Good  day  Community  Group  Leaders!    Below  is  your  Week  #6  group  material,  also  available  at  www.mccag.org  by  clicking  on  RESOURCES  >  SMALL  GROUP  LEADER  RESOURCES      Quick  Reminders:    

• Please  begin  to  prayerfully  consider  whether  or  not  your  group  will  continue  to  meet  after  the  ‘7AM-­‐Wake-­‐Up  Call’  series  concludes.  We  have  wonderful  group  resources  available  for  you  to  utilize,  including  RightNowTraining.org  as  well  as  on-­‐site  group  resources  (list  is  available  on  your  resource  page  at  our  website.)  Or,  your  group  may  enjoy  doing  Truth  Search  next.  I  look  forward  to  speaking  personally  with  you  about  this.    

• If  you  have  any  video  or  pics  from  your  group,  please  send  them  to  me.  We  also  hope  to  edit  and  use  these  to  advertise  groups  next  year.  Email  your  video  to  me  or  get  it  to  us  on  a  jump  drive  or  SD  card,  if  possible.    

• Be  certain  to  revisit  the  individual/family  missions  discussion  that  you  had  last  week  in  your  groups.  You  will  see  details  on  this  in  your  group  materials.    

• Thanks  for  continuing  to  complete  your  weekly  reports.    You  guys  are  the  best!    Pastor  Dwayne  

 

WEEK#6 –‘MESSAGE NOTES’ SIDE OF BULLETIN INSERT  Message  Title:  Decisions,  Decisions    

Accept  that  CHALLENGES  are  life’s  standard  operating  procedure.    At  times,  our  challenges  are  SELF-­‐INDUCED;  

At  other  times,  LIFE  happens.    Believe  that  God  is  WITH  YOU  throughout  your  hardship.    Recognize  that  every  challenge  presents  you  with  an  opportunity  to  CHOOSE  YOUR  RESPONSE.  

Your  responses  will  PREPARE  you  for  your  roles  in  life.  Your  responses  will  POSITION  you  where  God  wants  you  to  be.  Your  responses  will  PROPEL  you  into  your  destiny.  

 Will  this  challenge  define  me,  or  will  it  refine  me?  

  WEEK#6 – REVERSE SIDE OF BULLETIN INSERT

                       

MATERIALS  NEEDED:     Pencils/Pens/Paper   Completed  message  notes  bulletin  inserts  from  Sunday   See  individual  ORANGE  activities  for  materials  required.    

WEEK  6  TIP:    • Your  group  should  be  close  to  settling  and  scheduling  your  group  mission/outreach  plans  this  week.  

Please  be  certain  to  include  your  group’s  plans  in  your  meeting  report.      GENERAL  GROUP  LEADERSHIP  TIPS  

• Sometime  during  your  group  meeting,  please  stop  and  mentally  step  back  and  look  at  your  group.  Just  six  weeks  ago,  some  of  these  people  didn’t  even  know  one  another.  Quietly  thank  God  for  how  he  is  working  among  your  group  members  as  they  grow  their  faith  and  grow  together.  (You  may  want  to  invite  the  whole  group  to  pause  for  a  moment,  reflect  on  this,  and  thank  the  Lord  together.)  

 WELCOME/SNACKS    20  minutes      

OPEN  (Ice  Breakers)  10  minutes  Choose  from  these  questions  that  are  appropriate  for  all  ages:  

1. What  do  people  do  that  bothers  you  and  tempts  you  to  be  impatient?    (Please  do  not  use  this  an  opportunity  to  let  someone  else  in  the  group  know  that  they  are  ticking  you  off!)        

2. Do  the  “Two-­‐gether  Forever”  three-­‐legged  race  in  the  Orange  material.    

3. Briefly  describe  one  of  the  most  memorable  dreams  you  have  ever  had.  

 

ADULT  INTERACTION  OVER  SUNDAY’S  TOPIC/MESSAGE    30-­‐40  minutes  Choose  from  the  following  questions.  Consider  what  will  work  best  in  your  group.    Be  certain  to  refer  to  your  notes  from  Sunday’s  message  as  you  facilitate  your  discussions.  

