.“But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”
34 “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 35 That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Jacob, however,took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
 
1.1 1. Jacob fulfills his contractual obligations to Laban and desires to take his wives, children, and possessions and leave (25–26).
 
2.          2. Laban desires for Jacob to stay because the Lord’s blessings on Jacob have overflowed on him as well (27–28).
 
3.    3. Jacob desires to work for more than wages and the price of his wives. He wants to build his own household possessions and flocks (29–30).
 
4.    4. Jacob and Laban come to an agreement in which Jacob will keep all the spotted and dark colored sheep/goats for himself as his own while he maintains Laban’s flocks (31–36).
 
5.     5. Jacob wisely outmaneuvers Laban, and God causes Jacob’s flocks to grow to be more numerous than Laban’s while under his care (37–43).
 
Textual Main Idea: In fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, God blessed Abraham’s grandson Jacob and caused him to prosper with flocks, servants, and wealth as he did Abraham and Isaac before him, and Jacob’s prosperity ended up spilling over to Laban as well.
 
Applications/Lessons
 
1.    1. God delights in using his people to bless others around them.
 
2.  2. In keeping with his promises, God faithfully blesses his people and cares for them.
 
3.  3. We can’t rush God’s timing for blessing.
 
Sermon Main Idea: Because God is merciful and faithful, he blesses and prospers his covenant people, and he often uses his covenant people to be a blessing to others around them.

“Jacob’s House”

“Jacob’s House” (Genesis 29:31–30:24)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 3, 2016
Genesis 29:31–30:24 (NIV) 
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,  for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” 
33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.  
34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.  
35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.  Then she stopped having children. 
30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” 
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.  
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.  
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.  
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.  
14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” 
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 
16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 
17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.  
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.  
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 
22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, "May the Lord add to me another son.” 
What is going on with the human characters in this story and what we can learn from them? 
1. Leah’s misguided pursuit (29:31–35)
2. Rachel’s jealousy and selfish rivalry (30:1–8)
3. Leah’s counter-scheme (30:9–13)
4. Leah’s manipulation of Rachel (30:14-21)
5. Rachel blessed and yet dissatisfied (30:22–24)
Where is God in this story?
1. God loves the unloved and has special concern for the downtrodden.
2. God demonstrates grace even to those who are not seeking him with all their heart.
3. God sometimes mercifully answers prayer, even when it is not asked for the right reasons. 
4. God doesn’t need our manipulation or schemes to accomplish his purposes.
5. God was going to build the house of Jacob regardless, but God mercifully uses these two sinful and selfish rival sisters to build the house of Israel. 
6. God is faithful to his covenant. 
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. (Ruth 4:11, NIV)
Textual Main Idea: God mercifully and providentially built the house of Jacob through the sinful, selfish, sibling rivalry between Leah and Rachel as they competed for Jacob’s love by bearing him sons.
Application Main Idea: God mercifully and providentially accomplishes his gracious purposes, even through and in spite of our sinful and selfish actions.

“The Deceiver Deceived”

“The Deceiver Deceived” (Genesis 29:15–30)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, June 26, 2016
Genesis 29:15-30, NIV
     15 Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be."  
     16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.        17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful.  18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."  
     19 Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me."  20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.  
     21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her."  
     22 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.  23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her.  24 And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.  
     25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"  
     26 Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.  27 Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."  
     28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.  29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant.  30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.  

“God Guides and Provides for Jacob”

“God Guides and Provides for Jacob” (Genesis 29:1–14)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
SundayPM, June 12, 2016
 
Genesis 29:1–14 (NIV)
29 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. 2 There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep.Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”
“We’re from Harran,” they replied.
5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”
“Yes,we know him,” they answered.
6 Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”
“Yes,he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
7 “Look,”he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered.Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
8 “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban,and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. 12 He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him.He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. 14 Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
And he stayed with him for a whole month.
 
Main Idea: The God we worship is the same God who guided Jacob. He is still providentially watching over our lives.He is still guiding and protecting his people.

“Jacob’s Dream” (Genesis 28:10–22)

“Jacob’s Dream” (Genesis 28:10–22)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, June 5, 2016
Genesis 28:10–22 (NIV) 
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.  15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” 
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” 
1. God is faithful.
2. God is gracious.
3. God is sovereign.
4. God reveals himself to Jacob.
5. Through God’s gracious revelation, Jacob is changed.
a. He is moved to worship.
b. He is moved to faith.
c. He is moved to consecration. 
Main Idea: When God graciously reveals himself to us, we cannot help but be changed. God’s grace moves us to worship, faith, and consecration.

