Sibling Rivalries // Rev. Matt Kennedy // Oct 26 2025

There are few things in life that can get as complicated and messy as family. Our relationships with parents, siblings, spouses, and children are some of the most important we'll ever have, but they are the ones most fraught with discord. The book of Genesis is full of these kinds of stories and this week we'll look at one of the most famous: the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob & Esau (Genesis 25:19-34, 27:1-28:2).Their story has some warnings and lessons for us about the ways favoritism, envy, ambition, and dishonesty can bring trouble; but more importantly their story reminds us of the nature of the blessings of God. Esau treats God's blessings too trivially, Jacob seeks God's blessing too ambitiously, yet God's faithfulness is unchanging. As our journey through Genesis enters new generations, we'll see some familiar patterns start to emerge-- and in them all the opportunity to reflect on our own apathies and ambitions, and God's graciousness and faithfulness despite these things.