Genesis Week 48 • Moving Forward

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast.

We're so glad you chose to listen today.

Today, we dive into Genesis 46,

where we see God faithfully orchestrating reconciliation and restoration

in the story of Jacob and Joseph.

As Jacob moves forward in faith,

we're reminded of God's steady hand, turning chaos into purpose.

Join us as we explore what it means to trust God's timing

and step confidently into his promises.

Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do,

I want to invite you to join us in Genesis chapter 46.

Genesis 46 · chapter mention

If you are a first-time guest, I want you to do everything that Berger just asked for you to do.

I want you to scan the QR code, fill all that out.

But then at the end of the service today, my wife and I will be right back here.

Would love for you just to stop by, introduce yourself to us,

so that we can thank you for being here, for worshiping with us.

And then if you have any questions about our church,

it's a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for you guys to get those questions answered.

I do want to say this.

I hope you all enjoyed the snow this week.

All right?

We got some snow fans that were happy about it.

And I know, and like some of you, like you couldn't stand it.

All right?

Now, here's what I want you to explain.

If you are new to the South,

And this is the first time that it's snowed since you've been in the South.

Let me explain some things.

We don't know what to do with it.

All right?

And we're going to buy all the milk and bread and Doritos and Rocky Road ice cream as survival food

to get through the snowstorm that we can.

And we are going to shut down.

And we are just going to have fun.

And we know that you had six feet of snow growing up.

And we just need you to let us have our quarter inch of snow that we get once every five to six years.

But it was just good.

It was good.

I do remember thinking driving around, like,

it feels like every time we got snow growing up,

it was like snow and then 80 degrees.

And so it was kind of cool for a couple days afterwards seeing the snow and the things that are out there.

But it is good to be back here with you guys.

It is good to be back opening up God's word with you this morning.

And we're going to continue on in Genesis.

Now, we're coming to the end.

We've been walking through this for about two years now.

We're coming to the end of our time in Genesis.

And today's story is the exciting part of a transition of one of the stories that we've been reading and navigating.

As we've been reading through, as we've been looking at Abraham and his lineage,

as we've been walking and seeing of God fulfilling all the promises that God said that God was going to do.

God is working.

God is moving.

But we see the dysfunction that mankind brings into the plan that is there.

But God continuing to work and move in a way that only God can work and move.

So that it's very evident of what we see in the goodness of it,

that it's out of the hands of the man and it's in the hands of God.

And so we celebrate him for it.

But we see a family preparing to be reunited.

As we look at Genesis 46, we see a family where repentance has happened and praise God, forgiveness has taken place.

We see a family where reconciliation is in the works.

Hearts are changing.

And this is good.

And we're reminded while we don't always get it right, God does.

God does.

And when we get it wrong, God is gracious in us and through us to do what God's going to do.

I want to read you a verse that we'll close with at the end of the message that's not in Genesis 46.

It's found in 2 Timothy 4.

As we look at the exciting work of what God's going to do.

Paul writes to Timothy.

And he says this to him.

For I'm already being poured out as a drink offering.

And the time of my departure has come.

I've fought the good fight.

I've finished the race.

I've kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.

Which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.

And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Would you pray with me?

God, we thank you for the truth of your word.

God, we thank you for the wonderful gift of worship that you give us.

That we can come and sing praises to you.

God, as we study your word.

Lord, may you speak truth.

Powerful truth.

To transform us.

To change us.

To make us more in love with Jesus.

And God, if there is anyone here who does not know him as his Lord and Savior.

Lord, today, may today be the day of their salvation.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

You and I are called to faith.

We talk about a lot past tense faith.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Well, I remember that day when I placed my faith, I put my hope, I placed my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

We talk about salvation in a past tense.

And we can begin to think about faith as a past tense.

And I think the danger of that when we think of faith in the past tense, it's not only in the obedience of what God has for us, what God is calling us to, what God wants to do in us.

But it's that day-to-day decision or surrender of what we make when we take that step forward.