1. Talk  about  a  time  when  you  truly  wondered  if  God  had  forgotten  about  you.  How  did  He  show  you  that  He  hadn’t  forgotten  about  you?    

2. Thinking  back  to  Sunday’s  message,  how  do  you  feel  about  Joseph’s  perspective  that  God,  rather  than  his  brothers,  actually  put  him  through  the  things  he  experienced?    

Genesis  45:5b  “it  was  to  save  lives  that  God  sent  me  ahead  of  you”  Genesis  50:20  “You  intended  to  harm  me,  but  God  intended  it  for  good  to  accomplish  what  is  now  being  

done,  the  saving  of  many  lives.”  (NIV)    How  does  God’s  involvement  in  what  happens  to  you  make  you  feel  about  your  own  trials  and  challenges?      

Romans  8:28  “In  all  things  God  works  for  the  good  of  those  who  love  him,  who  have  been  called  according  to  his  purpose.”    

If  you  believe  this  about  God’s  involvement,  how  might  that  change  your  attitude  and  relationship  with  God?    

3. How  might  God  want  to  use  current  challenges  in  your  life  to  prepare  your  character  for  current  or  future  roles  you  will  fulfill  in  your  life?    

4. In  what  ways  have  you  changed  from  what  you  were  13  years  ago?    What  did  God  do  during  that  time  to  mold  your  character?    

Recall  from  Sunday  that  Joseph  spent  a  combined  13  years  as  a  servant  and  in  prison  before  he  was  apparently  ready  to  fulfill  the  role  that  God  had  in  mind  for  him.    

5. Can  you  think  of  a  time  when  your  response  to  a  challenge  or  difficulty  actually  positioned  you  where  God  wanted  you  to  be?  Was  God’s  plan  or  involvement  clear  to  you  at  the  time?    

6. Discuss  why  our  responses  to  life’s  challenges  are  so  crucial  to  fulfilling  our  destiny.    Sunday  Quote:  “Will  this  challenge  DEFINE  me,  or  will  it  REFINE  me?”    Share  briefly  about  someone  you  know  who  allowed  their  challenges  to  define  them  instead  of  refine  (or  improve)  them?    

GROUP  RESPONSE  AND  PRAYER      10-­‐15  MINUTES  WEEK  4  TIP:  What’s  said  in  the  room  stays  in  the  room!    Be  careful  to  not  put  anyone  on  the  spot  to  share.  If  people  do  share,  invite  others  to  pray  a  simple,  conversational  prayer  in  agreement  with  that  person.  

 

1. In  what  ways  can  you  sense  that  the  Lord  is  with  you,  as  He  was  with  Joseph,  in  the  midst  of  a  particular  challenge  you  are  facing?    If  you  could  ask  God  to  do  one  thing  to  help  you  cope,  what  would  you  request?    

2. Ask  if  anyone  in  your  group  has  reached  a  breaking  point  of  some  kind  (perhaps  because  of  a  betrayal,  a  job  loss,  a  death,  a  divorce,  a  deep  depression,  or  any  other  difficult  situation.)  If  they  are  willing,  ask  them  to  briefly  describe  the  situation  and  allow  others  in  the  group  to  lift  that  person  up  in  prayer.    (Be  certain  to  focus  on  God  helping  that  person  respond  as  He  desires,  rather  than  simply  asking  God  to  change  the  circumstance.)    

3. Have  each  adult  do  the  “Quite  a  Character”  exercise.    

4. Revisit  the  “Cloud”  response  time  on  the  bulleting  insert  from  Sunday’s  message.    

MISSION  MOMENT  10  minutes    1. Ask  the  group  if  anyone  has  taken  any  steps  to  investigate  one  of  the  mission  opportunities  you  

discussed  during  last  week’s  group.  Refer  them  back  to  the  “Missions  Advisor  Catalog”.    (Celebrate  any  steps  taken  and  encourage  individuals  and  families  to  step  out  in  faith!)    

