Plays On Word Radio
An in-depth look at the Word of God, the Plays On Word community, and the Plays - with original music - we perform, that are based on the Word of God. New episodes drop Fridays at 7AM EST! To find out how Plays On Word Theater can perform 'LIVE on YOUR STAGE' and to support this missionary & podcast visit: https://playsonword.org/
Plays On Word Radio
Ep 71: Creating Genesis Joe - A Journey of Faith and Creativity
"Today's episode of Plays on Word Radio features the journey of Genesis 'JOE' from inception to global impact, explores family dynamics in Jacob's story, and offers a message of faith. How does favoritism affect Jacob's family?"
Today, we continue our study through Genesis from the Plays On Word production called Genesis 'JOE'. Join us on this episode of Plays on Word Radio as we recount the fascinating journey from a spark of an idea to the creation of our flagship play, Genesis 'JOE'. We'll walk you through the trials and triumphs of our first performance amidst challenging weather in January 2014 and how this play has since touched hearts locally and globally. You'll also get a sneak peek into the origins of our other full-length play centered on Peter, signaling the exciting growth of our theater ministry.
Immerse yourself in the gripping biblical narrative of Jacob and his sons during a famine, brought to life with humor and depth. We'll explore the tension and family dynamics fueled by favoritism towards Joseph and Benjamin and draw meaningful parallels to Isaiah 55, highlighting God's unwavering provision. Feel the weight of Jacob's anguish as he faces the potential loss of another son, and be inspired by a powerful message of faith, urging listeners to seek Christ's forgiveness and embrace the Holy Spirit for profound spiritual fulfillment. Concluding with a heartfelt blessing of peace and grace, this episode will surely inspire you.
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Lord, you know you listen in a place of war, the radio is the best, and although I recognize them, they didn't recognize me. I've remembered my dreams. You're spies. You've come to see where our land is unprotected. That's why you've come and my brother said oh no, no, no, sir, no, no, your servants are. We've just come to buy grain. We're all sons of one man. We're not spies, we're honest men. Jesus, you're the only name, you're the only name. You're the only name, your big name, your big name.
Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to Plays on Word Radio where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the Word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion. Today, let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr, the founder of Plays on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.
Speaker 2:Amen, amen. Welcome to all of you listening to Plays on Word Radio. Thank you very much, katie Kenney and Josh Taylor, for the introduction. My name is Fred David Kenney Jr and this is Plays on Word Radio.
Speaker 2:We are going to continue with Genesis, joe that is our flagship first play, the original play, and I don't know if I actually shared with you the origin of that play. I might have. We are on our what is this? The 71st episode, so I might have shared this, but I was at a Bobby McFerrin concert with my mother-in-law and my wife. They brought me to a Bobby McFerrin concert for my birthday back in 2013. And it was in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center, which was fairly new at the time, and I actually lived in Philly when they broke ground for that place. But that's another story. And yeah, and we were maybe in the 11th row, we were close, really nice place.
Speaker 2:It's like a building within a building and all of a sudden, I'm sitting there, I'm just enjoying the concert and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, boom. I get hit with about three seconds of the Genesis Joe play. Now, what I mean by that is I saw, literally saw. It was as if I was in the audience watching Genesis Joe and it was the scene where Joseph gets thrown into the cistern by his brothers. And then that was it Boom. And then it was gone and I was trying to hold on to that vision. I was like whoa, whoa, whoa. What does that mean.
Speaker 2:And for the next month or two that was, I want to say, the concert I want to say was in November and from that point on I remember just praying Lord, what does that mean? Do you want me back on stage? I had been on stage when I was in high school. It's been a long time. The dramatic stage, music-wise it was different, but doing a play, it had been many years, decades. What does this mean? So I just prayed about it, prayed about it and he started giving me the rest of the play. I said do you want me to do the play? And I still had no idea where I was going to do it and I have a feeling I told this story. So please forgive me if this is redundant, but yeah, we ended up doing. I called up my buddy, mike Morgan. I was like Mike man, the Lord gave me something here and he said brother, you can do whatever you want, you can have the whole night.
