Lesson 3: Trial and Triumph

Mar 22, 2021 | Joseph

Quest Men’s Bible Study  | March 24, 2021  |  Genesis 39:1-23

KEY TRUTH: It’s better to be an innocent slave than a defiled free man.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Join us at 7:00 am in the Parlor at The Shepherd’s Church. (Come a little early for coffee and a light breakfast.)
  • Do you have a health risk related to COVID-19? You can participate via Zoom using THIS LINK.
  • Immediately following the large group, we break into discussion / prayer groups. If you are not yet in a group, contact Scott Wylie.
 

Outline and Discussion Questions:

  1. Joseph’s Favor with God and Man (Genesis 39:1-6)
    • QUESTION: What are some other times or situations when God blessed a person or a group because of the faithful presence of a believer? Why would God do that? How might God’s blessing to a society through His people be used as an opportunity for gospel witness?
  2. Joseph’s Faithfulness (Genesis 39:7-12)
    • QUESTION: What are some additional examples of people who remained faithful despite tremendous pressure? If you’re willing, share a time from your own life when you were pressured to do the wrong thing or pressured to avoid the right thing. What are some principles you’ve discovered that help you remain faithful when it’s hard to do so?
    • QUESTION: Sometimes, God might want us to stand and face our temptations. Sometimes God might want us to flee from the source of temptation. What ideas do you have for how we can know which way to respond when temptation comes?
  3. Joseph’s Frame-Up (Genesis 39:13-18)
  4. Joseph’s Fetters (Genesis 39:19-23)

Implications

  1. Your obedience and God’s favor don’t automatically result in prosperity.
    • QUESTION: Why is it so tempting to view our relationship with God as transactional: I do something good for God and He’s supposed to bless me for it? What should be our perspective regarding the relationship between obedience and prosperity?
    • QUESTION: If you have time, look up 2Timothy 3:12 and James 1:12. How do these verses inform our view of the trials we face?
  2. Temptation is a necessary part of the human, and especially the Christian, experience.
    • Temptation that comes from the urge to conform to the world is met by renewal and transformation. (See Romans 12:2)
    • Temptation that seems to come from Satan is met by resistance. (See James 4:7)
    • Temptation that arises from the lust of the flesh is conquered by flight. (See 1Corinthians 6:18 and 2Timothy 2:22)
  3. It is not a sin to be tempted.