2. Your  group  should  settle  and  schedule  your  mission/outreach  plans  this  week.  Carefully  distinguish  this  group  event  from  the  individual  responses  you  just  discussed  in  #1  above.  (Please  be  certain  to  include  your  group’s  plans  in  your  meeting  reports.)  

QUITE  A  CHARACTER    Take  about  10  minutes  to  do  this  exercise  on  your  own.    The  Bible’s  account  of  the  events  of  Joseph’s  life  is  probably  not  intended  to  raise  him  up  as  a  role  model  for  us  to  emulate.  (It’s  mostly  about  the  faithfulness  and  sovereignty  of  God  to  fulfill  His  plan.)  Joseph’s  story  does  reveal  that  he  was  a  man  of  great  integrity  and  character.  What  quality  in  Joseph’s  character  stands  out  the  most  to  you?  

Patience  –  as  he  sat  in  prison  (falsely  accused  of  assault)  for  more  than  two  years  

Intimacy  with  God  –  as  he  received  the  interpretation  of  dreams  

Humility  –  as  he  gave  God  credit  for  the  interpretations  

Diplomacy  –  in  relating  to  people  

Wisdom  –  as  he  designed  a  solution  to  the  famine  crisis  

Faithfulness  –  as  he  endured  much  suffering  with  patience  and  a  sweet  spirit    

Which  of  these  qualities  do  you  most  need/desire  right  now?  Why?            Take  a  few  moments  and  ask  God  to  speak  to  you.  Pray  a  brief  prayer  and  then  wait  in  silence.  Be  patient.  Give  yourself  at  least  3  minutes  to  tune-­‐in  to  God’s  voice.              Write  down  what  you  hear.  Don’t  try  to  analyze  it  at  this  point,  just  write  whatever  you  think  you  hear  from  God.  Might  you  be  willing  to  share  any  of  these  thoughts  with  your  group?                  

Week  #6  –  ORANGE  Resources  for  Group  Leaders  and  Parents    Taking  the  Heat    

MATERIALS  NEEDED:  Un-­‐popped  &  freshly  popped  popcorn    

Take  some  un-­‐popped  popcorn  kernels  and  pass  a  few  out  to  each  child  in  your  group.    Ask  them  if  they  would  like  to  have  some  popcorn.  It  obviously  is  not  going  to  taste  very  good  un-­‐popped.    Ask  the    group:    What  has  to  be  done  to  popcorn  kernels  to  make  it  tasty  popcorn?  (It  has  to  be  cooked,  or  heat  applied  to  it).      Have  someone  pop  a  bag  of  microwavable  popcorn  and  bring  it  into  the  group.  Let  the  children  each  sample  some  warm  popcorn.    Enjoy!  Ask:  What  is  different  from  the  kernels  they  had  seen  before?    

The  popcorn  had  to  go  through  a  “terrible  trial”...it  had  to  be  cooked!    Explain  that  difficult  times  are  often  compared  to  going  through  heat.  We  sometimes  refer  to  a  trial  as  a  “fiery”  trial.  God  often  uses  hard  times  to  make  us  more  usable  for  His  kingdom,  like  the  popcorn  becomes  more  usable  (and  tastier)  after  it  has  “taken  the  heat.”    Explain  that  in  the  Bible,  Joseph  going  through  fiery  trials.  Yet,  through  all  his  trials,  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  his  difficult  circumstances  would  work  together  to  fulfill  God’s  good  purposes.  God  blesses  those  who  are  faithful  in  difficult  times.          

"Two-­‐gether"  Forever    

MATERIALS  NEEDED:  Cloth  or  belts  to  be  used  for  several  three-­‐legged  races.    God  was  with  Joseph  in  the  pit,  in  Potiphar’s  house,  in  prison,  everywhere!  He  never  left  Joseph,  even  though  sometimes  Joseph  had  hard  times  that  were  not  even  his  fault.    

