The Bean Bag

Joseph Quesitons that may help

There's 4 questions to ask of any OT passage that are extremely useful in any study - they are:

 

1.  What does this passage tell us about God the Father?

 

2.  What does this passage tell us about the people of God and society then?

 

3.  What does this passage tell us about the people of God and society now?

 

4.  What does this passage teach us about Jesus - His ministry, purpose and message?  How does what is happening here shape the Gospel, where does it fit in bigger story?  

 

then, some specifics to drill down into with the Joseph story:

 

1.  Who is the story about and why?  (NB, Joseph is the vehicle to tell the history of Israel, Genesis is split into a series of sections each starting with This is the record of the origins of .....)

 

2.  What does this journey teach us practically about our life today with respect to:

- the gifts we hold

- the dreams we might have for life and how they might change dramatically (ie, what were Joseph's actual desires and dreams for life / vocation before he got dumped in a hole?  

- How did he respond to this and what can we learn from his actions (both right and wrong)

 

3.  What's the significance of the coat?

 

4.  Where was Jacob dwelling, why?  

 

5.  Why was Joseph a favourite?

 

6.  Why did Reuben go back for Joseph?

 

7.  Why did Jacob say he would be with Joseph in sheol and what is this?

 

8.  How long before Christ did this take place in history?

 

9.  How does this story demonstrate redemption? 

 

10.  This is only the beginning of the salvation story from God to His people..... put yourself in their shoes/sandals, how do you trust when you feel like you've only got the first chapter but you need to know the end to get through?  

 

11.  What promises would the family know about God's purpose for their lives and how would this influence their actions?  (Backtrack through the previous 40 chapters to find them).  Now what promises do you know about God's purpose for your life?  

 

12.  How long did Joseph spend in jail?

 

13.  How did Joseph live in a foreign land, with a priestess of an unholy god as a wife and retain his right standing with God... what evidence do we see later in the story that Joseph lived in right standing before God?

 

14.  What can we learn from Joseph about living, working in - even purposefully prospering a nation - which is not holy?  

 

15.  Why is the story of Judah and Tamar inserted in chapter 38?  Is it in the wrong place?  If not, why, what's the point? What other book should we read to understand this and why?

 

16.  When Joseph died, why did the family of Jacob embalm him and bury him in Egypt in a coffin?  Surely this sounds like a worldview foreign of the ways of Jehovah?

 

 17.  Joseph had no evil written of him, who was the only other person in the OT to have nothing evil written about him?  What does this say about serving in a foreign land?

 

Thanks Stu Leo for your insight and wisdom!

Joseph Episode 4 Gen 39:20-40:23

Tonight we explored the Joseph story as he was thrown into prison and was presented with two dreams to interpret.

We asked ourselves: Where does God feature in your big picture? Listen below if you want to be challegned some more:

 Download Joseph 4 28.6.09

Joseph Talks so far...

Below are the talks given on the Joseph story.

Download Joseph 1 on 07.6.09 Genesis 37:1-11

"What do we do with the gifts God gives us?"

 

Download Joseph 2 on 14.6.09 Genesis 37:12-35

"Have you let bitterness and apathy creep into your spirit?"

 

Download Joseph 3 on 21.6.09 Genesis 39:1-20

"How do we resist Temptation?"

Joseph Gen 37:1-11 Message Highlights

Joseph’s story is a story that will challenge each of us to move to where God wants us to be and a story that will challenge us as a community to be the people God wants us to be.

What I love about Joseph’s story is that it’s so human! It’s so easy to associate ourselves with Joseph. It’s so easy to find ourselves in Joseph. The task ahead of us will be whether we actually want to or not.

Many of us are where Joseph began his journey, we aren’t necessarily ready to take on the responsibilities of God’s kingdom.

Joseph’s story raises for us many different questions. The first is: What do you do with what God’s given you?

His story begins in dysfunction, relational disunity, self serving attitudes and with a bunch of people who make a bunch of bad decisions. This is our story! I’m in this story. You’re in this story. This is good news for all of us, because if God can not only sort out these guys, but also redeem them so much that they go on to be the foundation for who God’s people become. Then God can and will transform us as followers of Jesus and us as a community of disciples.

And it begins with a 17 year old kid who we’ll see has a lot of growing up to do.

Joseph has a dream and we have the benefit of knowing that the dream Joseph has is more than just an ordinary dream. That dream is a signpost that God chooses to give Joseph, which raises our question: What does Joseph do with the things that God gives?

