The life of a Christian is not necessarily a life without burdens. Christians get sick, lose loved ones, and have car troubles like everyone else. In fact, often Christians have burdens that unbelievers do not have. Christians carry the burden of persecution. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” […]

Time was passing quickly. About 10 years had passed since Jacob left Haran. His youngest children, Joseph and Dinah were probably about 16 years old. His oldest boys would have been about 22-23. The chapter opens abruptly by telling us that Dinah, Jacob’s teenage daughter went out to see the daughters of the land. In […]

There is always a sense of relief and gladness to get finally safely home after a long trip. I think that is what Jacob must have felt as he finally got safely home in Canaan. Transition When Jacob was just outside of Canaan, he met Esau, had a discussion with him, and then he entered […]

Do you want God to bless you? What do you mean by “bless”? I discovered that “bless” is not an easy word to define. In Matthew 5, Jesus said that God’s blessings are special benefits, praise, or happiness for those who honour Him. Many Bible examples illustrate that God does not bless those who dishonour […]

I was a student at Maranatha Baptist Bible College from 1976-1980. Though I enjoyed Bible College, it was always exciting to go home twice each year. It was an eight-hour drive for me to go home and I usually gave a ride to a friend or two who lived in my home area. When the […]

The first fourteen years that Jacob worked for Laban were to pay his debt for his wives. The first seven passed quickly, but the second seven were filled with conflicts as we learned last week. Now that his debt was paid, Jacob became Laban’s hired man as he head shepherd of all the flocks. We […]

During my Bible training, our school president often said, “Boys, the best thing to learn about history is to learn from history.” This morning, we really need to learn the lessons Jacob learned. Transition We are going to look at three lessons Jacob learned. We Can Always Trust God (Ge 29:1-12) Jacob had been concerned […]

Proverbs 4:23 states “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Jesus said in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” Yes, all that a person does comes from within his heart. When a person discovers that his […]

The word “deficient” means lacking. If your body is deficient in sleep, food, vitamins, iron, or exercise, it will not work properly. The same is true of our families. If your family is deficient in an important area, it will not work right. Transition This morning we will see that Isaac and Rebekah’s family had […]