WK1-Intro | Perspective

So many factors shape how we see the world and what is happening around us. Our past experiences, culture, worldview, prejudices, presuppositions, and the comments of those we trust all inform our perspective. Our insecurities and fears, pain and pride, shape how we interpret events. Critically, once we see things a certain way, it is difficult to see them any differently. Often, being too close or too far from something easily distorts our sense of what is real.

What if this is true of our spiritual lives as well? Are we tempted to make a single moment, a day, or a year the sum total of God’s work on our behalf? Are we in danger of drawing the wrong conclusions about God because of the forced perspective created by the situations we find ourselves in.

In this sermon series, Perspective: The Life of Joseph, we will wrestle with our character flaws and recognize that Joseph was far from perfect. We will come face-to-face with disappointment, unfairness, abuse, and neglect. We will notice how often, amid the bleak darkness of difficulty, the Bible says, “Yahweh was with Joseph.” We will see what faith looks like as this forgotten teenager experiences God breaking the “forced perspective” of pain, loneliness, and cruelty to show him that “… in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). 

By the end of Joseph’s life, the slave is elevated to ruler, offense yields forgiveness, and abandonment turns into belonging. We will take a look at Joseph and notice that, with a slight shift in angle and a squint, we see contrasts and comparisons to the face of Jesus.