We see that Joseph has influence and now God has spoken words of hope. Not just for Joseph, but actually words of hope for the brothers and all their descendants. God paints for Joseph a picture of care and provision and protection, which Joseph interprets quite differently to how God intended him to.

Joseph uses what God has given him to alienate people and repel people from him. He uses it to promote himself! Joseph’s spiritual maturity determines what he will do with, and how he will view what God has given him. The same is true for you and me. All too often even in Church ministry we use what God has given us for selfish promotion.

Joseph didn’t understand the value and importance of the things God had entrusted him with. He didn’t treat the things God gifted him with, with the reverence they deserved. As a result people were hurt, a family was split up, hatred raged and consumed and Joseph was nearly killed.

When we steward the gifts of God with grace and love and maturity amazing things can happen. When we steward them with a self promoting spirit, disaster is usually headed our way, and it’s usually disaster that affects more than just us,

The gifts of God are for the edification of everyone. They are for the benefit of everyone, and the bi-product is we benefit too. There is no doubt that as God’s desires for Joseph unfold he is the beneficiary, But he only benefits as everyone else benefits. And they usually benefit first!

The place Joseph begins, is all about him. Yet God still provides for him. But the place he where he ventures to, is all about something far greater, which we’ll come to see also.

I'm back

I'm back, after three months.

Two of that has been spent sick and one has been sent getting back into things.

So the feature of my blog as we commence this next season is going to be Joseph. The dude in the Old Testament, not the one in the New Testament. My hope is that you enjoy and are challenged, provoked and encouraged by what your read.

Ralph

Just wondering?

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been blogging much of late. I will get back to it, but in the mean time I need to know if it's worth me putting any audio or other written resources (e.g. Sermons, studies, etc.) on here. Are many of you downloading them, or are you more interested in the words I write? Can you comment back to this post and let me know? Thanks.

Adding to the Beauty (5)

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

• Who do you know who live in conditions that cause them to suffer?  What creative ways can you come up with to suffer redemptively with them?

• If you don’t know people who suffer, think of ways you and your friends might get to know them.

• What places could you go or what circumstances could you be in to listen, give comfort and proclaim the love of the King to those who are suffering?

• Who do you pray for on a regular basis that might also need you to know them better and care for them in their suffering?

• What can you do to educate yourself on situations around the world that are causing suffering?

• In what ways have you shrunk back from proclaiming the Kingdom and the King because you did not want to suffer?

• How do the stories of Christ followers in other parts of the world inspire you to be courageous about your faith in Jesus?

 

Adding to the Beauty (4)

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

• What if you and your friends started dreaming of ways to redistribute wealth in your community?

• What could you save if you started sharing and what would you do with the money?

• Who do you know in your community that needs to be loved with your cash?

• When you look at the way you give, share and care, what kingdom does your cheque book proclaim?

Go on, I dare you to begin answering them, and maybe the beauty God had mind for us all will begin to be restored that much quicker!

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

Adding to the Beauty (3)

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

• How could you and your friends practice the presence of the Kingdom in creation in your community?

• Are there places that need care or cleaning up?  Where are they?

• In what natural environments near you could you and others gather to encounter the King of Creation and His Word?

• If you started dreaming and dared to risk…what plan could you imagine and implement to restore, redeem and reclaim the sacred space in your community? (Sky’s the limit, literally.)

Go on, I dare you to begin answering them, and maybe the beauty God had mind for us all will begin to be restored that much quicker!

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

Go on, I dare you to begin answering them, and maybe the beauty God had mind for us all will begin to be restored that much quicker!

Adding to the Beauty (2)

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

• What qualities best describe some of the kids you know?

• What kinds of attitudes or values will you need to lay aside before you can learn from a child?

• How could you create an intentional connection with a child or children so you can learn with them?

• Where can you give your time in your community that could allow that kind of connection to happen? (e.g., church classes, Boys and Girls Clubs, or school programs.)

• How could the kingdom break into your community where kids are in the most need?

Go on, I dare you to begin answering them, and maybe the beauty God had mind for us all will begin to be restored that much quicker!

In his book "This Beautiful Mess" Rick McKinley poses some challenging questions, here are some more of them:

What qualities best describe some of the kids you know?

What kinds of attitudes or values will you need to lay aside before you can learn from a child?

How could you create an intentional connection with a child or children so you can learn with them?

Where can you give your time in your community that could allow that kind of connection to happen? (e.g., church classes, Boys and Girls Clubs, or school programs.)

How could the kingdom break into your community where kids are in the most need?

Go on, I dare you to begin answering them, and maybe the beauty God had mind for us all will begin to be restored that much quicker!