Speaker 2:It was a First Friday event, but it was before it was called First Friday. We ended up doing Genesis. Joe, mike thought it was going to be like a skit. A lot of other people, they were not ready for what the Lord had prepared. My buddy, eddie Marachanian, came out. It was freezing cold too. We did it.
Speaker 2:I want to say January 3rd or 4th 2014 was the first play we did and it was 11 degrees out, something like that 11 degrees out, something like that, and there was ice on the ground. But Ed Marichaney came out, I think Joe Gratzel came out, jim McCombs came out and, yeah, we had a small, intimate crowd, but very important people in my life, spiritually, and they were all like what? Because I was even like what man? Even my drummer, andy. At the time he didn't know what to expect. We just rehearsed the music.
Speaker 2:I never did any of the play with him. He never saw it. So when he saw it, he was like what? He was like man, dude, you were really crying up there, snot was coming out your nose and everything. I couldn't believe it. Wow, everybody was blessed and so, yeah, and so we're 10 years on. Man, genesis Joe is 10 years old with us Plays on word.
Speaker 2:We have performed it overseas, hallelujah, and people have given their life to the Lord because of this play and the body of Christ has been strengthened because of this work that God has done and he's doing other works with us, and I don't know if I explained to you guys how Pete came along, but we did Genesis Joe at Cornerstone Calvary Chapel in Howell, new Jersey, and my buddy Colin was there. He's an associate pastor there and he kind of set things up for us to come out. They were just studying Genesis. They were studying Genesis a youth group or something, I forget, one of the groups the place was packed. It was amazing.
Speaker 2:And, um, I just mentioned, as I was talking to colin, I said colin, yeah, lord's putting something about peter on my heart. I don't know what it is, though. I mean, he's just putting putting something about peter on my heart. And I just mentioned that to colin, and he called me up after we did genesis jo. It was a big success at the church there, first of all and then he called me up I don't know, a couple weeks later and said hey, can you come do your peep play for us for Passion Week? I was like what? No man, I don't have a peep play, I don't know. I just said the Lord's putting something on my heart. I don't have a P play, I don't know. I just said the Lord's putting something on my heart.
Speaker 2:I didn't put nothing together yet, and that's how we ended up doing Pete the Pete play, which is also 10 years old. The Lord, I said well, let me pray about it. See if this is what God wants me to do. I think he's putting it on my heart, I think. So we went in an overdrive with that and he blessed me with the music for the Pete play and the whole thing, the dialogue in between the scenes, and that was more of a challenge because there's, you know, genesis Joe is one narrative from Genesis, and that was more of a challenge because there's, you know, genesis Joe is one narrative from Genesis, pete. I had to pull from four sources actually Luke and John, the Gospels, and that was a challenge and a half, but it was not difficult and it wasn't work. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just a great Bible study. The Lord brought me on and subsequently, people have been blessed by that and I am rambling.
Speaker 2:So I just wanted to bring up to date, bring everybody up to date on as far as the origin of these plays and how we ended up doing them. We officially became a nonprofit I want to say in 2018 or 19, I don't even remember the official date, but we did the plays for many years just by word of mouth. Pastors and people from churches wanted us to come out. We just would go out, we just literally would just roll out and do the plays and we didn't have much merch or anything like that. And people were like, can I get the music? Can I, you know, is there anything? So Katie started putting together the mugs and shirts and stuff and people really were blessed by them. So it was a way for them to take something home with them. So yeah, that's how we ended up where we are right now as far as the Plays on Word ministry.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I just wanted to give you that update or that recap. Where we are right now in the scripture in the story of Genesis Joe is chapter 42. And I'm not going to give you the run-up to chapter 42. We've already done that. You can go back and listen to the podcast, the radio program, and you can catch up on that for a start. Or get your Bible and read from Genesis 37 up to this point, but I'm going to read it in Genesis 42.
Speaker 2:When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons why do you look at one another. It's kind of funny. He's sitting back. Why do you look at one another? It's kind of funny. He's sitting back and they're sitting there looking at each other. I've often thought what are they doing? Are they playing rock paper scissors? I mean, I actually have them playing rock paper scissors. For those of you that didn't understand that, in the scene when they are first shepherding the flocks, it says the brothers are shepherding the flocks and they play rock paper scissors. Not everybody gets it. Some of the younger people don't understand it, but the older heads I see them laughing.
