time we'll dismiss our kids ages 4 to 2nd grade to their time of worship training and those of you who are still here can turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 37 Genesis 37 which is page 31 and the provided Bible underneath the seat in front of you Genesis 37 I'm going to read for us verses 1 through 11 but we will be considering the entire chapter. So let me ask you, if you're able, would you please stand as I read for us this portion of God's Word, Genesis 37, beginning at verse 1. Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now, Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf. His brothers said to him, are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me. When he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you? And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Oh God, we come to you. We need your help. We need your grace. We need your mercy. We're grateful for your word that though the grass withers and the flowers fade, it's your word that endures forever. We pray that you would, by your spirit, give us the understanding and right application of this, your word for your glory and for our good. And we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Please have a seat. As I was reading Genesis 37 this week and getting ready for this sermon, it got me thinking once again about my own family genealogy. Now, why is that? Well, one reason is the mention in this passage of Jacob's oldest son, Reuben, and that triggered a memory of an ancestor that I have named Frank Ruben Bengtsson. Now you recall as I've said from this pulpit, I happen to know that I'm a descendant of Anders Bengtsson, Bengtsson, B-E-N-G-T-S-S-O-N, a Swedish settler who came to North America in 1656 and helped found a colony known as New Sweden And don't worry, I don't plan to bore you with much more information than that. Although, I did find a publication to which I'm sure you'll all want to subscribe. I found it, of all things, on the internet. The publication is called the Swedish Colonial News. I know you can't wait to get your hands on it. The Swedish Colonial News. And there's an article in the Swedish Colonial News that my father's first cousin named Martha contributed to. It says, what happened to the descendants of Anders Bengtsson? Yes, you can find that article. And it talked about, as it started going through, it talked about Frank Rubin Bankson and kind of went through his daughter, and this is my grandfather's great-great-grandfather, all this kind of interesting stuff. Now, that's as far as I'll go with that. But I was interested. I ran off copies so I could save it and read it later. I think most of us have some kind of interest, some more than others, in our genealogy. We're kind of interested in where we came from. who our people were. Because we're wondering, well, does that have anything to say about me now? Does that have anything to say about who I am? What's significant about my family? Will it help me understand who I am today? And that's really a major point of the whole book of Genesis, isn't it? I mean, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. We call them the Pentateuch. And he wrote these books when the people of Israel, having come out of slavery in Egypt, are encamped on the plains of Moab, and they're on the cusp, they're on the edge of going into Canaan and taking the promised land. So Moses writes these first five books of the Bible to tell God's people, this is who you are, this is where you came from. Don't believe the pagan myths that are out there, this is how the world came into existence, and this is how you came to be the people of God, and how you came to be where you are today, and why you're called to live as God calls you to live. It's this is your story, Moses is telling them. And now the story that's given to us in Genesis shifts its attention and focus to the life of Joseph. And we've skipped ahead a little bit in the book of Genesis. Last time we looked at this book, we were in Genesis 32. Now we're shifting to Genesis 37. We fast forwarded a bit. We're going to do that a couple more times as we work to finish the book of Genesis together by looking again at the life of Joseph. And this story about Joseph, and this isn't all his story, we'll get to more as you can tell, is probably, maybe one of the better known characters in the Bible. I mean, his character's kind of made its way out into popular culture. I mean, particularly, if not Joseph, his coat, right? The coat of many colors. I mean, there was a musical, I remember Donny Osmond apparently starred in it. Joseph in the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I've never seen it, I won't ask for a show of hands. But, you know, that was a Broadway musical. So it kind of captured the imagination, this story of Joseph. And there's a lot here to commend the life of Joseph to us and what we can learn about ourselves. And I want to remind us of one important truth. As we look at the Old Testament, the Old Testament is not just here to provide us with inspirational stories. We don't just read the Old Testament kind of like Aesop's fables. You know, kind of get a moral out of the story and that's the way we're supposed to live. That's not the way we're supposed to read the Old Testament. The Old Testament, like all of scripture, points us to Jesus, but it's also telling us our story because we're the people of God. Listen to what we're reminded of in Romans 4. The Apostle Paul says, that is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his, talking about Abraham's offspring, not only to the adherent of the law, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. So