And what God does in our life all too often is he takes the chaos, he takes the dysfunction, he takes the misery, he takes the sadness, he takes the suffering.

And he says, watch this, I'm going to use this to catapult your faith.

I'm going to use this to strengthen your faith.

I'm going to use this to work in you in only a biblical way that can happen so that your faith can grow, so that your faith can strengthen.

And when people hear the story of your faith, it's so powerful that they give praise to God who's in heaven and not to us.

I was thinking in my office this morning about these moments time and time again where God has activated this type of faith, coming out of long seasons of suffering, coming into long seasons of doubt, to come to long seasons of pain, and God using them to activate faith.

We've been in season of struggle, slavery, imprisonment, lies, deceit, and we come into 46, what we saw in 45 last week, and there's this picture of hope, as we've seen where a family's going to be reunited, repentance has happened.

True forgiveness is taken place.

Reconciliation is in the works.

God taking what was a mess and making it right.

I remember about 17 years ago, my wife and I were sitting in a hospital room, both believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

Both, I'm in ministry, I'm a youth pastor.

She, a loving partner in that life of ministry.

And without getting into all of the details of what was happening or what was taking place, but I remember sitting in a hospital room 17 years ago and beginning to feel the chaos, begin to feel the darkness, beginning to feel the gloom of all that was surrounding us in that moment.

And the beauty of God in this moment was this.

We couldn't figure out a plan.

We didn't know what to do next.

All we could do was trust Him.

All we could do was trust Him.

And take a step.

And take a step.

And take a step.

Today, as we look at this family, as we look at this family that's going to be reunited, as we look at this family, I want us to see the greater picture of what God is doing as He's taking all of the events of what's there to move them forward, to mature their faith and the confidence in who He is and what He is capable of.

So we'll look at Genesis 46 and read verses 1 through 4.

Israel took his journey with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob.

And he said, here I am.

Then he said, I am God, the God of your father.

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt.

For there I will make you into a great nation.

I myself will go down with you to Egypt.

And I will also bring you up again.

And Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.

Israel, also known as Jacob, prior to this chapter that we just read, gets the wonderful news.

Joseph, his favorite son.

Joseph, who he thought was dead, is alive.

And Joseph is called for his dad and his brothers and his families to return.

Or not to return, to come to him in Egypt.

A journey that they'll take.

When we look at Israel's life, I wrote this question in my notes.

What about his heart?

Where's his heart been on this journey that he's been on?

Physically, at this time, this man is 130 years old.

Preparing for this journey that will take weeks into months to make from Canaan to Egypt.

But I have to imagine, emotionally, he's much older than that.

Emotionally, he's gone through the dysfunction of his family.

He's gone through the lies and the betrayal of his kids.

All throughout, while Joseph's been gone, he's wrestled with this feeling within his bones that something is not quite right.

There's distrust that is there.

When his other son has to go with the other brothers so that he can hold them, he's concerned that they won't bring him back.

You can see the concern.

You can see the worry.

Much older emotionally, even than physically speaking, at 130 years old.

And what will he choose?

What will this journey be?

What will mark this man as he goes forward?

Will it be bitterness?

Will it be anger?

Will it be disbelief?

Well, I want to talk to you and look and see the beauty of what it means in moving forward.

The beauty of what it means in moving forward with faith.

The beauty of what it means of trusting that the God who is ahead of you is working ahead of you as God works in you.

When you and I, and we've been doing this for a long time, when we're reading through Genesis, you and I see the pieces of the puzzle that God has taken and that God is putting together.

We see the story of the pieces that come even long before this encounter with this family today.

We've been seeing it from the flood, to the fleeing, to the famine, over and over again in Genesis.

And what we see is that in the chaos of our sin, in the chaos of our lives, in the chaos of the world around us,

we see the steady hand of God working and bringing his purpose to our chaos.

Bringing his purpose to our chaos and creating order in the chaos.

So Israel, Jacob, who's had his own spiritual ups and downs, makes the decision that while he doesn't fully know what is ahead, he moves forward.

