Summary (quote by Russell Kelfer):
“God’s film festival of life is not a make-believe drama made up of cardboard saints performing before a backdrop of canvas skies and artificial lighting. God’s design is not to paint perfect images of sinless saints before us and then shame us into submission because we can’t measure up to unattainable goals. Our God uses anything. Our God uses anybody, (anybody who will let Him).”
“God sees us, each one of us as a special, unique, divinely designed life for which Christ gave His life and for which He would have done so had it been the only life to ever breathe. Each person to God is as if he or she were God’s only person, the only one who ever lived. The hairs of each of our heads is numbered, the Scripture says. Each of our tears are collected in a holy bottle of God’s eternal love, the Scripture also tells us.”
“God desperately wants us to understand that in the midst of the chronicles of Scriptural history, the focus of the lens is always on people. He lifts from the pages, from among the nations, one solitary character – Joseph: One person to amplify the detail with which He examines and encourages every single person.”
The chapters in this book are listed below, along with a link to view each one’s transcript and hear the audio. (As we have time, we will be adding the Highlights and Questions related to each chapter.)
1. The Dothan Conspiracy
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Questions for discussion
1- What was the significance of the special coat Jacob gave to Joseph? What other things alienated Joseph from his half-brothers?
2- What are some of the reasons for showing partiality? How does it affect the favored one? those not favored?
3- Is it possible to discern from Scripture Joseph’s motive in revealing his dreams? Was the revelation part of God’s plan?
4- Which brother recommended not shedding Joseph’s blood? Why is that surprising?
5- How was Jacob deceived in the same way he had deceived his father?
2. Success on the Job
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Questions for discussion
1- What character traits contributed to Joseph’s success in Potiphar’s house? Who was responsible for his success?
2- How does that translate into an employee in the work force?
3- What does complaining about one’s wages, or comparing salaries, reflect?
4- How does God measure faithfulness?
5- What does it mean to be “an ambassador of a God of order”?
6- What responsibility does an employee have to be a wise steward of his boss’s possessions?
7- What attitude should be displayed regarding those in authority?
8- How do you measure up as an employee/one under authority? Which ones of the 20 qualities listed speak to you?
3. Have You Considered My Servant?
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Questions for discussion
1- What lie did Potiphar’s wife tell about Joseph? How did this reflect on her husband?
2- What is the Psalmist’s answer to why the wicked seem to prosper and God’s faithful servants do not?
3- What are some reasons for suffering justly?
4- What is accomplished through suffering with regard to character?
5- How do we know that no suffering is wasted?
6- How are the lives of Job and Joseph similar? What do their examples teach about unjust suffering?
7- Why can unjust suffering be considered an honor?
4. It is Not in Me!
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Questions for discussion
1- What are the indications that Joseph had a servant heart?
2- What are the indications that he did not have a bitter spirit?
3- What causes the butler to remember Joseph after two years have passed? Why do you think he forgot?
4- Why did Pharaoh have two similar dreams?
5- What did Pharaoh see in Joseph that caused him to put Joseph in charge of the land?
6- How does God use circumstances to change us?
7- What are practical ways to live out “It is not in me”?
5. To God be the Glory
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Questions for discussion
1- Why did Pharaoh appoint Joseph his second-in-command?
2- What are some words that reflect the meaning of “glory”?
3- Why does God, and God alone, deserve to receive glory forever?
4- How does the life of Jesus reflect the glory of the Father?
5- How does God reveal his glory through his people?
6- What should the wise man/woman glory in, according to Jeremiah?
7- What happens when glory is given to a believer and is not returned to God?
8- What dangers accompany success in a church? in an individual believer?
9- What portion of glory belongs to God? Why?
6. The Road to Repentance
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Questions for discussion
1- What qualities were developed in Joseph during his 13 years of suffering that prepared him for leadership?
2- What did God use to bring Joseph’s brothers to the day of reckoning? What was God’s goal?
3- Why are believers commanded to pray for their enemies?
4- What brought the brothers to admit their guilt to each other after 20 years? What indicates that they repented?
5- What does God often use to get our attention?
6- What steps led the brothers to think of their father instead of themselves?
7- How does Joseph’s response portray the love of the Father?
7. God Meant it for Good
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Questions for discussion
1- Did Joseph remind his brothers of the dream he had as a youth? Do you think they remembered it?
2- What admonition did Joseph give his brothers as they returned to their father? Why would he say that?
3- How can believers who have differences keep Satan from being successful in destroying their message? What do all believers have in common?
4- How does the progression of Joseph’s providing for the Egyptians portray the Christian coming under the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Does that encourage you?
5- How was Joseph able to forgive his brothers’ sin against him?
6- Joseph had a privileged life till age 17. He spent 13 years in Egypt as a slave and a prisoner. How many years did he rule over Egypt and enjoy the fellowship of his family? (See Genesis 50:22-23). How does this reflect the faithfulness of God and the promise of Romans 8:28 to the obedient believer?