Paul's very careful there, he's very careful in Galatians to say, Abraham's true descendants, Abraham's true people, the covenant people of God are those who share the faith of Abraham, not merely the ethnicity or the DNA of Abraham, but the faith of Abraham. The history of God's people in Genesis is your history too, if you have faith and trust and hope in Christ. So, we're looking at the family genealogy. What can we learn about ourselves? What can we see? What inspiration can we gather, perhaps? What will we learn about who we are? And believe it or not, I have three things for us to see about who we are, looking even at this portion of God's word from Genesis 37. And the first thing we see about the kind of people we are is we're a people of promise. A people of promise. Look with me again at verses one and two. where it says, Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. These are the generations of Jacob. That's an interesting phrase. You say, why is that? Well, that phrase, these are the generations of, or this is the account of, it's used like 10 times in the book of Genesis. It really, you could argue, it structures the whole book. These are the generations, the account of, of Abraham, of Ishmael, the account of Jacob, the account of Isaac, that language is used 10 times in this book and it forms a structure again of this book as it tells us our history because it's history with a purpose. That's what's given to us in Genesis. And it's history that unfolds according to God's plan, especially God's covenant, His promise. A promise that's repeated multiple times. One of those times it's repeated in the book of Genesis. as it really comes into clearer and clearer focus when we get to Abraham is these verses, or this verse in particular, in Genesis 17, verse seven, where God said to Abraham, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you. One of the things we learn about the way God works in covenants And the reason he does that is because God's getting down, it's like an adult talking to a toddler. You get down on your knees and you talk, or even a child that's younger, you almost talk a little baby talk with them. That's what God's doing with us. I'm gonna get on your level and give you something you can understand, and that's a covenant. And I'm in a covenantal relationship with you, and this is a promise that even extends to your families. We're a people of covenant. And this story really functions as a whole, the story of Joseph, to show how God's keeping his promises. I read to you from Genesis 17. If you go back to Genesis 15, remember that's a passage we've referenced a lot from this pulpit, that covenant-making ceremony between God and Abraham, where God literally cuts a covenant. That's the language there. He cuts a covenant with Abraham, and he orders Abraham to take these animals and to kill them and cut them in half. And then God in the form of this, what the Bible calls a smoking fire pot, passes alone between the divided pieces of these dead animals. It's a real bloody and gruesome scene. And it's the way you cut a covenant in those days. You call down upon yourself a curse if you didn't keep the covenant. So God says to Abraham, if I don't keep my promise to you, may what happened to these animals happen to me. That's what's being said there. It's a very dramatic moment of God binding himself to Abraham But also God says something else in Genesis 15. Let me read these words to you. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And behold, a dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the nations they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace." That's Genesis 15. Look, I'll give...we'll give away the ending because I think most of you know this. God's people end up as slaves in Egypt. So what we're getting in Genesis 37 is this is how that came to pass. We're getting the first stages of how God kept his promise, kept his word in Genesis 15. How God's people are gonna be slaves for 400 years and how God's gonna bring them out. God keeps his word. God keeps his promises. We are a covenant people. We're a people of promise. We can count on God to be faithful to all he says and does. You say, okay, well, so what? What does that mean for us? Let me give you four quick ideas, four quick applications, if you will, of being a covenant people. I'm helped by Kevin DeYoung. First is this, if you're in Christ, if you've transferred your trust from self onto Jesus, and you're trusting in him alone for salvation, that means you're in the covenant family, you're a part of his forever family. Second, when God graciously enters in a relationship with you, He does so, there's a promise there for our children too. The promise of the gospel is offered to them if they will, and this is the third point, exercise the necessary condition for laying hold of the blessings of the covenant, and that's faith. Faith is the necessary condition for enjoying the benefits of the covenant. It's not a meritorious condition. It's a necessary condition. It's kind of like if I had been able to get into the Auburn basketball game yesterday, someone would have had to given me a ticket because I couldn't afford it on my own. If I had paid for it on my own, it would have been a meritorious condition. I bought the ticket. But this is a necessary condition. I just need the ticket to get in. It doesn't say anything about how I get the ticket. And when it comes to being in the covenant, God gives me the ticket. He gives me the faith, because faith is the necessary condition. And so another application of being a covenant people is that we understand this is