When we see in the beginning of 46, we see that the first landmark that scripture points us to is that he comes to a place known as Beersheba,

the southernmost point of Canaan on the way to Egypt.

And it's very interesting what he does there.

He comes to this place, he comes to this place and he offers sacrifices to God.

He comes to Beersheba and he offers sacrifices to God.

Well, if you've been journeying with us, you've seen this before.

In Genesis 21, this is where Abraham comes to and he called upon the name of the Lord.

We see in Genesis 26, this is where Isaac received a promise from God and there he made a sacrifice to God.

And now we see Israel here, Jacob, he comes here and he does the exact same thing.

And here God speaks to him.

I do not think it's coincidence that Israel finds himself at the place of Abraham, at the place of Isaac.

And he says, I don't think it's coincidence.

He says, in here I make my sacrifice.

In here I call upon the name of the Lord.

You see, because following God, moving forward, means trusting him for what tomorrow will hold, but it also means listening to him for what he has to say today and remembering what he's done in our past.

Sometimes we think that moving forward is just the forward action of what tomorrow, what next week, what next month holds.

But what God gives us in his kindness and his mercy is what he's speaking to us today and what he has spoken to us in the past.

To follow God is to trust God, yes, for what you do not yet know, but praise God for holding on to what you already do know.

God in his goodness and his kindness and his mercy, he's given you a testimony of the work and the evidence and the fruit of him in your life.

He's walked through, he's carried you through, he's empowered you through the difficulties of your life and he's been faithful all the way through it.

God in his goodness and his kindness and his mercy has given you the truth of his word that you can hold on to, that you can cling to, that has never failed, that has always been right and stands upon the truth of what we know.

And so while faith is looking forward to what we don't know, faith in moving forward is also clinging to, praise God, what he has given us and what we do know.

And what we can cling to in the uncertainty of some days to come.

Here's what you and I, here's what we can know, and here's what we can know for today.

We can know that can never be taken away from us, that you and I, that I am a child of God.

We can know that in who he is and how he works and how he moves, that he desires to bless us and to bless us greatly.

We can know that he will never leave us and no one, no one, nothing can take us from his hand.

And we can know that he has a way for you and I, in the power and the truth of his word to call us to obedience in our life.

And that while I may not be able to control the situation, I can control my response.

And I can choose to trust and to follow and to obey him.

He's afraid.

Israel doesn't know what will happen.

When God appeared to him, he said, don't be afraid.

Fear not.

But he takes the step in moving forward.

Think about faith this way.

I know that I can trust.

I know that I can trust.

I know that I can trust.

So let's pick back up verses five through seven.

Then Jacob set out from Besherba.

The sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons and his sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

Now, pause right there.

Verse eight through verse 25, a whole lot of names.

Jump down to verse 26.

Why y'all laughing?

All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's wives, sons, were 66 persons in all.

And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two.

All the persons of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were 60.

What we see here is Jacob moves forward.

And what I want to talk to you about is this.

When it comes to looking to moving forward, that we have to be careful as we keep our eyes on God that there's no looking back.

That there's no looking back.

Why are there a list of names?

Why is there, over and over again, in verse 46, a list?

And here are the sons of Judah.

And here are the sons of Zebulun.

And here are the sons of Gad.

Here's the sons of Jacob is moving forward in faith, trusting in who God is and what God has done, but not looking back.

There's no backup plan.

There's no backup plan.

Who does he take?

Everybody.

Everybody.

Trusting God is not squirreling away what we want to hold for ourself, spiritually speaking, and saying, but I'm going partially in with this.

Trusting God means I'm trusting him.

I'm trusting his plan.

I'm trusting his time.

I'm trusting his ways.

I'm trusting his means.

I'm trusting how God wants to work and what God wants to do.

In the midst of your chaos that you feel like is spinning out of control and out of control, trusting God means trusting God.

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Trusting God.

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

God comes to Abraham.

Do you remember his promise?

