As a 'way in' to our service, we had a little quiz, undertaken in groups where we sat, on the life of Joseph. It proved very interesting (and I think it went down OK).  No Bibles or smart phones were allowed, but as I'm not going to post the answers, you, gentle reader, are free to look in a Bilbe or online!. (Apologies for formatting having fun and games with this platform!)

Joseph ben Israel – A Quiz

1. Who were Joseph’s father and mother?

2. The Bible tells us that Joseph had eleven brothers and one (named) sister, listed here in alphabetical order. It would be a bit mean to ask you to sort the siblings into age order from oldest to youngest, but can you identify the first, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth?

Asher

Benjamin

Dan

Dinah (sister)

Gad

Issachar

Joseph

Judah

Levi

Naphtali

Reuben

Simeon

Zebulun

3. How old does the Bible tell us Joseph was when he had the dreams that so angered his brothers?

4. After Potiphar’s wife had Joseph thrown into prison, whose dreams did he interpret?

5. How old does the Bible tell us Joseph was when entered the service of Pharaoh?

6. What dreams did Joseph interpret for Pharaoh?

7. In whose luggage did Joseph hide a silver cup, and why?
8. What characteristics do you think Joseph had, both good and bad?

Sunday's services may have seen a rapid re-write of the sermon in the light of national and international news, but I retained the set of 'questions to ponder' about Joseph, so here they are, with apologies for formatting glitches in the upload...

Questions to Ponder

1. The story of Joseph and his siblings may prompt questions about ‘nature and nurture’.
   1. From what we know of his story, what factors do you think shaped the young/adolescent Joseph?
   2. How did his early experiences in Egypt affect him?
   3. Once he came to power, had he matured? If so how?

2. Thinking about your own experience, how did you change as you moved from adolescence into adulthood, or, if appropriate, from young adulthood into middle age, etc.? What stayed the same? What enabled you to flourish?

3. The story of Joseph’s family is full of terrible stories of dishonesty, selfishness, abuse of power, abusive sexual encounters and more. How do you feel about that? How does it compare with the ‘Sunday School’ version of the story? What additional insights might be gained from the taking the story as a whole?
   

4. Redemption and reconciliation are found at the very end of this story. Are there areas of our own lives where these are needed? What will we do about it?
   

5. Thinking about our own church, reluctance  is a greater factor than arrogance or boasting. How to we recognise people’s gifts and encourage them to exercise them, both allowing them to make mistakes and enabling them to flourish and mature?