Joseph Shows Kindness to His Brothers

Transcription

1 WEEK 6 Joseph Shows Kindness to His Brothers BIBLE POINT God helps us be kind. SCRIPTURE Joseph shows kindness to his brothers. (Genesis 37 45; 50:15-21) BIBLE VERSE Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). BIBLE BASIS Talk about ups and downs! Joseph s life reads like a prolonged bungee jump. From the favorite son of a powerful patriarch to the pit of slavery. From the honored servant of a wealthy household to a prisoner with little hope of release. From the horrors of prison to Pharaoh s palace and a position of trusted counselor, second in command over all of Egypt. Whew what a ride! What s even more amazing than the circumstances of Joseph s life is his attitude through them all. From a prison pit to a palace, Joseph never allowed the circumstances of his life to alter his belief that God was ultimately in control. Through it all, this amazing man remained confident that God loved him and that, in spite of the evil plans hatched against him, God could and would accomplish his good purposes in the end. The children at your church understand that sometimes life is the pits. Kids know what it s like to be betrayed. They ve experienced the hurt of being punished for something that wasn t their fault. They ve learned through disappointments that life isn t always fair. And they re entirely familiar with the urge to get revenge on the people who ve caused their pain. But God helps us be kind. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. What radical ideas! Most kids and adults want the bad guys to get what s coming to them. You have the wonderful privilege of helping kids see that because God can bring good out of the most unfair situations, we don t need to worry about payback and revenge. Use this lesson to help children realize that with God s help, they can be kind to anyone. HANDS-ON WORSHIP 55

2 YOU LL NEED Bible Hands-On Worship Sing & Play Music CD Hands-On Worship Sing & Play Music Video DVD CD player DVD player God Sightings poster tape markers (1 per Crew) 3x5 cards (1 per Crew) offering basket several chairs flashlights (1 per Crew Leader) EASY PREP Gather in Crews. If you have more than four children, form Crews of two or more children. Keep the Crews as consistent as possible week to week. Designate an older child as the Crew Leader in each Crew. Relationships will strengthen as the junior leaders get to know their Crew members, everyone will learn names, and all children will be able to share in discussion times. (See the introduction to this Leader Guide for more details.) Get ready for God Sightings. Each week, children will report their God Sightings to their Crew. Each Crew Leader will write the God Sightings on a 3x5 card and tape the card to the God Sightings poster. As the weeks progress, you may need to add another sheet of poster board to hold more God Sightings cards. (See the introduction to this Leader Guide for more details.) Create the environment. Make a pit in an area of your room by placing several chairs in a circle. Be prepared to dim the room lights. BONUS IDEA IDEA: YOU LL NEED: several spray bottles food coloring 20-foot piece of rope clothespins scissors glue large sheets of paper (1 per child) paper grocery sacks (1 per child) 56 WEEK 6: JOSEPH SHOWS KINDNESS TO HIS BROTHERS

3 SING & PLAY WELCOME Play the Hands-On Worship Sing & Play Music CD or DVD in the background to create a welcoming atmosphere. As children arrive, have them gather with their Crews. If guests arrive, help them join Crews. Crew members can introduce themselves to each other and tell about their week. When you re ready to begin, greet kids warmly. Say: Today we re going to learn about a man in the Bible called Joseph. God was with Joseph his whole life making good plans out of bad times. God knows the plans he has for us too, and the plans are good! Those words remind me of a song! Let s sing! TRACK 3 Lead kids in singing The Lord s Plans (Jeremiah 29:11). BIBLE VERSE AND SONG Hold up a Bible and say: Today s Bible verse is from Ephesians 4:32: Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Teach Crew members these actions to help them remember the Bible verse. Have everyone pat a neighbor s back for Be kind to each other, tenderhearted. Have everyone pat another neighbor s back for forgiving one another. Raise arms high for just as God through Christ, and then motion to others for has forgiven you. Say: God forgave us and saved us through his Son, Jesus. He was mighty to save. Because of Jesus, we can be kind to others and forgive them, too. Let s sing another song of praise! GOD HELPS US BE KIND Say: I love singing praises to God. I also love learning about God and how good he is to us! Today we ll learn that God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, God! ) Lead kids in punching their fists in the air when they shout the response words. We ll look at Joseph s entire life from when his brothers were mean to him and sold him to be a slave. Can you imagine being thrown into a prison pit? Shake your head. But God gave Joseph a special ability to understand dreams, and Joseph went from a prison to a palace. He got to be second in command of all of Egypt. With God s help, Joseph was able to meet his family again. He was able to be kind to his brothers and forgive them. Wow. God helped Joseph be kind and God! ) God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, TRACK 8 Lead kids in singing Mighty to Save. HANDS-ON WORSHIP 57

