BIG IDEA: I CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE TO HOPE AGAIN
AIM: The ‘Hope Again’ Childrens Lesson on Joseph (Genesis 42) is written to encourage children to recognise that they can have hope again and it is never too late to start hoping once more – hope is an anchor, safe and secure and God can turn any situation around.
SONG IDEAS:
- ‘10,000 Reasons’ by Yancy
- ‘It is Well’ Yancy
GAME IDEAS:
- Sack Race. (regular/widescreen) Use pillow cases to do a relay race with kids racing from one side of the room to the other whilst jumping in a pillow case.
- Sack Attack. (regular/widescreen) Children are given sacks or pillow cases filled with ball pool balls (soft). In their teams they must try and avoid being hit by the balls, yet must throw the balls from their sacks at the opposing team. Once hit, they must drop their sacks and sit out. The team with the last player standing is the winner.
- Pyramid Knock. (regular/widescreen) Create a pyramid of cans or cups on one side of the room for each team. Children are given bean bags or balls and must take turns in a relay to run upto the pyramid (a few meters away) and throw them at the pyramid to knock it down. Make sure your pyramid is large so the whole team will need to join in. The first team to knock the whole pyramid down is the winning team.
BIG VERSE: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.
ICEBREAKER: Do you have any family members that live in a different country?
DRAMA: Access the fun ‘Hope Again’ drama here.
SET the Scene:
Read Genesis 42.
VIDEO IDEAS:
- ‘Joseph Forgives His Brothers Part 1’ by Faith Kids Videos
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
- Who had heard about the grain in Egypt? (Jacob)
- Which brother did Jacob not send? (Benjamin)
- What did Joseph call his brothers? (Spies)
- How long did Joseph put the brothers in custody? (3 Days)
- What did the brothers say they were being punished for? (Treating Joseph badly)
- When Joseph heard this news, what did he do? (Cried)
- Which brother was kept in custody longer? (Simeon)
- As well as giving them grain, what else did Joseph tell his servants to give his brothers? (Their silver back)
- How did the brothers feel when they spotted the silver in their bags? (Frightened)
- Did Jacob want Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brothers? (No)
SPOT the Simple Meaning:
1) HOPE IS AN ANCHOR
You will need a picture or visual of an anchor. If you have an ornament or decorative anchor at home, you could also bring this in. Alternatively, for older children, you could show this video (although it will depend on if you think your group would enjoy it!)
Say: Perhaps you have given up on hope. You have given up on the God of Hope. Maybe you have a situation that is so bad that you can’t see how God can ever do anything to help. Yet Hebrews 6:19a says hope is like an anchor [show anchor picture, video or anchor itself]. Hope keeps us from thinking the wrong things or doing the wrong things – moving in the wrong direction, away from God and away from doing good towards others. When we have our hope in God we are able to withstand anything. That’s why Joseph was so strong when he met his brothers. He had been through so much, yet he knew God had not left him and he had kept his hope alive.
Joseph had probably found it difficult to keep hoping that he would one day see his family again. Perhaps he thought he would never see their faces again. I wonder if he even wanted to? What do you think? [Get feedback] Yet God made a way. The famine was so terrible that his father sent his brothers to go and get food, and where would they go? They would have to go to Egypt!
2) I CAN HOPE AGAIN
Some people are like this egg. [Show a normal egg with shell]. When tough times come they give up on hope. [Drop the egg and watch it splat.]
Other people have their hope in Jesus – and they will not let it go. Joseph lived before Jesus came to the earth, but He knew God the Father. He had God’s hope and he would not let it go. He kept hoping again. [Now pull out your pre-prepared egg. It will have been put in a cup and covered completely in vinegar for 24 hours. You’ll take it out of the cup and rub off the shell – now your egg can bounce!]
Whenever Joseph went through a difficult time, he didn’t give up on hope. He kept hoping in God – he kept bouncing back. That’s how he was now able to be governor – because he didn’t give up. He kept faithful to God. He did all that he said he would so after he had interpreted Pharoah’s dream. He worked hard. Which person do you want to be like? Who will you put your hope in? If there is a situation that you have lost hope for, ask God’s Holy Spirit to give you the strength to hope again; to believe that God can do anything. Hope keeps us alive and positive, it keeps us safe and secure. You can hope again in Jesus!
2) GOD CAN TURN THINGS AROUND
Use the quick change video as an example of how things can be changed quickly. This would also be a great slot to share a testimony of how God has changed a situation in your life. Children love to learn more about their leaders and to see how real God is in their lives. You are a living example of God’s existence and the hope that comes from Him – so don’t hold back!