Speaker 1:They get it.
Speaker 2:And so here they're just sitting there looking at each other Verse 2, and he said Behold, this is Jacob speaking. Behold, I've heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die. Now, this is a curious statement, or an interesting statement, because clearly the famine was severe. It said the famine was severe in all the land and it is a life and death situation. There are at least 70 people in this camp. We know that later on we're told that because they come down into Egypt. It's a big group of people and it's a life and death situation.
Speaker 2:Yet the interesting thing to me is that Jacob had God's promises that were given to Abraham and then to Isaac, then to Jacob, to Isaac than to Jacob. And even though it's a life and death situation, he had these promises that God was going to protect his offspring and plant him in that land, the promised land. They would sojourn there. So, even though Jacob had the promises of God, he couldn't just sit back and just say I'm good to go, I don't have to do anything, and we have the promises of God. We have promises of God, but God requires us to do work as well. We can't just sit back. And it just strikes me here he's I don't want to say worried about death, but he's aware of the potential death because of this famine, so he's acting there. Just an interesting thing there Verse 3,. So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt Verse 4,. But Jacob did not send Benjamin Joseph's brother with his brothers, for he feared their harm might happen to him. Now I can't help but wonder do you think the brothers disliked Ben? Also Rachel Joseph's mom, the one that Jacob loved. He didn't love any other woman. He just ended up getting bamboozled. He got tricked into marrying Leah and then having all these kids. The one he wanted was Rachel Joseph's and Benjamin's mom. And I can't help but wonder if these other brothers? It doesn't say that Jacob didn't love the other brothers, but it clearly says that he loved Joseph more than his other brothers and he put Joseph in charge of their work. He was the foreman out in the field. That Technicolor Dreamcoat that he had on it goes way beyond colors. It's more of a symbol of status and authority that the dad put Joseph in charge and put him in a position to report back to him. He was like the I don't want to say he was given orders, but he had the position of upper management. Let's just say that. And the brothers did not like that at all and I can't help but wonder did that extend to Ben? It doesn't say. It doesn't say so. They don't want to go beyond it, but I don't know. I just wonder. These dudes, these guys, were not happy.
Speaker 2:You talk about dysfunctional family, verse five. Thus, the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. So we know that. Verse six now, joseph was governor over the land. He was also the one who sold to all the people of the land, meaning he was the one who had the power of life and death. You had to go to him in order to be saved. He sold the grain to the people.
Speaker 2:And it reminds me of a quote that Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in John, chapter 7. He quotes something Isaiah wrote. Listen to what Isaiah wrote. I'm going to read this to you. This is what this reminds me of. It's Isaiah, chapter 55. Listen to this.
Speaker 2:Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has no money, come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live and I will make with you an everlasting covenant. Live and I will make with you an everlasting covenant. My steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and a commander to the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know. You shall run to you because of the Lord, your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, let the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have Now.
Speaker 2:This is one of my favorites right here, verse 8. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. As for the rain and the snow that come down from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come the cypress, instead of the briar shall come the myrtle, and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Oh, hallelujah. I had to read the whole thing. That just blessed somebody. See, the word of the Lord is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. So I will not apologize for reading the entire chapter there, even though it was just the first verse that our section of Scripture in Genesis 42 reminded me of.
Speaker 2:Here Joseph is selling grain to the people so that they will live, and it just reminded me of Christ. And Isaiah is clearly. It is a messianic psalm. It is clearly speaking of Christ, in fact, christ Jesus himself. He quotes it, he quotes this oh, it gets no better than that. And he quotes it, but it's such a powerful scripture. And he said you know he's talking about come and buy and eat, without money, without price, wine and milk, and he's not talking about going to the supermarket here. No, no, this is going beyond that. This is going way beyond that. Now, am I crazy? Or are some of y'all saying amen, in there, out there, amen, yeah, I know somebody's feeling that. So that's what it reminds me of with Joseph. He's. It reminds me of Joseph In many ways. He's a type of Christ and I think absolutely in the salvation of people. At the end, the people are going to say you've saved our lives, you've saved us and they're grateful to be purchased.