4 BIRTHDAYS AND GOD SIGHTINGS Say: Beautiful singing, you God Sightings! When I hear you singing, I know God loves me. God made all of us our hands, voices, hearts, everything so we can praise him. I m thankful God made you and me! Let s celebrate some people God made our birthday people! Ask all children who have birthdays this upcoming week to come to the front. Ask everyone to give double high fives to the birthday people, and say Happy birthday! Say: We were all born to praise God who loves us so much. Let s sing a song and use all that we are our hands, feet, and voices to praise our incredible God! TRACK 4 Ask the birthday people to help you lead kids in singing All That I Am (Psalm 103:1). Say: Did I happen to mention that you re God Sightings to me? When you sing praises to God, you show me how much God loves me! Read a few of the God Sightings from the poster, and then hold up the offering basket. Say: You can be God Sightings to others through your offerings, too. The money you bring in will help others know how much our one true God loves them! Remind children about the outreach project the offering will go to at the end of the quarter, and then collect the offering. Say: We can be God Sightings to everyone we meet. God loves everyone! We want to praise God and bless his holy name! Let s sing a song of praise and thanksgiving to God! TRACK 5 Lead kids in singing Blessed Be Your Name. After the song, say: Joseph was on a painful road marked with suffering. His brothers sold him to be a slave and he was thrown in prison in another country! But through it all, Joseph trusted God. Let s head into a Bible time to see all the good plans God had for Joseph! Bring out the God Sightings poster, 3x5 cards, tape, and markers. Say: Each week, we ve been looking for God Sightings ways we see God loves us and is with us all around us. God Sightings are evidence of the one true God all around us every day! Give a 3x5 card and marker to each Crew Leader. Ask kids to sit in a circle with their Crew and share God Sightings such as singing songs at Sunday school or having a brother read the Bible to you. Allow time for Crews to share and for Crew Leaders to write on their Crew s card. Have kids or Crew Leaders tape the cards to the God Sightings poster for everyone to see. 58 WEEK 6: JOSEPH SHOWS KINDNESS TO HIS BROTHERS

5 BIBLE EXPERIENCE A FATHER S FAVORITE SON Dim the room lights, and give each Crew Leader a flashlight. Gather Crews, and say: We ve learned so much about Joseph over the past several weeks. Let s take a look at Joseph s entire life today from when his brothers were mean to him and sold him to be a slave all the way to where Joseph was kind to his brothers and forgave them! ASK: How many of you have a brother or sister? Two brothers or sisters? Three? Four? Five? More than five? Say: Joseph had 11 brothers! His life started out pretty well, because out of all 12 boys in the family, Joseph was his father s favorite. And his father didn t care if everyone knew it! He didn t even pretend to love his other sons as much as he loved Joseph. To make things worse, when Joseph saw his brothers do anything wrong, he d run and tell his father all about it. As you can imagine, Joseph s brothers weren t too crazy about him. One day Joseph s father gave him a beautiful, expensive robe to wear. In fact, it was a robe fit for a king s son or daughter. Joseph wore the robe proudly. I have something for just the Crew Leaders to do. Crew Leaders, hold your flashlights under your chins and show your Crews what you think Joseph s jealous brothers looked like when they saw Joseph wearing that special robe. Pause for kids to look at lit faces. Ooo scary! Now you may turn off your flashlights. Say: One day Joseph had a dream and he told his brothers about it. I dreamed that we were tying bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle of grain stood up and your bundles of grain bowed down to it. That made Joseph s brothers furious! Crew Leaders, put your flashlights under your chins again and glare at your Crews with angry brother faces. Pause for kids to look around at the mad faces. Ooo scary! Now turn the flashlights off. HANDS-ON WORSHIP 59

