CELL NOTES 2/2/09

ICE BREAKER

What is the longest period of time you have been separated form your family? What was memorable about your reunion?

THEME

Corrosive guilt

Reading Gen 42 : 6 – 23

SERMON OUTLINE

1) Prisoners in Kenyan jail who did not know why they were there. Man in Chelmsford who had confessed.

2) Guilt “the painful or uncomfortable emotion or state of mind caused by our awareness or feeling of having been wrong.”

3) Guilt in various forms

            Objective ( I broke the law, perhaps with good reason)

Subjective ( I feel bad about what I did)

False  ( I feel bad, but in fact I have done nothing wrong)

Real (I’ve done wrong, and I know it)

4) Reality is we all know the experience of real guilt. As did Joseph’s brothers in vv 21 & 22 ( after a period of 10 years!)

5) Rom 3 : 23. We are all in the same boat.

6) Guilt is like a warning light on a car. Do we take notice, or ignore it?

7) The way to deal with it is by repentance. This is counter-cultural in a society which frequently looks to apportion blame elsewhere, or regard our inner lives as needing medical or counselling treatment.

8) As in turning water into wine, God wants to reverse the normal process of decay and decline in our lives ( of which guilt is a symptom) so that they become channels of grace, blessing and the best wine.

9) Phil 3 : 12 – 14. Paul had much to feel guilty about, but via repentance and embracing Christ was able to move on, and leave it behind.

10) The way to deal with real guilt, is confession and repentance, receiving the forgiveness and grace of Jesus, and then to live in obedience to Him (Is 1 : 18 – 20)

QUESTIONS OF APPLICATION

What did God say to you on Sunday? What hits you most forcibly about the passage, and the story of Joseph and his brothers as a whole?

1) In vv 21 0 22 what do you think the brothers experience? True penitence, worldly sorrow, cursing their misfortune?

2) Define “repentance.” Is it to be judged by the intention, emotion or its result?

3) When someone has wronged you, are you most likely to seek revenge or reconciliation? What does this tell you about you, and your trust in the Lord?

4) How easily do you say, “Sorry”?

5) Are you still paying the price or reaping the effects of a past mistake or sin?