A lesson overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Genesis 39:7-21 with the title “Accused,” for Sunday, Mary 5, 2024. (I might use an alternate title: “He Is With Me”!) A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:
INTRO: Richard Jewell was a security guard who was working in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He came across a suspicious backpack in the Olympic Park, where thousands of people had gathered. He gave the backpack to police, and began helping to clear the area. Soon after, 3 pipe bombs inside the backpack detonated, killing two people and injuring over 100. After the explosion, the media interviewed Jewell and he got a lot of attention for saving so many lives. (I remember watching this on the news.) Because he got so much media attention, the FBI began to suspect Jewell had purposefully planted the bomb so that he would come across as a hero. He went through an infamous “trial by media”, but after many months he was finally exonerated. Another man admitted to planting the bombs, and Richard Jewell ended up suing several media outlets for libel and slander.
Being falsely accused is one of the most difficult things to deal with in life.
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