“Jacob’s Deception for the Blessing” (Genesis 26:34–28:9)

“Jacob’s Deception for the Blessing” (Genesis 26:34–28:9)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, May 22, 2016
1. Those who have become spiritually dim by loving the world’s delights can often overlook glaring flaws in their own family and forget about God’s greater blessings (27:1–4).
2. God’s people need to be patient in waiting on God’s promised blessings, refusing to resort to manipulative practices in an effort to help guide the process along (27:5–24).
3. God’s sovereign purposes will be fulfilled, even in spite of our misguided steps along faith’s journey (27:25–29).
4. Those who disregard God’s promises cannot expect to receive blessing (26:34–35; 28:6­–9; 27:30–40; cf. 25:29–34: Esau sells his birthright).
a. His disregard for his birthright (25:29­–34)
b. His Hittite marriages (26:34–35)
c. His misguided attempts to win back his parents’ favor after the blessing had been given (28:6–9)
5. Disregard for God’s ways often creates strife and conflict between people (27:41–45).
6. God’s grace and his blessings are sovereignly bestowed and unmerited, but we must respond in faith and obey his word (27:46–28:5).
Main Idea: God’s purposes will unfailingly unfold; let us be faithful and obedient participants in the accomplishment of those purposes.

“Like Father, Like Son” (Genesis 26)

“Like Father, Like Son” (Genesis 26)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, May 1, 2016
Genesis 26 (NIV) 
26 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,  5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” 
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” 
Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” 
10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 
11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 
16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” 
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. 
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,  saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” 
23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 
25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. 
26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” 
28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” 
30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully. 
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.  
34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. 
1. Patterns that we establish in our own lives may very well be imitated by those who follow us.
a. Patterns of doubt and deception
b. Patterns of faith and devotion
c. We have a responsibility to try to establish positive patterns of faith and obedience for others to follow, because those who come after us will likely follow in our footsteps.
2. The promises that we have received from God can and should be handed down to the next generation.
a. Isaac is the rightful inheritor of God’s promises to Abraham.
i. Land
ii. Descendants
iii. Blessing to the world
b. We too have been granted promises from God – we have a responsibility to pass these on to the next generation.
3. God’s blessing will be with each generation of his people who walk in faith and obedience before him.

"Esau Trades His Birthright" (Genesis 25:27-34)

"Esau Trades His Birthright" (Genesis 25:27-34)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, April 24, 2016
Genesis 25:27–34 (NIV)

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

"The Lord Chooses Jacob" (Genesis 25:19-26)

"The Lord Chooses Jacob" (Genesis 25:19-26)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, April 17, 2016
Genesis 25:19–26 (NIV)

19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram  and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.  26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
1. God provides for the continuation of his promises by supernatural grace (19-21).
2. God chooses the recipient of the promises by sovereign grace (22-23).
3. God's people must respond in faith to the outworking of God's sovereign plans (24-26).
Main Idea: Those who owe their existence to sovereign creation and divine election must be able to respond in faith and acknowledge the hand of God in the circumstances of life.

"Abraham's Final Days" (Genesis 25:1-18)

"Abraham's Final Days" (Genesis 25:1-18)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, April 10, 2016
Genesis 25:1–18 (NIV) 25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.

"Preparing for the Future" (Genesis 24:1-67)

"Preparing for the Future" (Genesis 24:1-67)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, April 3, 2016
Preparing for the Future in Faith (1-9)Trusting in God's Guidance and Providence (10-27)Obediently Fulfilling Covenant Obligations (28-60)Blessed by the Faithful Covenant Lord (61-67)Main Idea: God will faithfully and providentially accomplish his covenant purposes, and he often is pleased to use the faithful and obedient actions of his followers to accomplish those purposes.

