Small Group Study: Life’s Healing Choices Week 3

As always let your group gather and share some glory sightings or High, Low, Highs of the week.
 
1. Starting question—this week we want to talk about the good times and the bad times. So to get the ball rolling we want everyone to think of your proudest moment and your most embarrassing moment. If we all feel comfortable sharing quickly…
 
There are a lot of things that we can take pride in. Sometimes it is our job, our kids, our accomplishments, etc. If we aren’t careful sometimes these things can grow out of control. In our story of Jacob and Joseph we see a father (Jacob) who took pride in his son (Joseph). This was an ok thing but his pride was a little too deep. In fact Jacob’s pride went way back into his own childhood. Jacob was conniving and deceiving throughout his life and the ripples that he made in his childhood followed him all the way to his adulthood and influenced even his own children. Lets watch this video of how Jacob’s life influenced Joseph’s life. 
 
Joseph had a lot of bad stuff happen to him throughout his life that was out of his control. He was thrown in a well, sold into slavery, thrown in prison….none of this was a direct result of his choices. He was kind of like Andy Dufrain on Shawshank Redemption. Through it all Joseph showed a high level of integrity.
 
 
2. What do you think is a true mark of integrity? Who is someone you know that you consider to have very high integrity? What characteristics does this person possess (or what do they do) that makes you feel this way about them?
 
3. Integrity is probably the most important thing that any of us could possess because each of our decisions creates a ripple effect. If you have ever seen the movie “Crash” you know that the movie is based on simple decisions that produce big results (good and bad). Looking back on your life can you think of a simple decision that you made that had a big ripple effect in your life?
 
4. Have you ever been effected by someone else’s ripple effect? Meaning, has someone else made a decision (good or bad) that had a ripple influence effect in your life?
 
5. Well, Joseph had a lot of CRAP happen in his life that could have lead him down a wrong path. Let’s read about them real quick.
 Genesis 39:1-23
 Genesis 40:1-23
 
6. What were you most impressed with about Joseph in these passages?
 
7. What could have been Joseph’s list of excuses to make different decisions in these passages.
 
8. In the story of Potiphar’s wife Joseph sacrificed temporary pleasure for a long term gain.
 Has there been a time in your life where you have had to delay gratification for a larger purpose or goal? Can you share a story?
 
 
9. In prison Joseph had to live with consistent integrity—no matter what—he never knew if he was going to get out of prison or not even though he had done nothing wrong.
 In each of his situations Joseph’s consistent integrity paid off. He was his dad’s favorite…leader of Potiphar’s house…leader of the prison. In the midst of all of this he focused on DOING GOOD not necessarily FEELING GOOD.
 How do we continue to do good deeds or have high integrity in the midst of the lower points in our lives?
 Has their been a time in your life where you have had to “fake it til you make it.” Basically you had to just get through something even though you weren’t feeling it anymore?
 
 
10. Joseph didn’t stay in prison. His integrity lead him to be the most powerful person in Egypt because he was going to help lead people out of the famine that was coming. Basically he had all of the power.
 Think about your life. Do you have any positions of authority?
 What are key characteristics of people in authority who have high integrity? Low integrity?
 How do their decisions create a ripple effect?
 
11. Joseph had the opportunity that many people dream of. To pay back the people that had wronged him in a very big way. Instead he chose to forgive his brothers and to help them live. In doing this he changed the ripple effect of his entire family.
 Think about your life…when has someone offered you grace when you didn’t deserve it?
i. Here if you have time you might go to www.rivercitymethodist.com and click on the podcast and share Janna’s testimony with your group and discuss.
 Think about your life…when have you offered someone grace whether they deserved it or not.

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