I'm going to make you a great nation.

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Where are we at?

We're 46.

Has this nation appeared yet?

No, it hasn't.

It's not appeared.

Right now what we see is a family.

From the time God called Abraham, it's been 26 years, it was 25 years until Isaac was born.

Isaac, not a nation.

It took 60 years to add, it took Isaac 60 years to add another son.

Jacob, still not a nation.

It took 60 years from Jacob to add 12 sons and one daughter.

A lot of kids.

But not a nation.

But that would be what would be what would head to Egypt.

These sons and daughters and their family, still not a nation.

But there is no backup plan.

There is no contingency.

There is no what if.

If God, if this is where you are going to call us to go, then this is where we'll go.

And 430 years later, because God is a God who keeps his promises.

God is going to choose and call for himself another man, a man named Moses.

And he will lead between two and three million Israelites out of Egypt.

And what's God doing?

What's God doing?

God's creating.

God's working.

God's moving.

Jacob, Israel, goes all in with God.

And God is faithful every time.

With where you're at, with the journey of the life that you find yourself on,

what I want to challenge you with this morning,

is your faith a leave behind what if?

Is your faith, I'm going to trust God, but hold aside some?

Or is your faith the faith that says,

God's called us to go, every single one of you.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

But we've got land, but we've got places, but we've got things that are,

I know, I know, I know, but God's calling us and said,

this is what we're going to go, and this is what we're going to do,

and these are the steps that we're going to take.

And God is faithful every single time.

So we just ran out 46 through verse 28.

So he had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen.

And they came into the land of Goshen.

Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father in Goshen.

He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

Israel said to Joseph, now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.

And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household,

I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him,

my brothers and my father's household who were in the land in Canaan have come to me.

And the men are shepherds for they have been keepers of livestock and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.

And when Pharaoh calls you, say and says, what is your occupation?

You shall say, your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now.

But we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

So there's this wonderful reunion of what's there.

There's this embrace and the reconciliation and the power of what we see within this.

And what we begin to see here is the story of who Jesus is.

The story of what Jesus has done.

And we begin to understand that Jesus is the greater Joseph.

Joseph here, he reunites with his father and it is beautiful.

But Joseph isn't the focus.

Joseph will not just welcome his family into the land,

but Joseph will become an advocate for his family.

Joseph will prepare and obtain a home and a land for his family.

And Joseph will ensure that his family will be received.

You know, there's a time where in the life of Jesus, with those in his earthly family,

those that are closest to him have an emotional time with him as well.

Instead of a time of them coming together and being reunited,

it is a time where to their fear, Jesus is going to depart.

And there's concern about what will happen, much similar to the concerns that Jacob had as they approached Egypt.

How will we be received?

How will we be taken care of?

How will we be welcomed in?

And as Joseph stepped in and became the way and the means and the advocate for his family,

Jesus looks at those in his life and assures them who he is and what he is doing.

In John chapter 14, he says this.

John 14 · chapter mention

Jesus says, let your hearts, let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God.

Believe also in me.

In my father's house are many rooms.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself.

That where I am, you may also be.

And you know the way to where I am going.

And wonderful, dense Thomas said to him,

Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How can we know the way?

And Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father except through me.

If you had known me, you would have known my father also.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

And this description, it explains the work of Christ.

It explains of who he is and the work that he's done for us.

That on the journey that we find ourselves on,

that he is active of what he has done and what he has prepared for us.

Jesus is the greater Joseph.

While Joseph made a way for his father and his brothers and his sister and their family,

Jesus describes a place of the reunion, not for a singular family,

but for all who have put their faith, their hope, their trust in him.

Jesus says that in this place that you are not an advocate for yourself because I am your advocate.

I speak for you, I stand for you, I work for you, this is who I am.

And that this place for you, it waits for you.

You don't have to do anything to prepare because Jesus has done it for you.

And when you get there, when you get there, you will be received because you know Jesus and Jesus knows you.

I'm going to ask you a question this morning.

Not do you do religious things.