Do  a  “three-­‐legged  race.”  Have  the  children  pair  up.  Then  make  two  teams  of  pairs,  splitting  the  group  evenly.  (Parents  can  do  this  with  their  own  children,  as  well.)  Have  the  children  stand  next  to  each  other.  Using  a  belt  or  piece  of  cloth,  tie  their  legs  together.  Then  have  all  the  pairs  line  up.  Designate  a  finish  line  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  Have  two  pairs  at  a  time  race  to  the  line  and  back.  Then  the  next  pairs  will  go.  Declare  a  winner  and  try  again  if  time  allows.  

 Explain  that  God  is  always  with  us  like  our  partners.  Even  if  we  fall  down.  Even  if  we  don’t  appear  to  be  a  “winner”  every  time,  God  is  still  with  us!      

God’s  Embroidery  

MATERIALS  NEEDED:  Sample  of  embroidery  with  the  back  exposed  (or  use  the  picture  on  this  page);  familiarity  with  “God’s  Embroidery”  story  (included  above).    DIRECTIONS:  1. Allow  only  the  back  side  of  the  embroidery  sample  to  be  visible  to  the  children  as  you  ask  them  to  imagine  what  

you  are  creating.  Invite  their  guesses.  Ask  them  what  it  looks  like  from  below.  (A  mess!)  

2. One  by  one  invite  the  children  to  walk  up  and  peak  at  the  artwork  from  your  perspective.  Ask  them  not  to  tell  the  other  children  until  everyone  has  had  an  opportunity  to  see  it  from  your  perspective.  

3. Finish  by  telling  (or  reading)  the  last  paragraph  of  “God’s  Embroidery”  (included  below).  

 

God’s  Embroidery  

When  I  was  a  little  boy,  my  mother  used  to  embroider  a  great  deal.  I  would  sit  at  her  knee  and  look  up  from  the  floor  and  ask  what  she  was  doing.  She  informed  me  that  she  was  embroidering.  I  told  her  that  it  looked  like  a  mess  from  where  I  was.  From  the  underside  I  watched  her  work  within  the  boundaries  of  the  little  round  hoop  that  she  held  in  her  hand.  I  complained  to  her  that  it  sure  looked  messy  from  where  I  sat.  She  would  smile  at  me,  look  down  and  gently  say,  “My  son,  you  go  about  your  playing  for  awhile,  and  when  I  am  finished  with  my  embroidering,  I  will  put  you  on  my  knee  and  let  you  see  it  from  my  side.”  

I  would  wonder  why  she  was  using  some  dark  threads  along  with  the  bright  ones  and  why  they  seemed  so  jumbled  from  my  view.  A  few  minutes  would  pass  and  then  I  would  hear  Mother’s  voice  say,  “Son,  come  and  sit  on  my  knee.”  This  I  did,  only  to  be  surprised  and  thrilled  to  see  a  beautiful  flower  or  a  sunset.  I  could  not  believe  it,  because  from  underneath  it  looked  so  messy.  Then  Mother  would  say  to  me,  “My  son,  from  underneath  it  did  look  messy  and  jumbled,  but  you  did  not  realize  that  there  was  a  pre-­‐drawn  plan  on  the  top.  It  was  a  design.  I  was  only  following  it.  Now  look  at  it  from  my  side  and  you  will  see  what  I  was  doing.”  

Many  times  through  the  years  I  have  looked  up  to  my  Heavenly  Father  and  said,  “Father,  what  are  You  doing?”  He  has  answered,  “I  am  embroidering  your  life.”  I  say,  “But  it  looks  like  a  mess  to  me.  It  seems  so  jumbled.  The  threads  seem  so  dark.  Why  can’t  they  all  be  bright?”  The  Father  seems  to  tell  me,  “‘My  child,  you  go  about  your  business  of  doing  My  business,  and  one  day  I  will  bring  you  to  Heaven  and  put  you  on  My  knee  and  you  will  see  the  plan  from  My  side.”  Author  Unknown    

Pray:  Ask  God  to  give  you  His  perspective  on  anything  you  are  presently  facing  or  anything  from  the  past.  

