Week #1: I Will Listen…
Go Answer: I will listen to God so I know His plan
Go Verse:
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.
‘They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
Let us set the atmosphere. Open with prayer and then go into praise and worship. Holy Spirit is not limited to moving at church or children’s church. Be expectant for Holy Spirit to move in your home as you dive into the word with your children.
Introduction
| How many of you like to play board games? Have brief discussion about your family’s favourite board games. One of my favourite board games is Snakes and Ladders. Who here has played this fun game? In this game, you take turns moving spaces along the board. If you land on a snake, you have to go backward (down). But if you land on a ladder, you get to go forward (up). This game reminds me of life. In life, we have days where things are really good and we feel like we’re doing awesome (up/ladder). But other days, things may feel rotten and don’t go our way (down/snake). Through our new series, we are going to talk about a man in the Bible named Joseph. Joseph had a lot of ups and downs in his life. He went from being his father’s favourite son to being locked away in prison. Buckle up; it’s going to be a crazy ride! Let’s check-out this week’s Go Answer… |
| “I will listen to God so I know His plan.” Consider having the audience say it with you or repeat after you. Optional: Create actions/hand motions to help kids memorize the Go Answer. |
| “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11, NLT The Go Verse is the scripture verse that corresponds to the theme of our series for the children to commit to memory over the course of the 5 weeks. Make this fun for your family, whether it is a repeat-after-me segment or an unscramble game. Feel free to get creative! |
| For this section you are either going to need a second person to be the interrupter or adjust the text so that it is a story. Set the stage for the dialogue or the story. Interrupter: You won’t believe the day I had yesterday! Presenter: Oh yeah? Tell me about it. Interrupter: I went to an Amusement Park. Presenter: Really? That’s great! Interrupter: It was great…but it started to rain. Presenter: Well, that’s no good. Interrupter: It’s okay, though. I had an umbrella. Presenter: That was fortunate! Interrupter: Yeah, but not for long… because it broke. Presenter: That stinks. Interrupter: But, fortunately, my mom bought me some donuts. Presenter: That sounds delicious! Interrupter: Unfortunately, I dropped them on the ground. Presenter: Eww gross! Interrupter: It’ s okay… 5 second rule Presenter: Oh, that works. Interrupter: Yeah…But it had already been 10 seconds. Presenter: Bummer. Interrupter: It’s okay, I got on a rollercoaster Presenter: That sounds like fun! Interrupter: Then it quit working. Presenter: That’s frightening Interrupter: But my seatbelt held me in. Presenter: Well that’s good. Interrupter: But I was stuck upside down. Presenter: Yikes! Interrupter: It’s okay, I found a donut in my pocket. Presenter: Lucky you! Interrupter: Buuut then I dropped it. Presenter: Again? Interrupter: All good, though… The rollercoaster started working again. Presenter: That’s a relief Interrupter: But I was up there so long that the park closed. (Interrupter exits dialogue.) Sounds like that was a strange day! Filled with ups and downs all over the place! Today, as we launch into learning about the life of Joseph, we’re going to hear about his many ups and downs. Today, he’s good… Things start out for Joseph on an ‘up.’ Let’s jump in… |
| Lesson Scripture Reference: Genesis 37:1-11 Objective: The goal during week one of our series is to set-up the life of Joseph and introduce children to who he is. The key element for them to understand this week is that Joseph was greatly loved and favored by his father and that he listened to God’s voice via the dreams he had. Message: In the Bible, we read that Joseph has a lot of brothers. A lot. Not just three or four, not just six or seven… Joseph has a total of eleven brothers. Eleven! Ten of his brothers are older than he is and one is younger. Even though he has so many siblings, Joseph is the favorite of the group. Joseph’s dad, Jacob, loves Joseph the most and gives him a beautiful, colorful coat. How would that make you feel if your brother or sister got something really nice and you didn’t get anything? You would probably feel a little jealous, wouldn’t you? When we first meet Joseph in the Bible, we learn that he is seventeen years old and is a shepherd. Joseph watched over his father’s flock of sheep. That was a pretty good job. Joseph was able to be out in the open air and spend time hanging out every day. Joseph was obedient to his father and did what he was told. How many of you have dreams at night when you sleep? (Ask for a show of hands.) You’re not alone – Joseph did too. In fact, he had quite a few dreams in which God would tell him incredible things about the future. God would speak to Joseph and reveal things to him in these dreams. Joseph would tell his father and brothers about these dreams that God would give him. Check-out one of the dreams that Joseph had: “One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. ‘Listen to this dream,’ he said. ‘We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!’ His brothers responded, ‘So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.” (Genesis 37:5-8). What is important to understand is that God has an awesome plan for Joseph’s life. Joseph doesn’t know it yet, but God is going to use him in incredible ways. Joseph was open and listened to God in his dreams even though he didn’t know exactly what they meant or what was going to happen from them. Conclusion and Cliff-Hanger for Next Week: Things are going great for Joseph – he is the favorite son, has a great job, and great fashion – but things are about to go from great to horrible all in one day. Joseph’s brothers are jealous and not excited about God’s plan for Joseph’s life. They don’t believe him when he tells them about his dreams and they start to create a plan to get rid of Joseph. This is where we hit ‘pause’ on our story so you won’t want to miss next week! |
| Switch on the radio/ music so that it competes with your voice. Give a short summary of the story during this time. Then say: There are many different distractions we have in our lives. These distractions will try to keep us from hearing God’s voice in our life. The Bible tells us that God has an amazing plan for our life – just like He did for Joseph – but we must listen for it and pay attention to what He is saying to us. What would happen if we got rid of the distractions in our lives? Removing the distraction of the music, briefly repeat your summary. Once we take away the distractions in life, we are able to hear God’s voice. When we listen to God’s voice, we can hear God’s voice. It’s simple, but it’s true! We can’t hear something if we’re not listening. As God’s children, we need to listen to His voice. In the Bible, Jesus says, “My sheep [that’s us!] listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me” (John 10:27-28). When we listen to God, He will guide and direct us. He will help us. So that’s what we are going to do right now… |
| We are going to take some time to quietly listen to God’s voice. God can speak to us in many different ways. The Bible talks about God’s voice being like a small whisper at times. We never want to miss out on God’s voice when He is speaking to us. We’re going to take a few moments to put on a worship song and take time out to listen to God… This is your opportunity to invite all the children to respond to what was just taught. Before your lesson begins, make sure you’re prayed up and allow God to lead you during this time of response. |
| A Few Questions: What is the name of our new series? Shirts & Handcuffs | Sweaters & Chains | Coats & Shackles Who is the main character we are learning about in “Coats & Shackles”? Mary | Joseph | Jacob | Jesus How many brothers did Joseph have? 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 What gift did Joseph receive from his father? A yo-yo | A puppy | A colorful coat | A board game |
Craft Time – Make Joseph’s Coat Together.