Not do you desire goodness within yourself.

But when it comes down to your heart,

the truth of the gospel,

the question to ask

that transcends all time,

that transcends all cultures,

that transcends all language is this.

Do you know Jesus?

Do you know Jesus?

Not do you know about Jesus.

Do you know him?

Have you put your faith, your hope, and your trust in him?

Do you have a relationship with him?

Do you hear the power of his words?

And with confidence in you, say,

I am a child of God.

Do you know Jesus?

Jesus.

Imagine there was some nervousness on the journey.

And then there was some confidence when they saw.

In order to take the step forward,

in order to not look back,

we can't keep our eyes on ourselves.

We must keep our eyes on him.

So let's look at what Joseph does.

Chapter 47, verses 1 through 12.

So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh,

my father and my brothers with their flocks and herds

and all they possess have come from the land of Canaan.

They are now in the land of Goshen.

And from among his brothers,

he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said to his brothers,

what is your occupation?

And they said to Pharaoh,

your servants are shepherds as our fathers were.

And they said to Pharaoh,

we have come to sojourn in the land,

for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks,

for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan.

And now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

And then Pharaoh said to Joseph,

your father and your brothers have come to you.

The land of Egypt is before you.

Settle your father and your brothers

in the best of the land.

Let them settle in the land of Goshen.

And if you know any able men among them,

put them in charge of my livestock.

So Joseph did what he said he would do.

His family welcomed in.

There's Jacob.

And a man who came in fear,

but is growing in confidence,

comes in.

Look at verse seven.

Then Joseph brought in Jacob, his father,

and stood him before Pharaoh.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said to Jacob,

how many are the days of the years of your life?

And Jacob said to Pharaoh,

the days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years.

Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.

And they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers

and the days of their sojourning.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh

and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.

Then Joseph settled his father and his brother

and gave them a possession in the land,

in the best of the land,

in the land of Ramses,

as Pharaoh had commanded.

And Joseph provided his father,

his brothers,

and all of his father's household with food

according to the number of their dependents.

In closing, as we look at faith,

I want to challenge us

to be a people moving

from fear to confidence.

From fear to confidence.

Look at the work that God had done

in the life of Jacob.

Moving Jacob from the fear as he approached

to the confidence of approaching

the most powerful,

the most influential human on earth.

And his posturing is,

let me bless you.

We see this confidence

in who he is in this moment.

We see this confidence

in his approaching this ruler that is there.

We see his confidence

in the journey that God has brought him to.

To not be the weak man who hid.

To not be the weak man

who chapters early said,

poor, poor, pitiful me.

Why is God out against me?

But we see a man

who has walked through

and God is developing within him

the Holy Spirit of confidence

in who he is in God.

And my plea for your heart today

is that when we walk through life,

when we walk through life

afraid to walk

in the boldness and confidence

of who we are

in our walk with Jesus

and in what he has done

and in what he is doing,

we may feel like we're approaching God

in humility

but we're not approaching God

with the confidence

that he's given us.

But I don't get that.

Confidence doesn't seem like

it's respectful.

Confidence seems like it's assuming.

Confidence feels like

this is what I owe

or what I'm owed.

But I would argue with you

that what the Bible calls us to

is humble confidence.

What the Bible calls us to

is that we approach God

in humility.

That we are sinners

and this is what we don't deserve

but we approach

in the confidence

of the goodness

of who he is.

We started off

with the passage

from 2 Timothy.

We find Paul.

Paul who has been

walking

with the Lord.

Paul who has been

taking step

moving forward

moving forward

moving forward

and Paul

who understands

that his time

before the king

is coming.

And how does Paul

address that?

How does Paul

reveal

the condition

of his heart?

It's with confidence.

It's with confidence.

Here's

look back

at what he said

for I'm already

being poured out

as a drink offering

and the time

of my departure

has come.

I fought

the good fight.

I finished

the race.

I've kept

the faith.

Henceforth

there is

laid

up

for me

the crown

of righteousness.

