THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Genesis 42 & 43

REMINDERS

Summer at Magnify

The gears of summer planning are turning and the activities are about to begin!

We have many ways that we gather together as a church – from little kiddos through our “Just Older Youth (JOY)” groups. We want to help all our church family grow in community and in Christ.

Be sure to check out the events page for the Summer at Magnify details.

You can keep up with all our current news and events through our online bulletin.

See the events page on the website for more updates.

TOGETHER IN LIFE

With your group or with friends this week, talk about what your hopes are for the Summer months.

Finish these statements for yourself…

• “This would be a great summer if…”
• “By the end of summer, I hope to accomplish…”
• “I would be bummed at summer’s end if…”
• “The people I hope to love well this summer are…”

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

Give an overview of Genesis 42 & 43

KEY QUESTION:  Is there a challenge in your life right now where you’re just having to lean into faith and trust that God is working behind the scenes?

QUESTIONS:

• Scheming: Our plans to make life go as we want…
  • What are some good plans to make in your life?
  • How can “planning” become problematic in our lives?
  • How can good plans go sideways?
  • How can the “unseen hand of God” help you, regardless of how your plans go?

• The Famine is a Gift: An uncontrollable tragedy becomes a pathway of God’s provision.
  • Have you seen or experienced any uncontrollable event that caused you to ask, “God, what is going on?!”
  • How did you navigate that situation?
  • Looking back, Is there anything you’d do the same?
  • What do you wish you had done differently?

• The Time in Prison is a Gift: Hardship can be one of the greatest gifts because it reveals in us ways we need God all the more.
  • Stu mentioned that hardship reveals…
    • Unseen Sin
    • Unfinished Repentance
    • Bitterness
    • Pride & Fear
    • Unbelief
    • Our Need for God’s Grace
  • Are there others you would add to this list?
  • What was a recent hardship you faced?
    • What was your initial response? Do you feel any of these things on this list?
    • Did you notice a shift in your thinking through the hardship?
    • If so, what do you think caused that shift?

• Repentance and Change: The only real pathway to genuine heart-change involves the process of true repentance.
  • Stu outlines three keys to genuine repentance…
    • Honest Confession: Making no excuses, saying out loud to those you have sinned against what you have done.
    • Changed Priorities: Switching priorities from self-serving to others-focused without reservation.
    • Costly Obedience: Taking steps of following through on the confession, accepting consequences, and working to restore trust that has been broken. This needs to be intentional and faithfully fulfilled – the agent does not get to pick the terms of their rebuilding of trust.
  • In what ways have you experienced repentance in your life (either yours or from others)?
  • What do you notice about genuine repentance versus fake repentance?
  • In what ways does incomplete repentance hurt relationships?
  • In what ways does true repentance bring about deeper and more satisfying relationships?

TOGETHER IN PRAYER & ACTION

• Share what God might be exposing in you through hardship.
  • Get specific: for example, not just “my lack of trust”, but rather “my lack of trusting that God would provide XYZ in this moment of my life where I really feel the pain.”
• Pray for help to trust God in a situation you cannot control.
• Reflect on the grace, patience, and compassion toward sinners like us.