Part of the HARBOR HAWAIʻI ʻOhana
HARBOR HAWAIʻI ʻOhana

Sermon Questions and Resources

Becoming a Worker

Community Group Discussion Questions
Week of Nov 1
Genesis 39:1-23

OPENER

  • What’s the most memorable job you’ve ever had? What made it stick with you?

DISCUSSION
Joseph is sold into slavery and thrown into prison, and through all of it he works hard, blesses the people around him, and keeps his integrity. The reason is in one phrase that keeps showing up: “The Lord was with Joseph.” Grace isn’t opposed to effort. It’s opposed to earning. We don’t work FOR God’s love. We work FROM it.

  • Read Genesis 39:1–2. Joseph is a slave in a foreign land, and the text still says, “The Lord was with Joseph.” Where is it hardest for you to believe God is with you in your work right now?
  • Read Genesis 2:15 and Colossians 3:23–24. Work was part of God’s good design before the fall, and Paul tells slaves that they “serve the Lord Christ.” If Jesus is your real boss, what would change about the way you show up this week?
  • Read Genesis 39:3–6. Potiphar didn’t know God, but he saw that the Lord was with Joseph, and his whole house was blessed “because of Joseph.” Who around you could be blessed by the way you work? What would it look like to work to bless instead of just working for a paycheck?
  • Read Genesis 39:7–10. Joseph’s promotion brought new access and new pressure, and the temptation came “day after day.” He asks, “How could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?” Why is love for God a stronger reason to say no to sin than fear of getting caught?
  • Read Genesis 39:11–12 and 1 Corinthians 6:18. No one else was in the house, and that’s where Joseph’s integrity was proven. He didn’t stay to argue. He ran. Where in your work are the “no one’s looking” moments that test your integrity?
  • Read Genesis 39:19–23 and Galatians 6:9. Joseph does the right thing and still ends up in prison, yet the Lord is with him and he keeps working faithfully. When has doing the right thing cost you something? How does God’s promise to reap “at the proper time” help you keep going?
  • Read 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Ephesians 2:8–10. Joseph ran FROM sin, but Jesus ran TOWARD our sin and took it on Himself. How does knowing Jesus finished the work free you to work from acceptance instead of for it?
  • Growing as a Worker: Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. Since we’re saved FOR good works, what’s one way God might be calling you to steward your gifts, at home, at work, in the community or here at Harbor?
  • Fruit → Root: When the fruit is cutting corners, coasting when the boss isn’t looking, or getting resentful when your work goes unnoticed, what root might be underneath: a hunger for approval, a belief that God isn’t really with you, or a heart that’s working for a reward? How does the gospel reframe your work as worship?

ACTION STEP

  • What’s one specific way you’ll work to bless someone this week?

DIG DEEPER
We study Scripture to understand what it says, means, and intends, patiently walking with the text instead of moving too quickly to application.

OBSERVATION – What Does It Say?

  • Some form of the phrase “the Lord was with Joseph” shows up in Genesis 39:2, 3, 21, and 23. What is happening to Joseph each time, and what does the Lord do for him?
  • Compare Joseph’s position in Potiphar’s house (Genesis 39:4–6) with his position in prison (Genesis 39:21–23). What details repeat?
  • Follow Joseph’s garment through Genesis 39:12–18. How is it used against him, and what does that remind you of from Genesis 37:31–33?

INTERPRETATION – What Does It Mean?

  • In Genesis 39:8–9 Joseph names his loyalty to Potiphar, but he ends with “How could I sin against God?” Why does he call it sin against God first?
  • Adultery usually carried the death penalty, yet Potiphar sends Joseph to the prison “where the king’s prisoners were confined” (Genesis 39:20). What might that say about how Potiphar saw his wife’s story?
  • Genesis 39:21 says the Lord “extended kindness” to Joseph in prison. What does this reveal about God’s presence and faithful love in suffering?

CROSS REFERENCE & CONTEXT(Connect the Bible to Itself)

  • Genesis 38 comes right before this chapter. How does Judah’s response to sexual temptation compare with Joseph’s in Genesis 39? Why might Moses put these two stories next to each other?
  • God promised Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:2–3). How does Genesis 39:5 show that promise starting to come true through Joseph?
  • Read Hebrews 4:15, Isaiah 53:7, and John 19:30. In what ways does Joseph point forward to Jesus, and where does Jesus go far beyond him?

SERMON RESOURCES

SERIES RESOURCES