The  Story  of  Joseph  for  Children  DLTK's  Bible  Activities  for  Kids  

 Parents:  Read  this  child-­‐friendly  version  of  Joseph’s  story  as  your  children  color  the  accompanying  page.  

 This  is  the  story  about  a  young  man  named  Joseph.    His  father's  name  is  Jacob,  and  they  lived  in  Canaan  from  where  his  grandfather  was  from.    Joseph  was  seventeen  (old  enough  to  drive  a  car  these  days),  and  he  had  eleven  brothers;  and  only  had  one  brother  younger  than  him.    Can  you  imagine  having  eleven  brothers  to  play  with,  or  fight  with?    Because  Joseph  was  one  of  the  youngest  sons,  his  father  spent  more  time  with  him,  and  he  became  very  special  to  him.    So  Jacob  had  a  special  robe  made  for  Joseph.    (They  didn't  have  jackets  back  then,  so  this  was  a  very  special  jacket).    It  was  very  beautiful  and  had  every  color  you  could  imagine  in  it.    All  of  Joseph's  older  brothers  saw  this  and  they  got  very  jealous.    The  word  jealous  means  that  Joseph's  brothers  disliked  him  because  they  thought  his  father  liked  him  more,  and  because  he  got  the  special  coat.    They  got  so  jealous  they  couldn't  even  say  a  kind  word  to  him.    One  day  Joseph  had  a  dream,  and  he  went  to  go  tell  his  brothers.    He  said,  "Guess  what?    Last  night  I  had  a  strange  dream.    We  were  tying  up  bunches  of  grain  out  in  the  field  when  suddenly  my  bunch  stood  up,  while  all  of  yours  gathered  around  and  bowed  to  me."    The  brothers  looked  at  each  other  in  disgust,  but  Joseph  continued.    "Then  I  had  another  dream  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  eleven  stars  bowed  down  to  me."    "Who  do  you  think  you  are?"    The  brothers  said.    "Do  you  think  that  you  are  better  than  all  of  us?    Do  you  think  that  we  would  ever  bow  down  to  you?"    This  made  the  brothers  dislike  Joseph  even  more.    When  he  told  his  father  about  his  dreams  he  said,  "Those  are  strange  dreams."    But  he  thought  carefully  about  what  Joseph  had  told  him.    A  few  days  later  Joseph's  father  asked  him  to  check  on  his  brothers.    They  were  in  the  fields  quite  a  distance  away.    So  Joseph  went  to  find  them.    When  the  brothers  saw  Joseph  in  the  distance,  they  made  a  plan  to  kill  him.    But  when  Reuben,  Joseph's  oldest  brother  heard  this  he  said,  "Let's  not  kill  him,  just  throw  him  in  a  well  out  here  in  the  field."    He  said  this  because  he  was  secretly  planning  to  come  back  and  rescue  Joseph  when  the  other  brothers  had  left.    So  when  Joseph  came  to  them,  they  took  off  his  beautiful  robe  and  they  threw  him  in  an  empty  well.    A  little  while  later  a  group  of  people  came  by  that  were  wanting  to  sell  some  things  in  Egypt.    One  of  the  brothers  spoke  up,  "Why  don't  we  sell  him  to  these  people,  this  way  we  never  have  to  see  him  again,  and  we  don't  have  to  kill  him."    The  other  brothers  liked  this  idea,  so  they  sold  him  to  the  people  who  were  going  to  Egypt.    Unfortunately  Reuben  had  been  working  and  hadn't  seen  what  happened.    When  he  returned  to  the  well  he  noticed  that  Joseph  was  gone.    He  had  been  sold  to  an  important  man  named  Potiphar,  an  assistant  to  the  Pharaoh  of  Egypt.    