And then

in humility

which the Lord

the Lord

the righteous judge

will award.

And he

will award it

to me

Paul says

to me

the confidence

that on this journey

on this life

as this comes

to the end

I don't have to go

in fear

I don't have to go

in self preservation

mode

that I can go

on this journey

with great confidence

because of

who the Lord

is

that he is

the righteous judge

and that he will

award that to

me

and not only

to me

because of the goodness

of who he is

but also

to all

who have loved

his

appearing.

As we come

to a conclusion

in the life

of this family

that we have

seen

in Genesis

my challenge

for you

my challenge

for me

as we take

the truths

as we look

at these

with our life

is to ask

the question

do we just

stay back

at where we

were

do we just

too tired

to go

forward

there is

every day

a choice

to take

one more

step

after one

more step

after one

more step

of faith

because we

know

at what

he's

said

and we

know

the truth

of his

word

and it

is real

and it

is evident

and it

is true

and how

do I

know that

because I've

seen it

in my

life

I've

experienced

it

I've

tasted

that God

in his

goodness

has granted

this

to me

so because

I know

because I've

lived

I may not

know what

tomorrow holds

but I can

take a step

I can take

a step

and I don't

have to do

it in fear

I don't

have to

be a

person

who Satan

wins

because I'm

afraid of

the tomorrow

but I can

take a step

knowing

that even

if my

life

is taken

from me

what awaits

for me

is Jesus

what awaits

for me

is Jesus

I don't

know

what has

you

stuck

but my

prayer is

today

you will

see that

your release

from that

is a step

toward Christ

would you

pray with

me

God a

family that

roams

and a

family that

travels

a family

that

fights

a family

that

reconciles

a family

that has

the highs

and the lows

or the

family

that has

everywhere

in between

where so

much of

this is

the

unfortunate

truth

of the

reality

of our

life

that the

instability

that we

cause

and that

we create

in the

instability

of this

world

or may

we be

reminded

that our

center

and what

holds

true

and what

holds

stable

is to

be found

in your

hand

or that

you're

not a

God

of

chaos

but

you're

a

God

that

brings

calm

into

the

chaos

brings

order

into

the

storm

brings

purpose

into

the

darkness

and

and I

pray

that we

would

not

stay

where

we

are

because

it's

what

we

know

and

it's

what

is

convenient

but God

in faith

I pray

that we

would

take

a step

not just

today

but in

every day

towards

you

a step

of confidence

and not in

what we're

capable of

Lord

but in

what you're

capable of

and that

we do

so

because

what

what the

world

would look

like in

defeat

Lord

we see

in you

in victory

that in

the death

of Christ

we find

victory

in Christ

we find

hope in

Christ

find

joy

in

Christ

because

even

death

could not

hold

you

down

so

God

whether

today

is the

day

of

someone

putting

their

faith

and their

hope

and their

trust

in

Jesus

for the

very

first

time

God

I pray

that today

they would

make that

step

step

to trust

you

and

trust

you

alone

to be

the

savior

of their

soul

but God

I also

pray

that today

when you're

in a

marriage

that feels

loveless

and without

hope

that today

the people

in that

marriage

will take

a step

of faith

toward you

that today

Lord

if you're

here

and you're

living

in a

conflict

and a

strife

with a

loved

one

who's

running

from you

and rebelling

from God

that today

we put a

step of

faith

and trust

and hope

in you

Lord

that today

if we feel

that all

of the

world

is crashing

and burning

around us

we put our

faith

our hope

and our

trust

in you

we thank you

for the truth

of your word

we thank you

of the evidence

of our testimony

and God

we thank you

for the

beautiful

gift

of faith

that while

we may not

know

we can cling

to the one

who does

in Jesus' name

we pray

amen

that's it

for this

week's

message

be sure

to check

back

next week

for another

episode

in the

meantime

you can

stay up

to date

with everything

happening

at Willow Ridge

by visiting

us on

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

and online

at

willowridgechurch.org

thanks again

for listening

you