Sibling Relationships

Introduction

How important is the sibling relationship?

How we learn to manage things like:

conflict

complex emotions

Reconciliation

Sharing

Frustration

Team work

Celebrating Others

Siblings Can Challenge Us (Gen 37)

Joseph has these incredible dreams that one day his brothers will bow down to him

He is the favorite. It’s known to him, to his brothers, and to everyone else

He then has this incredible dream of his brothers bowing down to him

His brothers, rightfully so, decide that now is the time to get rid of him

in fact, their original plot is actually to kill him until the oldest brother intervenes

While these dreams were divine communications as Joseph had 2, these dreams also communicated a hard truth that is debated to be expressed well or not

Joseph and his brothers begin to have a fight for the ages

While we can hide our hearts from our friends or the people we see regularly, we cannot hide who we really are from the people we do life with together

When Joseph is with his brothers at the beginning of this passage, there is a clear understanding that his brothers are not a fan of him

They all knew that he was the favorite and they weren’t

They sought his murder

Even the oldest brother, rueben, wasn't his biggest fan. But rather he

Application: Sibling relationships can test us and show just how far things like patience and love go

Siblings Extend To The Family Of God (John 1:12-13)

we are a part of the family of Believers that belong to the Lord

We talked about this week how as we accept christ we become adopted into the family of God

Whether you have a good or bad relationship with your siblings, you have a place in the siblings in the family of God

Yet just like our real siblings teach us about how complicated life is dealing with others in a sinful and fallen world, we will come to discover that our church family also has struggles

There are times when conflict will arise

when disagreements happen

when things don’t go our way

In these times, we can see our siblings as people who are loved by the Lord and who we can learn from

Siblings Can Inspire Us To Follow The Lord (Gen 50)

Joseph has every opportunity to turn on his brothers and rightfuly so

They have been nothing but evil to him until they needed somehting

If he elects to, he is fully justified in doing so

Yet Joseph is committed to forgiving them of any transgressions

“you take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good”

Joseph forgives out of the joy of his heart. He is forgiving beyond our wildest measure

Each of Joseph’s siblings has a front row seat to watch how the forgiveness of the Lord works

They have done the unspeakable and if Joseph desires to condemn, it will only be their fault

Yet what a blessing it is that Joseph gives them full forgiveness for their transgressions

Often our siblings, similar to our brothers and sisters in Christ, can show us what it means to follow the Lord and encourage us to do so

Why do we engage with others in the family of God even though it is confusing, complicated, and can be frustrating?

Because we are all apart of the family of God