Bible Study - WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - When You Don't See It Coming
Sermon-Based Bible Study – January 31, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- This week, Chris summarized three different episodes from Joseph’s life: the time Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers (Genesis 37); the time Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison (Genesis 39); and his reliance on God in the interpretation of dreams while in prison (Genesis 40-41). Which of these three episodes resonates with you the most right now? Why?
- When Joseph’s brothers decided to sell him into slavery and then lie to their father about Joseph’s death, do you think they realized that decision would make them liars for the rest of their lives? What would you advise someone to do about a decision they had made that was making them a liar?
- When Joseph found himself in these unexpected situations, he made decisions to be forgiving, faithful and fruitful. Do you think he based the decisions he made about how to act and react based on the kind of story he wanted to be able to tell about his life? Which of these decisions - to be forgiving, to be faithful or to be fruitful - would have been the hardest for you to make? Why?
- Read Genesis 39:6-10. In this passage Joseph gives the rational for the decision he makes in regard to the proposition from Potiphar’s wife. What stands out to you about this decision? Why?
- Read Genesis 50:19-21. When do you think Joseph realized God intended his brothers’ bad acts for good? When he was: in the cistern; sold as a slave; in Potiphar’s house; in prison; in Pharaoh’s court; when his brothers first showed up to buy grain? Do you think God has a long-term plan to use every bad/evil thing that happens in the world for good? Why?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?