Worship:
- Game On: Each and Every Day (YouTube Link)
- My God is so big (YouTube Link)
- Everlasting God ( YouTube Link)
- Stand Strong (YouTube Link)
Bible Story: (Genesis 37 & 39)
Text Truth: We can trust God, even when life doesn’t make sense.
Memory Verse: Romans 8:28
Our story begins with a father whose name was Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons. One of his sons’ name was Joseph. Joseph had eleven brothers; and only one brother younger than him.
Question: Can you imagine having eleven brothers to play with?
Joseph was one of Jacob’s youngest sons, and because of that his father Jacob spent more time with him, and Joseph was very special to him. So much so that Jacob had a special robe made for Joseph. (This was a big deal because back then not everyone wore robes). It was very beautiful and had every color you could imagine in it.
All of Joseph’s older brothers were very jealous of Joseph. The word jealous means that Joseph’s brothers dislike him because they thought his father liked Joseph more.
Question: Do you think Joseph’s brothers liked him very much?
One day while Joseph’s brothers were out in the wilderness taking care of their sheep, they captured Joseph and threw him into a pit. While they all sat down to eat food and get water, Joseph was left alone in a hot, dark pit with no water. This was bad event number 1.
Question: How would you feel if you were stuck in a very dark room all alone?
After some time had passed, some Ishmeelites came through the land. Joseph’s brothers were still so mad at him that they sold him to the Ismeelite men. Joseph was forced to leave his family and home. The men who bought Joseph, brought him all the way to Egypt and sold him to a man named Potiphar. This was bad event number 2.
Now Joseph had started out as a slave for Potiphar, but the Lord was with Joseph and He helped him do everything right (39:2). So Potiphar made him his helper, and put him in charge of everything that he owned. Then, one day, Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to do something that Joseph knew was not right. Potiphar’s wife got so mad at Joseph that she told her husband that Joseph was a bad man. Potiphar believed what his wife said and sent Joseph to prison! This was bad event number 3.
Even though these horrible things were happening, God was still with Joseph (39:21). Joseph knew he could trust God, even when these bad things were happening. He did not know why they happened, but he knew that God was in control. Let’s fast forward to the end of Joseph’s life. Because Joseph trusted God, he went from being a prisoner to being a leader in Egypt. When we look back on all the events that happened to Joseph both good and bad, we see how everything was used by God for amazing things (Genesis 50:20).
Family Activity:
Object Lesson on Trusting God: (courtesy of https://www.christiethomaswriter.com/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJjnS5jgqQ&t=206s
SUPPLIES:
- a plastic zip top sandwich bag filled with water
- several sharp pencils
someone who’s willing to trust you!
WHAT TO DO:
Hold the water-filled bag over a child’s head, and ask if they have faith that they won’t get wet. Then, stab the SHARP pencil all the way through the bag! You’ll want to practice this before doing it with kids, because some people find it best to stab slowly, but I find it works best to poke it through quickly. Do whatever works best for you. Then, stab as many pencils through as you can!
TIP: Too many pencils will add mass to the bag and the pressure might be too much for the zip-top.
What to Say:
Do you have faith in me? Do you trust that I won’t spill this entire bag of water on your head?
What about if I poke a hole in this bag with a pencil? Do you still believe me?
Well, I’m going to do it. I’m going to poke this pencil through the bag, and you are NOT going to get wet. Do you still believe me?
Poke Bag….
Did you get wet? It seems impossible, doesn’t it? Trusting me in this moment makes no sense. And yet, here we are with a bag full of water and two holes without any leakage.
Would you trust that I won’t get you wet even if I poked another pencil through this bag? How about another? And another?
Sometimes in life, we can feel like we’re getting poked with holes. Friends move away, family members get sick, or our pet dies. It hurts, but trusting God is a bit like trusting that you wouldn’t get wet when I held that bag of water over you. We CAN trust God, even when it seems like everything is going horribly wrong. He loves and cares for us.
ACTIVITY SHEET LINKS (Click the link to download a printable pdf)