Say: It looked like Joseph’s dreams were never going to happen. Do you remember his first dreams? What were they? [Get feedback] That’s right! Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down to him. And now they were! It was all coming true!
God was able to turn Joseph’s situation around. It had looked like the dream would never come true. I’m sure when he was sat in the prison he was wondering when his life would change. God had a big master plan! He turned things around for Joseph. Yet he didn’t do it as quick as the quick change video! It took time. This gave Joseph time to become the man that God needed him to be. A man who could help the whole world. A man that didn’t tell everyone he could do it, but that he knew the God that could!
WOW!
Now Joseph was the one throwing his brothers in custody. They were the ones feeling how horrible it must have been for their brothers. It made them remember what they had done to Joseph and they were sad and afraid. Oh, how things had changed! Yet Joseph didn’t sell his brothers, he kept one in custody to make sure that the rest of his brothers would come back to see him again.
Why?
Why did Joseph not just tell his brothers who he was? We don’t really know the answer… but it seems clear that Joseph realized that God had turned the situation around. Yet God was still turning Joseph’s heart around. Would Joseph forgive his brothers? It would take time, and it would be difficult. He wasn’t quite there yet.
God can turn every situation around. He can even change our hearts, if we let Him. So, what do you need God to turn around?
SEARCH the Scriptures:
Sack Search. (regular/widescreen) Fill a large sack/pillow case with shredded paper. Inside the sack also place little prizes such as bags of candy. Attach the character names below to some of the candy bags. Those that pick a character candy bag can keep the candy if they can guess how God turned their situation around. Alternatively, if you prefer everyone win a prize, split the group into teams, allow each child to keep their candy bag but give more points to the team that finds the most character candy bags.
Situations that God Turned Around:
Abraham: God told Abraham that he would have a baby boy, yet it took him a long time to see the promise come true. It looked hopeless when Abraham and his wife Sarah were so old, but God turned it around and they had their baby boy when they were incredibly old!
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: When these three men were thrown in a fiery furnace it seemed like hope was lost. Yet God rescued them and the King was so amazed he gave them all new positions in the kingdom!
Daniel: When Daniel would not stop praying he was thrown in the Lion’s Den. Hope could have been lost, yet God turned it around – he rescued Daniel from the lions and those that had thrown him in were killed.
Esther: Esther’s people were on the verge of being killed. Nasty Haman wanted to kill them all. God helps Esther to speak to the King – and Haman is the one who is killed! God turned it all around!
Paul: Saul was on his way to arrest lots of Christians for following Jesus when he was met by Jesus on the road to Damascus. God turned his world around and he decided to follow Jesus instead!
SENSE How You Feel:
Encourage the children to imagine that they are Joseph and they meet their brothers again for the first time.
What would you feel?
Encourage them to answer this question as they do one of the activities below.
- Create the scene of Joseph and his brothers standing by a pyramid People for Craft Template and the Pyramid Craft Template.
- Fill in the activity sheets for 5-7s and 8-11s.
- Build a pyramid out of Lego or building blocks.
- Mould a pyramid out of play dough or clay.
- Sensory: Use weighing scales and flour or cereal on the sensory table. Have the children practice weighing out food. If you have some little sacks you could encourage the children to pour the flour inside
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Alternatively, you could have the children take turns to role play as Joseph and answer these questions:
- How did you treat your brothers when you saw them?
- Why would you have thrown your brothers in custody?
- Did you think you would ever see your brothers again?
- Did you want to see them again? Why/why not?
- What is your hope for your family?
SEEK God:
Is there a situation that you need to see turned around? God can turn it around today. Yet sometimes he turns things around over time. He changes things over time. We don’t understand why some things happen right now, and other things we have to wait for. Yet we know we have a good God who loves us and gives us His Holy Spirit to help us cope with any situation!
- Imagination Station:
Invite the children to find a quiet space and close their eyes. They can even lie down if they want to. Ask them to imagine visiting a quiet, lovely place in their mind. Somewhere they love or would love to be. Tell them that Jesus wants to meet them in that place. He has come to visit them. Encourage the children to tell Jesus the situation that they would like to see turned around. Ask the children to listen and see if they can hear if Jesus is saying anything to them. Invite them to think about what he is doing (is he close or far away? smiling? etc) Tell the children that it is time to slowly leave their quiet place, and open their eyes.
If appropriate, ask the children if they would like to share what Jesus said to them and what he was doing. Remind them that we can know Jesus through the Word and so we can know what is Him, and what is not Him – He is full of love, joy, peace and patience. Anything that does not sound like this, is not Him.
2. Written Prayers:
If you’re more comfortable with written prayers, invite the children to write a prayer to their Father God asking Him to turn their situation around.
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