Weekly Devotion | June 13, 2024
Musical Worship?
The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 is one of the most beloved tales of the Old Testament. It has everything that people like in a good story—jealousy, revenge, sex, power, plot twists, forgiveness, and a rags to riches ending.
You’ll remember that Jacob, one of the patriarchs of ancient Israel, had 12 sons, but he favored Joseph more than the others. The arrogance of Joseph and his dreams causes his brothers to fake his death and sell him into slavery. Joseph winds up in Egypt as a slave to an army officer, but he gets framed for sexual assault by the officer’s wife and is imprisoned. Miraculously, Joseph, with his dream interpretation abilities, makes his way into the Pharaoh’s court. The story gets better!
A famine strikes the land, but Egypt is ready with storehouses of food Joseph saved. The brothers who almost killed him are now coming to him begging for food. They don’t recognize him, so Joseph plays games with them. Eventually, Joseph reveals himself and forgives them for what they did. All is well that ends well.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of this bible story is called “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” debuting in 1974. It has been performed for years on Broadway and literally in thousands of colleges, high schools, and community theaters around the world. For the 50th anniversary of the Broadway production, you will have two chances to see it live! Right here in the Wesley Worship center our VBS kids, youth, volunteers and special church member cast will perform 2 shows: Saturday, June 22nd at 10:30AM and Sunday June 23rd at 10AM.
Next week, Music Camp will have the perfect combination of musical and traditional VBS to embed Joseph’s story in the hearts of adults and children alike. I hope you’ll invite friends and family to attend these performances. I promise you’ll enjoy the story, the music, and the deep sense of how God works in amazing ways in his children’s lives. Rarely, if ever, does a worship service and a Broadway musical make such an impression. Come and see our children, youth, and adult volunteers bring this ancient story to life.