the way God works. We're really unlocking the whole Bible. We understand this is how God works. He binds himself to a people. He calls us to live a life of faithfulness. Walk before me and be blameless, he told Abraham. But then he enters into that covenant, to get back to that Genesis 15 bloody scene, and God alone passes between the pieces, a point we've made many, many times, that in normal circumstances, when people enter into a covenant, Two people go between the animal pieces, and they're promising each other. But in Genesis 15, it's only God. So God is saying, Abraham, if I'm not faithful to you, may what happened to these animals happen to me. And Abraham, if you're not faithful to me, may what happened to these animals not happen to you, may that happen to me. The light bulbs go off. That's what happens at the cross. Jesus is the covenant keeper on our behalf. He keeps the conditions of the covenant and walks before God and is blameless. And then he dies in the place of covenant breakers. So the applications of the covenant are vast. We're a people of promise. We're a covenant people. And the story of Joseph is just driving that home. A people of promise. What else we learn about ourselves? Looking at this family story, this family genealogy, that we're a people of grace. And we've made that point already, I realize, but I think there's another way in which it comes into clearer focus outside of just the covenant understanding. Well, let's review this story. So we start off, it's the story of Jacob, the generations of Jacob. You remember Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and then there were concubines involved, and Jacob had 12 sons. Now, let's just be clear, because it's got to be a question that if you're new to Christianity, you're kind of checking things out, you think, what is this deal with polygamy in the Bible? Did Joseph Smith, did he figure out something? No. Polygamy is described in the Bible, but it's never condoned in the Bible. In fact, if you look at Genesis 2, you look in the New Testament where God's design for marriage is given, polygamy is condoned. God's design for marriage, let's be clear, let's just be very upfront, is between one man and one woman to become one flesh in the covenant of marriage. That's God's design for marriage. So wherever polygamy is practiced, there are problems. You know, go figure, right? There are problems. And look at the dysfunction in this family. The hatred. They're jealous of Joseph, the dreamer, they later call him, as we'll get to shortly. And what happens here in the relationship in this dysfunctional family is Jacob repeats the pattern of his father Isaac. Remember, Isaac's favorite was Jacob over Esau, the younger over the older. What does Jacob do? His firstborn is Reuben. His favorite is Jacob. And he gives him this coat. Now why the brothers hated that coat and hated Joseph for wearing it? We don't know if that really means it was like a coat that looked like a rainbow. That's the way I always pictured it as a kid. He had a coat that looked like a rainbow and all the colors on it. But it could also be a coat with long sleeves. You may have a note in your Bible that tells you that, depending on the translation. But this coat distinguished him as the heir, the son who would inherit the vast portion of Jacob's wealth and would carry on the family name and honor. God, and this is God's design. Even Jacob playing favorites fits with God's design. It's like Kenny said in his prayer, God striking a straight blow with a crooked stick. That's what God is doing. This is God's design. Why he say, hey, no, it's God's design. That's those dreams. You know, Joseph had those dreams about the sheaves bending to one another and the moon and stars bowing to him. That's God's design that Joseph fill that role, but it's counterintuitive. It's the younger being the heir over the older, it just blows all convention. And God is showing that this is how he works by his grace. I mean, that connection is drawn in Romans 9. We've looked at this before. When Paul is talking about how Jacob is the favored son over Esau, we read there in Romans 9 that this was in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. God worked that way in Jacob and Esau. Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated. Because it was because of his purpose in election and calling, not because of works, not because Jacob was more righteous, inherently righteous, or a better pick than he saw. No, it was all of God's grace, all of God's mercy. Paul talks about this being a people of grace that Joseph illustrates, I believe, when he writes this in Ephesians, for by grace you've been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship. I've never forgotten the Greek word there, it's poiema. Think of poem, we're his work of art. created in Christ Jesus for good works, for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. See, that's our story. We're meant to be trophies of God's grace. That's the design. Our collective story as well as our individual stories are just meant to point us to the grace and mercy of God that we could all share. I mean, if you've done family research or had someone in your family, as in my case, has been done, you know what you look for? You look for the people of distinction. Now, the rumor in my family, my mother's maiden name is Taylor, that somehow we are distant relatives of President Zachary Taylor. I have no idea if that's true, but I've told it a lot. I'm not sure, you know. I mean, there are a lot of tailors out there. But I like the story. I'd like to think I'm related to a president. Does that impact me at