Speaker 2:And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down, bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them when do you come from, he said. They said from the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. Now, joseph is now 30. This whole scene happens. He's 39 years old, is now 30. This whole scene happens. He's 39 years old. When everything started in Genesis 37, he was 17. Yeah, so 22 years have gone by. That's a lot of time. That's a whole lot of time between them selling that kid, and we are out of time. Speaking of time, we are just about out of time and what I want to do is I want to play a clip from the play, what we just covered. So check this out.
Speaker 2:As far as you can see, there were lines of people that were coming to buy grain to be saved, and we were selling all this grain. Now, I was doing my work, selling the grain and you know I'm taking care of that and all of a sudden, I look in the line. I look in the line. My brothers are in the line. I felt like I was 17 again and they, they came in, they made their way in and then they bowed down before me. They didn't recognize me, even though I recognized them. They didn't recognize me. So I spoke to them through an interpreter when do you come from? And they said we've come from the land of Canaan to buy some grain. As they were bowing down before me and although I recognize them, they didn't recognize me. I've remembered my dreams. You're spies. You've come to see where our land is unprotected. That's why you've come.
Speaker 2:And my brother said oh no, no, no, sir, no, no, your servants are. We've just come to buy grain. We're all sons of one man. We've just. We're not spies, we're honest men. We've just come to buy grain. And I said to them I said no, no, no, no, no. You're spies. You've come to see where our defenses are weak. That's why you've come. And they said oh no, sir, we are not spies. We were 12 sons of one man, your servant, our father. He's off in the land of Canaan with our youngest brother, and one is. The other is no more. We're not spies. We just come to buy grain.
Speaker 2:And I said to them I said now, you're spies. Spies, just as I said, and this is how your words will be tested You're gonna let one of your number is gonna go and get this youngest brother and bring him before me so that your words may be verified, that you are not lying and indeed telling the truth. And as surely as Pharaoh lives, if you're not telling the truth, you're spies. Yeah, and I had them locked up and put in jail for three days. Then on the third day I went to them and I said do this and you'll live, for I fear God, let one of your numbers stay here with me. The rest of you take grain back to your starving households and your families. But I tell you the truth. I tell you as surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not see my face again unless you bring this youngest brother here before me so that your words may be verified, that you indeed are telling the truth and that you do not die.
Speaker 2:And then they, they, they conference with each other and they, they said to one another they said all this, all this evil is happening to us because of what we did to our brother all those years ago. And then Reuben went over to him and he said didn't I tell you not to harm that boy? Now we got to give an account for his blood. They didn't realize. They didn't realize that I could understand them. I had to find a place to go and weep. And then I composed myself and I came back and I had Simeon bound right in front of them all and put in prison.
Speaker 2:I called my servant, put grain in their sacks, put their money back in their sacks, send them on their way, and that's exactly what he did. So they were on their way back to my father when they got back well before they got back, they stopped for the night and they opened up their sack and one of the guys said my money's been returned. What does this mean? What is this God's doing to us? They threw the money back in the sack and they kept going to where my father was.
Speaker 2:When they got to my father, they said Father, we have to take Benjamin and show the man who is the Lord of the land down there. We have to show him Benjamin. He's got Simeon. And he said we can't buy or sell or anything. We won't see his face again unless we bring the youngest brother down there and show him so he can verify our words. And he talked all harshly to us. He spoke all harshly. We tried to tell him that we were honest men, but he didn't believe us and he's got Simeon. So we got to take Benjamin and my father looked at them and he said and my father looked at them and he said you, you, you bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more Simeon is no more.
Speaker 1:And now you?
Speaker 2:want to take Benjamin. No, everything is against me. Anybody ever have any days like that? Oh, I mean, he was feeling it. He was feeling the heat right there, feeling the pressure, feeling like everything was against him. In the play he looks up to God as he says that oh man, no, that's all the time we have for today. We are going to continue with this study, though. I promise you we will continue with this study. It's important that you put your faith in Christ. If you have not, officially, don't just assume you ask him to come into your life, forgive you of your sins, fill you with his Holy Spirit. Then this will mean something to you. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Speaker 1:This program was made possible by the Plays on Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonwordorg.