The  rest  of  the  brothers  took  Joseph's  beautiful  robe  and  dipped  it  in  animal  blood  and  took  it  back  to  their  father.    When  the  father  saw  this  he  cried,  "Some  animal  has  killed  my  son."    And  he  cried  for  many  days,  so  much  that  nobody  could  comfort  him.    Now  Joseph  had  started  out  as  a  slave,  but  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph  and  He  helped  him  do  everything  right.    So  Potiphar  made  him  his  helper,  and  put  him  in  charge  of  everything  that  he  owned.    The  problem  came  when  Potiphar's  wife  lied  about  Joseph  to  her  husband,  so  Potiphar  had  Joseph  put  into  jail.    The  Lord  was  still  with  Joseph  in  jail,  and  the  warden  put  Joseph  in  charge  of  all  the  prisoners.    He  never  worried  because  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph  and  helped  him  do  everything  right.    After  Joseph  had  been  in  jail  for  some  time  a  cupbearer  and  baker  to  Pharaoh  had  been  sent  there.    One  night  each  of  them  had  a  dream.    They  told  their  dreams  to  Joseph  and  he  told  the  cupbearer  that  he  would  soon  be  let  out  of  jail.    "Please  tell  Pharaoh  about  me,  and  ask  him  to  get  me  out  of  here."    Joseph  said.    When  the  cupbearer  was  freed  he  forgot  about  what  Joseph  did.    So  Joseph  stayed  in  jail  for  two  more  years.    Until  one  day  the  Pharaoh  had  a  dream,  and  nobody  could  explain  it  to  him.    The  cupbearer  then  remembered  what  Joseph  had  done  for  him,  and  Joseph  was  brought  to  Pharaoh.    "Can  you  understand  dreams?"    Pharaoh  asked.    "I  can't,  but  God  helps  me."    Joseph  replied.    After  Pharaoh  had  told  him  his  dream  Joseph  explained,  "God  is  warning  you.    There  will  be  seven  years  when  nothing  will  grow  and  there  won't  be  any  food  for  anyone."    "What  can  I  do?"    Pharaoh  asked.    "God  has  shown  you  what  to  do.    There  will  be  seven  years  before  the  bad  years  that  will  be  very  good.    So  good  that  there  will  be  extra  food  for  everyone.    So  you  should  save  a  little  bit    of  each  years  harvest,  that  way  you  will  have  enough  to  get  you  through  the  bad  years."    Joseph  said.    Pharaoh  believed  all  that  Joseph  told  him,  and  put  him  in  charge  of  all  the  land  of  Egypt.    People  came  from  all  countries  to  buy  grain  from  Joseph,  because  the  whole  world  was  in  need  of  food.    Some  of  those  people  were  Joseph's  brothers.    When  his  brothers  came,  Joseph  recognized  them,  but  they  did  not  know  who  he  was.    (It  had  been  over  10  years  since  they  had  seen  him).    The  brothers  all  bowed  to  him  because  he  was  an  important  person.    Just  as  he  dreamed  they  would  at  the  beginning.    After  a  few  meetings  with  his  brothers  he  could  not  keep  it  in  any  longer  and  Joseph  said  to  his  brothers,  "I  am  Joseph!    Is  my  father  alive?"    But  his  brothers  couldn't  answer  him  because  they  were  afraid.    Then  Joseph  said,  "Come  here.    I  am  your  brother,  the  one  you  sold!    Do  not  worry,  and  do  not  be  angry  at  yourselves  for  selling  me,  because  God  has  put  me  here  to  save  people  from  starving."    So  his  father,  his  brothers,  and  their  families  came  to  live  in  Egypt  with  Joseph,  and  they  had  all  the  food  they  needed.    

 

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God was with Joseph and God is with Me, Too! “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now

being done, the saving of many l ives.” Genesis 50:20