all? Does that really make me a better person or me more? No, it doesn't, but I want it to be true. I want that to be the case. We look for the people of distinction. Well, look how God tells the story of our people, even in the book of Genesis. You've got Abraham, oh yeah, father of the faith. Let's claim him. Okay, he lied about Sarah on more than one occasion. In order to, so he could kind of save his own neck. Oh, she's just my sister. And then Isaac does the same thing with Rebecca. And then he plays big time favorites between Jacob and Esau. And then you got Jacob, whose name means deceiver. And he lives up to that name. but these are all trophies of God's grace. They taste and show God's mercy over and over and over. God just delights in doing the unexpected. He shows up in surprising ways. When we look at our spiritual family, our spiritual history, we just see, we're meant to see, we're just a people of God's grace and mercy. There's no place for pride, there's no place for patting ourselves on the back, that grace is seen most clearly in God sending his son, the Lord Jesus, to redeem us for himself. I like what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians. He says, for consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you are wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world. even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God, and because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus." We're a people of grace, and that ought to overwhelm us and remind us who we really are. We are this people of promise. We are this people of grace that God brought us to Himself despite who we are, not because of who we are. And the last point I'm going to make, as we look at our family history and learn about ourselves, is we're not only a people of promise and a people of grace, but we're a people of, I call it a people of purchase, a people of purchase. Let's pick back up in Genesis 37, verse 12, and let me, I'm gonna read for us the remainder of the chapter. Now his brothers went to pastor their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pastoring the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here I am. So he said to him, Go now and see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word. So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, What are you seeking? I'm seeking my brothers, he said. Tell me, please, where they are pastoring the flock. And the man said, They've gone away, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, cast him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him. that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and they took him and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, what profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by, and they drew Joseph up and lifted him up out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, the boy is gone, and I, where shall I go? Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, this we have found, please identify whether or not it is your son's robe or not. Then he identified it and said, it is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces. Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, no, I shall go down to Sheol to my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. Now, I said of this point that I'm wanting to make at this point in the sermon is that we're a people of purchase. That's my way of saying we're a redeemed people. We're a purchased people. You say, where do you see that, Paul? Well, I think it's fair for us to see certain parallels between Joseph and Jesus. I think there are two Old Testament characters that are probably the easiest to see a pair, well three actually, to see a clear picture of Jesus. One, Joseph, I think Joshua, and of course David. They point us to Jesus. Their lives, to a degree, not perfectly, they point us to Christ. And I think that's fair to see in the life of Joseph. I mean, in verses 12 through 36 that we just read, this is when the story takes that ominous turn. This is where Joseph goes to find his brothers who go to Kirby Moore's hometown of Dothan. You know, not Dothan, Alabama. You know, I drove through Dothan, Alabama somewhere and called Kirby. I said, Kirby, where are the signs that say, hometown of famous Georgia quarterback Kirby Moore? They're just not here, Kirby, you know? So anyway, maybe that's what happens when you play football in Alabama and then you go play for Georgia, right? He played at high school in Alabama, so. Auburn just couldn't pay him enough to go to Auburn. That was a problem, but anyway. Boy, have I gotten myself off track. Look at verse 18, they saw him from afar, his brothers, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. If you have a dysfunctional family, I'm being totally serious now, you're in good company. Look how dysfunctional this family is. Look at the level of hatred here, let's kill him. Don't you, aren't you moved when they bring this robe dipped in blood back to Jacob and say, not this is our brother, was this your son? That's the level of contempt. If you've got a family that's messed up and you've got all kind of struggles, you're in good company. There's dysfunction here. The plan's to kill him, but then Reuben, the oldest, comes up with a plan. Well, let's just throw him in this pit for water, and then I'll come back and rescue him later. And then, of course, the story takes another turn in God's providence. God's providence is all over the story. He's moving and directing all things. And they say, where's the money to be made in just killing him or just throwing him in this pit? We'll sell him as a slave. And that's how Joseph gets to Egypt, which obviously becomes important later. But I saw an interesting parallel, I thought, in verse 23. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. It reminds me of Jesus being stripped before his crucifixion. To me, it's almost a nice illustration of the incarnation. Here's Joseph's favored son status. was Jesus being the only begotten son of God and how he takes on human flesh. To me, there's a hint perhaps of the incarnation here. But then the parallels even become more obvious to me in verse 28. Then the Mennonite traders passed by and they drew Joseph up and lift him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. Jesus, 30 pieces of silver as he was betrayed. Here's Joseph being sold. What's going to happen to Joseph? He's betrayed. He's thrown into this pit, left for dead. He's eventually going to come out of that pit, and he's going to rise to a place of great glory and great honor. We'll see that later. I think there's a hint here, a nice picture of the work of Jesus on behalf of sinners, that we are redeemed through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our family history shows us over and over that we are a redeemed people. We read from 1 Peter as we started our worship. Let me read some more from 1 Peter chapter 1. And if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, Not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." You need to know that Peter writes that letter to a suffering people, and that's meant to encourage them. That's meant to help them through difficulty. You've been redeemed, says Peter, with the precious blood of Christ. That's to say through the life of Christ who gave his life for you. That should amaze us. We talked about amazement earlier. This is what should amaze us and fill us with that wonder and gratitude. Growing up as a child, my mother often enjoyed telling us the story. I may have mentioned this story before. of my grandmother, we called her Granny. She went to be the Lord last year at age 106. But my mother would tell the story of her mother, how at age six, my grandmother fell into a well. I remember the baby Jessica thing that happened a long time ago. I mean, this was kind of the classic well scenario. She fell into this well. And, you know, she was frightened. She was a six-year-old child and how she saw this big frog down there in the bottom of the well and how she had to be rescued out of that well. That was a family story from our family history. That story amused me, right? You know, I'm thinking about my grandmother, a little girl, and she's in that well and then getting hauled out of it, seeing the frog. It never stopped to occur to me that, you know, this was probably, this was a long, this was in the 20s. She could have died. And there would have been no me to listen to that story. I mean, in a way, the story should have been a little bit more amazing than amusing. Our goal in the church is not to amuse anyone. Our goal is to amaze with the greatness of our God and of the gospel. The elders and Zach and I just read a very short book entitled, Amaze Them With God, Winning the Next Generation for Christ. Amaze Them With God, Winning the Next Generation for Christ. It was authored by Kevin DeYoung. He's the pastor of Christ's Covenant in Charlotte, North Carolina. He's also an associate professor of systematic theology at RTS Charlotte. And I just wanna read you just a few sentences as he closes that book. He writes this, as you try to reach the next generation for Christ, and I don't say you try to reach anyone for Christ, You can amaze them with your cleverness, your humor, or your looks. No danger there on my part, but let me back up. As you try to reach the next generation for Christ, you can amaze them with your cleverness, your humor, or your looks, or you can amaze them with God. I need a lot of things in my life. There are schedules and details and a long to-do list. I need food and water and shelter. I need sleep. I need more exercise, and I need to eat better. But this is my greatest need and yours. To know God, love God, delight in God, and make much of God. To know God, love God, delight in God, and make much of God. That's our need. That is our need. As we look at our family history here, we just need to be amazed at who God is and what he's done for us in Christ. It should amaze us, it should stir us, it should encourage us. We desperately need to know God, love God, delight in God, make much of God. You know my application for you is, you start praying that way. Oh God, would you help me to know you? Would you help me to love you? Would you help me to delight in you? Would you help me to make much of you? As we look at our family history, I hope it stirs us to do that, to say that we're this people of the covenant. We're a people of promise. We're a people of grace. We're the most unexpected bunch on the planet. We're a people of purchase. We've been redeemed through the precious blood of Christ. And when we come to the Lord's table together, that's that chance. That's one of those means God's given to help us to know Him, love Him, delight in Him, and make much of Him. May he do that now for us together as God's people. Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you for your goodness, grace, and mercy to us in Christ. Thank you as we look at our history, the history of God's people in Genesis, we can see your grace and mercy toward us poured out as you've worked your plan and your promise, and you've purchased us with the precious blood of Christ. As we come to this table, help us to delight in you and who you are. We pray in Jesus' name.