"Abraham and Sarah's Land" (Genesis 23)

“Abraham and Sarah’s Land” (Genesis 23)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM March 13, 2016
Genesis 23 (NIV)

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.  He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give  you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
1.    The Faithfulness of God
a.    In fulfilling his promise to give Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan.
b.    In fulfilling his promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son.
c.    In fulfilling his promise to make Abraham great and give him a “name” among the peoples of the land.
d.    In fulfilling his promise to bless others through Abraham.
2.    The Faith of Abraham
a.    In recognizing his pilgrim status in the land (3–6), but trusting God to bless him with the land in the future.
b.    In choosing to purchase a burial plot in Canaan and not back in Haran, demonstrating his commitment to the Lord’s call and his faith in God’s promise to give him this land.
c.    In choosing the location of Sarah’s burial place – at one of the original sacred sites where Abraham worshiped God when he first came into the land of Canaan and where the Lord appeared to him (Gen 13:18; 14:13; 18:1).
d.    In his humble negotiations with the Hittites, the people of the land, trusting God to bless him with what he needed.
e.    In his faithful and dependable interactions with the Hittites.
f.    In his looking to the future inheritance of the land by his descendants as the Lord promised.
i.    Hebron/Mamre became the central dwelling place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (18:1; 23:2; 35:27; 37:14)
ii.    Abraham is buried there with Sarah (25:9)
iii.    Isaac/Rebecca and Jacob/Leah are buried there (49:28–33; 50:13)
g.    In trusting that God would keep his promises even after Sarah (and Abraham) were gone.
i.    The death of Sarah reminds us that God’s covenant people still go through the common disappointments and struggles in this world.
ii.    God’s promises do not always come to full blossom in our lifetimes. They certainly didn’t in Abraham’s. The writer of Hebrews tells us that he was looking for a better city.
Main Idea: Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot for Sarah in Canaan teaches us the faithfulness of God in keeping his promises and provides us a model of faith in God, trusting God to keep his Word even when the fullness of those promises have not yet matured.

"The Ultimate Test of Faith" (Genesis 22)

Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM March 6, 2016
Genesis 22:1–24 (NIV)


22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,  because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

"Promises and Provision" (Genesis 21:22-34)

"Promises and Provision" (Genesis 21:22-34)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, February 28, 2016
Genesis 21:22–34 (NIV)

22 At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”

24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized. 26 But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty. 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

30 He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”

31 So that place was called Beersheba,  because the two men swore an oath there.

32 After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
1. Abraham is Prospering by the grace of God.
2. Abraham is Promising as a reflection of the God who makes and keeps promises.
3. Abraham is Praising God for his provision.
Main Idea: Let us be true and honest in our dealings with all
people, and let us always give thanks to the God who provides us with what we
need in this life.

"God Fulfills His Word" (Genesis 21:1-21)

"God Fulfills His Word" (Genesis 21:1-21)Pastor Cameron JungelsEastside Baptist ChurchSunday PM, February 21, 2016
Genesis 21:1–21 (NIV)

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac  to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
1. In God’s own timing, He will fulfill his Word (vv. 1–7).The Lord fulfills his promises at the appointed time (1–2).The fulfillment of the promise provides opportunity for obedience (3–5).The fulfillment of the promise prompts great rejoicing (6–7).2. The fulfillment of God’s plan is not hindered by our failures (vv. 8–21).God’s sovereign plan to fulfill his promises is not challenged by the consequences of our failures (vv. 8–13).God’s sovereign plan often graciously turns our failures into blessing (14–21).Main Idea: God keeps his promises in his own time, and his plan is never hindered by our failures.

"Grace Greater than Our Sin" (Genesis 20)

"Grace Greater than Our Sin" (Genesis 20)Pastor Cameron JungelsEastside Baptist ChurchSunday PM, February 14, 2016
Genesis 20 (NIV)
20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”

16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. 1. Abraham’s deception put the promised blessing in jeopardy (vv. 1–2). 2. God intervened in order to protect the promised blessing (vv. 3–7).3. Abraham’s deception is confronted by the pagan King Abimelech (vv. 8–13).4. God graciously turned Abraham’s lack of trust into an opportunity to bless him (vv. 14–18).Main Idea: God’s grace can conquer our failures. There is grace that is greater than our sin.

"A Lamentable Legacy" (Genesis 19:30-38)

"A Lamentable Legacy" (Genesis 19:30-38)Pastor Cameron JungelsEastside Baptist ChurchSunday PM, February 7, 2016
Genesis 19:30–38 (NIV)

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites  of today.Main Ideas: When you live comfortably in this
world, the pleasures and values of the world may invade your heart and the
hearts of your family members.
God’s sovereign grace
can turn any situation into good for his glory.