6 Say: Then Joseph had another dream, and once again he told his father and brothers about it. In my dream the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me. Hmm. Eleven stars bowed down to Joseph, and Joseph had 11 brothers. I think that dream may ve made the brothers mad! Crew Leaders, show your Crews your really angry brother faces again. Pause. Ooo scary! You d better turn those flashlights off quickly! Say: This time even Joseph s father was angry. What is this dream? his father asked. Do you think your mother and I and your brothers will all bow down to you? Not long after that, Joseph s brothers were looking after their sheep in a faraway valley. Joseph s father said, Joseph, go check on your brothers and see if they re okay. Then come back and report to me. So Joseph set off to find his brothers. Let s pretend we re going with Joseph. Everyone stand up and walk in place. Crew Leaders, please shine your flashlights on the ground so no one trips on stones or little bushes that might be in our path. You know, since the brothers are so far away, perhaps we d better pick up the pace a little bit so we get there before nightfall. Lead children in running in place for a few seconds. We re almost there let s slow down and take some deep breaths. Good! Now let s sit down and rest. 60 WEEK 6: JOSEPH SHOWS KINDNESS TO HIS BROTHERS

7 INTO THE PIT Say: Joseph s brothers saw him while he was still a long way off. Look! they said. Here comes that dreamer! This is our chance to get rid of him. Let s kill him and throw him in a pit. Reuben, the oldest brother, didn t want to hurt Joseph. So he said, Let s throw him in a pit, but let s not kill him. You see, Reuben planned to come back later and rescue Joseph. Drop your voice and build the suspense. Joseph s brothers waited as Joseph came closer and close and closer! Then they pounced on him. Pretend to pounce. They tore off his beautiful robe and dragged him toward a big pit! Crew Leaders, let s pretend you and I are Joseph s brothers. Turn on your flashlights. Help me take all these kids and throw them into a pit! Follow me! You and the Crew Leaders, take hold of kids hands and lead them toward the circle of chairs pit. Send one Crew Leader into the pit to illuminate the floor with his or her flashlight. Have the Crew Leaders assist you in gently tossing each child into the pit. Make comments such as So much for your fancy coat, Goodbye, brother, and Let s see what kinds of dreams you have in there. Speak in an overdone, gruff voice so kids will understand that this is all in fun. ONWARD TO EGYPT Say: Some people came by, and were interested in buying Joseph as a slave cheap! They took Joseph out of the pit, and led him in a slow march toward Egypt across the burning desert sand. Crew Leaders, let s herd these kids out of the pit and back to where we first started. Gather Crews together again, and say: They sold Joseph to a rich Egyptian named Potiphar. Joseph became a lowly household slave. Let s crouch down and cross our wrists in front of our ankles to show that Joseph was a lowly slave. Lead kids in doing this. But Joseph worked hard and trusted God. Potiphar was so pleased with Joseph s work that he put Joseph in charge of his whole household! Let s stand up and fold our arms to show that Joseph rose to a position of power even though he was still a slave. Lead kids in doing this. But one day Potiphar s wife made up a lie about Joseph to get him in trouble. Potiphar believed the lie and threw Joseph into prison! Let s crouch down and cross our wrists again to show that Joseph ended up in prison. Lead kids in doing this. But Joseph worked hard and trusted God, and soon Joseph was put in charge of all the other prisoners. Let s stand up and cross our arms to show that Joseph rose to an important position, even though he was still a prisoner. Lead kids in doing this. One day, Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, had a terrible dream. One of Pharaoh s servants knew that Joseph could tell what dreams meant. So they brought Joseph before Pharaoh. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph s wisdom that he made Joseph second in command over all Egypt. HANDS-ON WORSHIP 61

