Session 9

Dreamer

Genesis 37:5-8,18-28

Memory Verse: Proverbs 27:4

ENGAGE

Prior to the session:

Display Pack Item 3 (Poster: The Patriarchs)

Jealousy opens the door for acts of hatred.

Discuss:

share favorite colors.

Introduce:

people often associate certain feelings with certain colors.
For example: red is often connected to anger or love.
Name other colors and their associations.
Use green as the final color on your list.

Share:

Green might be associated with new growth, but it’s also related to envy or jealousy.
introduction on page 82 of the PSG

Webster’s dictionary defines jealousy as
“hostility toward a rival
or toward someone believed to enjoy an advantage we don’t have.”
This emotion often involves a real or perceived threat to something we value.
It may be accompanied by resentment, anger, inadequacy, and bitterness.

In his play Othello, Shakespeare described jealousy as a “green-eyed monster.”
Centuries earlier, the apostle Paul listed jealousy as one of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).
And long before that, the Old Testament account of Joseph and his brothers reveals that jealousy opens the door for acts of hatred.

emphasize the dangers of jealousy.
share the following quotes:

• “Jealousy eats away at relationships like acid.
  It’s corrosive and destructive. It destroys trust and intimacy.”

(Dr. Gary Chapman)

• “A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones .”
  (Prov. 14:30)

Ask:

• Why is jealousy so dangerous and corrupting? (PSG, p. 82)

Transition:

In today’s session,
we’ll see how jealousy led to an act of intense hatred by Jacob’s sons toward their brother, Joseph.