Acts: The Spread of the Gospel

This study is taken from John MacArthur's "Acts: The Spread of the Gospel." My prayer and goal for this devo is that we will learn more about how the early church laid the foundation for what we possess today, and that we would allow God to use us to turn our world upside for Him!

This will be an exciting journey, so encourage others to join you! I'm looking forward to the interaction we will have on this blog as we study the book of Acts!

The devos will differ in format from day to day, but two things are constant: 1) a daily reading, and 2) additional Scripture passages that are in bold. Be sure to read any and all of the readings/bold verses that appear so that you can see the full picture of what is taught that day.

Remember, you can access any of the previous devos that have been posted from the "Blog Archive" section on the left side of this page.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Joseph's Early Years - Tattletale or Truth-Teller - Devo for 08/29/08

Reading
Genesis 37

Questions
1. The third mention of Joseph is his name in a list with his brothers in Genesis 35:24. What happened to Joseph's mother right before this? (Genesis 35:16-20)
2. Joseph got a little brother and lost his mother on the same day. It's tough to grow up, especially without a mom. Do you know anyone whose mom has already died?
3. How could you be an encouragement to them?
4. The fourth mention of Joseph is Genesis 37:1-2. Nobody wants to be called a tattletale - they have a way of getting us into trouble. There are two very different approaches to Genesis 37:1-2. Either Joseph was simply giving the facts and telling his dad what was going on or he was selfishly trying to get his brothers into trouble. (By the way, if we don't do anything bad, then we cannot be tattled on.) What is the difference between telling someone who can help and malicious gossip?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

-She died
-If the situation involves them or someone else being hurt,someone who can help should be told.

Anonymous said...

1. She died and was buried.
2. Lots of people now. When I was a teen? I can't think of many, if any.
3. Pray for them...especially at holidays and the anniversary of the death. Reach out to them as a mom would, if they are agreeable.
4. Telling someone who can help implies a concern on our part for their well-being. Gossip only implies a selfish desire to make one's self look good and the other person look bad. It does not have the best interest of the other in mind.

Anonymous said...

1.she died

2.not that i can think of

4.that person can get hurt and find out they were talking about them.

Anonymous said...

1. Joseph's mother died.
2. Yep.
3. Remind them that they'll get to see their mother again, and let them know they aren't the only ones who miss people in their family so they're not alone.
4. Gossiping is just talking about someone behind their backs just for the sake of talking about it, but if you tell someone who can help than you're doing the person a favor.

Anonymous said...

1. she died
2. no not really
3. pray and help them throught the hard time and just be a good friend.
4. well if that person finds out they can get really hurt we found that out the hard way this year.

Anonymous said...

1. She died
2. no but i know a dad that did.
3. by connections with other people.
4. someone who can help is like a adult. gossip is bad.

Anonymous said...

questions:

1.rachel had another son but died after she had him.

2.ummm......i dont think so... i dont even know where i would be without my mom though..

3.i can just tell them that everything happens for a reason and that God uses these situations for good.also that God will never give us more than we can handle.


4.well, gossiping is telling everyone you know about it and bringing down the person and talking bad about them but getting them help is telling someone you know would help them and confron them about it but telling them and not making them look like a horrible person.

Anonymous said...

1. She died.
2. Can't think of anyone right now.
3. I can comfort them and tell them to look for help in God.
4. When we tell someone who can help we are tryong to fix the problem, when we gossip we are just making the issue bigger. (creating a storm in a cup of water)

Anonymous said...

questions
1.rachael died giving birth to benjeman.
2.stephanie does magan doesnt.
3.bring them to church.
4.your motive behind it.