Joseph is Sold Into Slavery

12/26/2024

Joseph Thrown In a Pit by Jennifer Tolbert

The covenant God made with Abraham has now passed to his grandson Jacob. Even though this inheritance was obtained by Jacob through deceptive ways, God continues to work his plan through his family. While Abraham was blessed with his one promised son, Isaac, his family tree continues to grow as his grandson Jacob is blessed with 12 sons.

This lesson begins the hardships of Joseph, who is known for his faith in spite of trying circumstances. His prophetic dreams begin what becomes a riches to rags to riches again, all at the work of God's hand. The next generation of this family continues to reap the consequences of jealousy, sibling rivalry, and sin. However, God uses it all for his plan.

Key Themes:

Our sin can hurt others.
Jealousy is a dangerous sin.
God had a plan for Joseph.

Memory Verse

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1 NIV

Songs

Books of the Old Testament
Jacob Lived in Canaan
Sons of Jacob Song
Oh Be Careful
The B.I.B.L.E.
He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands
12 Tribes of Israel

Story

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time

Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Paper Cuts
Bring out a piece of paper. Show the child how perfect the paper is. As you begin to speak, fold the paper. (You will be creating a snowflake.) Explain how each cut you make might be seen as a bad thing, but as you unfold the paper and show the beautiful snowflake, point out that the seemingly bad cuts created something beautiful

2. Pin the Coat on Joseph
Supplies: Poster with an Outline of a Coat, Colorful Dot Stickers, Blindfold
Take turns blindfolding each child. Let them take turns trying to put a colorful sticker on Joseph's Coat. Discuss how hard it is to accomplish something when we cannot see. In our story, Joseph is thrown into a pit and then sold into slavery. At times, Joseph probably couldn't see what God was doing in his life.

3. Color Matching (Preschool)
From Trueway Kids; Supplies: Clothing Items of various colors, color splats
Print out the color splats from Trueway and let the kids sort the clothing items with the color splat it matches.

Story: Review the story of Abraham to Jacob so far. Jacob (later known as Israel) had a very large family! Just like his father's before him, Jacob had inherited a promise the God would bless the entire world through his family. However, his family also inherited the sins of jealousy which caused sibling rivalry and caused his children to sin.

In this story, we see how dangerous jealousy is and how it can gain a foothold and lead us to sin.

SHOW the power point Joseph Thrown In a Pit or read Genesis 37:12-36.
EMPHASIZE that: