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    Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: The Journey to Forgiveness
    Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: The Journey to Forgiveness
    Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: The Journey to Forgiveness
    Ebook102 pages1 hour

    Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: The Journey to Forgiveness

    By Melissa Spoelstra

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    About this ebook

    All of us know what it’s like to be hurt or betrayed. Often it’s a small breach such as being spoken to rudely or overlooked in a time of need. Other times we experience lies, gossip, or harsh words that cut us to the core. Some of us have endured unspeakable pain through abuse, adultery, or abandonment. God knows the pain we cause each other and longs to help us learn to practice forgiveness.

    Nowhere do we see forgiveness played out more fully in Scripture than in the biblical story of Joseph. This six-week study explores what God has to say to us about grace and forgiveness through Joseph’s story of trial and triumph found in Genesis 37-50. As we study his dreams, his betrayers, his dysfunctional family, his struggle to forgive, and his journey toward reconciliation, we’ll find truths that echo into our own personal situations as well as practical help for answering common questions, such as:

    How do I stop dwelling on the hurt?

    Is forgiving someone excusing what happened?

    When will I stop having to re-forgive?

    Is there a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation?

    How can I forgive and still set boundaries?

    Is it ever okay not to forgive?

    Whether or not you are working through a hurtful situation right now, you can learn from Joseph how to release your past and present hurts to God and allow Him to do a supernatural work of forgiveness in your life. God wants to use the very things intended to hurt you as a source of blessing in your life and the lives of others.

    The Leader Guide contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more—plus leader helps for facilitating a group.

    Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six 20-25 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateAug 4, 2015
    ISBN9781630885373
    Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: The Journey to Forgiveness
    Author

    Melissa Spoelstra

    Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women’s conference speaker (including the Aspire Women’s Events), Bible teacher, and author who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about helping others to seek Christ and know Him more intimately. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Theology and enjoys teaching God’s Word to diverse groups and churches within the body of Christ. She is a contributor to Girlfriends in God online devotional as well as Proverbs 31 ministries First Five app. She is the author of eight Bible studies (Acts, The Names of God, Romans, Elijah, Numbers, First Corinthians, Joseph, and Jeremiah) and four books (Total Family Makeover, Total Christmas Makeover, 30 Days of Prayer for Spiritual Stamina, and Dare to Hope). Melissa makes her home in Waxahachie, Texas, with her pastor husband and four kids.

    Read more from Melissa Spoelstra

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      Book preview

      Joseph - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide - Melissa Spoelstra

      JOSEPH

      The Journey to Forgiveness

      Leader Guide

      A Bible Study by

      Melissa Spoelstra

      JOSEPH: THE JOURNEY TO FORGIVENESS, LEADER GUIDE

      Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 280988, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37228-0988, or e-mailed to permissions@umpublishing.org.

      This book is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper.

      ISBN 978-1-4267-8911-3

      All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

      15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 – 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

      Contents

      Introduction

      Getting Started

      Tips for Tackling Five Common Challenges

      Basic Leader Helps

      Week 1: Acknowledging the Pain (Genesis 37; 39)

      Digging Deeper Introductory Article Highlights: Does God Have Favorites?

      Digging Deeper Week 1 Highlights: The Story within the Story

      Week 2: Waiting to Be Remembered (Genesis 40)

      Digging Deeper Week 2 Highlights: Dreams and Dreamers

      Week 3: Dreams Coming True (Genesis 41–42)

      Digging Deeper Week 3 Highlights: The Power of Two

      Week 4: The Roller Coaster Ride (Genesis 43–44)

      Digging Deeper Week 4 Highlights: Walk Like an Egyptian

      Week 5: Grace and Boundaries (Genesis 45–46)

      Digging Deeper Week 5 Highlights: Forgiving Ourselves

      Week 6: Moving Forward (Genesis 47–50)

      Digging Deeper Week 6 Highlights: Messianic Glimpses

      About the Author

      Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women’s conference speaker, Bible teacher, and author who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about studying God’s Word and helping women of all ages seek Christ and know Him more intimately through serious Bible study. Having a degree in Bible theology, she enjoys teaching God’s Word to the body of Christ and traveling to diverse groups and churches across the nation, even to Nairobi, Kenya, for a women’s prayer conference. Melissa is the author of Jeremiah: Daring to Hope in an Unstable World. She has published articles in ParentLife, Women’s Spectrum, and Just Between Us, and writes a regular blog in which she shares her musings about what God is teaching her on any given day. She lives in Dublin, Ohio, with her pastor husband, Sean, and their four kids: Zach, Abby, Sara, and Rachel.

      Follow Melissa:

      Introduction

      Joseph’s journey to forgiveness included many twists and turns. One day he wore a beautiful coat and enjoyed his father’s favor, and the next he traveled a road to slavery in Egypt. We all can relate to circumstances changing and people turning on us when we least expect it. As we journey through our own forgiveness stories, we’ll find practical truths and real-life application in the Genesis narrative. The question I asked myself when approaching Joseph’s story was this: How did he do it?

      We can talk a good forgiveness game, but when we feel the sting of pain and betrayal, how do we apply forgiveness practically? As we delve into the pages of God’s Word, I trust the Holy Spirit will lead the way as we process both the dark corners of our past and our present wounds. We want to keep the focus on Bible study while going much deeper than dates and facts as we delve into heart issues.

      Joseph endured betrayal and unfair treatment, but he stayed the course to forgiveness and reconciliation as he looked to God for guidance and strength. We can’t go it alone either. We will need God’s help to embrace His supernatural forgiveness for us so that we can extend His grace to others—especially those who have hurt us personally. I don’t know where you are at as you approach this study. Maybe you struggle against bitterness and resentment, or maybe you feel freedom and peace in all your relationships right now. No matter what is presently happening in your world, I know God has something for you in the truth of His Scripture. I pray that God will show up in huge ways in your life and your group as you journey to forgiveness. I pray that by the end of our study you will be able to say along with Joseph that what others may have intended for harm in your life, God intended it all for good (Genesis 50:20).

      Using This Leader Guide

      This leader guide is provided to help you lead your group on this journey to grow in forgiveness alongside Joseph. Whether you choose to follow this guide step by step, modify its contents to meet your group’s needs and preferences, or simply peruse it to find a few helpful tips, questions, and ideas, you will find in these pages some valuable tools for creating a successful group experience. Here is a quick overview of what is included:

      Getting Started: This is a list of strategies, options, and introductory information that will help you ensure good organization and communication. You will want to review this material and communicate relevant information to group members prior to your group session for Week 1, either via e-mail or in an introductory session (see more about this in Getting Started). Or you might consider adding fifteen to thirty minutes to your first session for reviewing some of these important housekeeping details. Whichever option you choose, be sure that group members have the opportunity to purchase books and complete Week 1 before your session for Week 1.

      Tips for Tackling Five Common Challenges:

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