8 SECOND IN COMMAND Say: Let s flex our muscles to show how powerful Joseph had become. Lead kids in doing this. Then a great famine came upon the land that meant that there was very little food. But everyone came to Joseph to buy what food there was. One day, 10 men from the land of Canaan came to buy grain. They bowed down to honor Joseph, the great Egyptian ruler. Let s bow down, too. Lead kids in doing this, then have them sit down. Joseph knew right away that these 10 men were his brothers, but they didn t recognize him. As he watched them, Joseph saw how much his brothers had changed. They treated each other with kindness and love. To make a long story short finally Joseph said, I m your brother Joseph the one you sold as a slave! His brothers looked at each other in terror. They knew that Joseph could put them in prison or even have them put to death for the way they d treated him. Tell about a time you felt like you were in the pits or going through a hard time. When someone s been mean to you and you end up in the pits, how do you treat that person? Ask for several children to report back to the large group. Say: When we re going through tough times, like when people are mean to us, it s easy to want to be mean right back. But we can be like Joseph. God helped Joseph be kind, and God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, God! ) Let s head into a prayer time to pray about being kind especially when it s hard to do! Don t worry, Joseph said. Don t feel bad about what you did. It wasn t you who sent me here it was God. Now go back and tell my father that I m alive. Move your families here. I ll give you a good place to live and all the food you need. Don t be afraid of me. You meant to harm me, but God planned to bring good out of what you did. Then Joseph hugged his brothers. Let s all do one huge group hug to celebrate the fact that God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, God! ) Sometimes when we re going through a hard time, we say we re in the pits. Talk about these questions with your Crews. ASK: What times in Joseph s life were the pits? 62 WEEK 6: JOSEPH SHOWS KINDNESS TO HIS BROTHERS

9 PRAYER PLACE Open your Bible to Ephesians 4:32: Today s Bible verse tells us about kindness! Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. ASK: According to this Bible verse, what s our reason to be kind? Say: It s not enough to just be kind to people we like. That s easy. Jesus wants us to be kind to people who aren t kind to us. And that s why Joseph was kind to his brothers. God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, God! ) Let s close by asking God to help us this week as we try to be kind. First, let s form a big circle. Pause while kids form a circle; then continue. Think of someone you want to be kind to. Don t say the person s name now, just think it. We ll make a chain of kindness around the circle. I ll start by praying Dear God, please help me to be kind to and then I ll say the person s name. As I say the name, I ll join hands with the person on my left. Then we ll pass the prayer and kindness chain around the circle. Begin the prayer. When everyone s hands are joined, say: In Jesus name, amen! Say: Always remember that God helps us be kind. ( Thank you, God! ) Pray to God, and he ll help you! When we pray for others, we re God Sightings to them. When you leave today, remember to look for things God has done or made. We ll talk about God Sightings when we meet again next week. You are God Sightings to me. You shared so many good ideas in our discussions. Wow! I thank God for you! Give any other announcements, and then dismiss the children. Play the Hands-On Worship Sing & Play Music CD or DVD in the background while they leave. HANDS-ON WORSHIP 63

10 BONUS IDEA SPRAY ART Fill several spray bottles with water and drops of food coloring red, blue, yellow, orange bright colors! Shake well to mix. Tie a 20-foot piece of rope about 4 feet from the ground between two trees or poles outside. Clothespin large sheets of paper to the rope. Gather children, and read aloud Genesis 37:3. Say: Joseph s father gave him a beautiful robe. It was a robe fit for a king s son or daughter and Joseph wore it proudly. Let s take some time and make our own colorful robes to remind us of Joseph. 1. Assign each child a sheet of paper. Have kids choose a spray bottle and spray near the top of their papers. Then have kids use spray bottles with other colors to spray the rest of their papers. The colored water will drip and run. Colors will mix, creating beautiful paintings. 2. Once children are through with their paintings, remove the sheets of paper and allow them to dry on the ground. 3. Help kids each cut a paper robe out of a grocery sack. 4. Let kids cut their paintings into squares and glue the squares onto their robes to make colorful coats. 64 WEEK 6: JOSEPH SHOWS KINDNESS TO HIS BROTHERS