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HARD QUESTIONS: How do I forgive when I can't forget?

The following questions are to be used as a study aid for the sermon preached by Pastor Tommy Dove at the Grace Place on Sunday, June 12, 2016.  To get the most from these questions, go to http://www.nashvillechurch.com and click on “Media” to either stream the current service or listen to a previous sermon.

These questions can be used in your private Bible study during the week or as the topic for a small group study.  For more information on participating in a small group study, click on "Life Groups" at the top of www.nashvillechurch.com.

Fellowship:

Icebreaker:
What is your favorite hot weather activity?
What are your summer vacation plans?

Scripture:
Genesis 45:1-15

Lesson:
Most people have a hard time asking for forgiveness.  Mothers have to coax their children to “Say sorry.”  The obligatory “sorry” doesn’t usually sound very convincing.  What do we do when people hurt us but never say, “sorry?”  Do we bottle up that bitterness and carry it around with us as a souvenir of the wrong?  Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves; not the offender.

List some wrongs that were done to Joseph: (Genesis chapter 37 through 45)

_________________________________________________________________
How would you feel if you had suffered so many injustices?
What did his brothers deserve from Joseph?
What reaction did his brothers get from Joseph?
How did Joseph use his memory of the wrongs to aid his forgiveness?
How did Joseph’s forgiveness of wrongs fulfill his purpose?
What would Joseph’s life have been like if he had not forgiven them?
What example of forgiveness did Jesus give us at the cross?
How is it possible to forgive completely?


Prayer:

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