Week #5
I Will Serve…
Go Answer:
I will serve God and finish 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
Poor Joseph! What is going on?? He has been stuck in prison for years! If you remember from last week, Pharaoh has a crazy dream about fat cows and ugly cows and lots of grain growing. The dream scared the king and he needs it interpreted badly. Trouble is, no one can interpret it for him. But Pharaoh’s cupbearer suddenly remembers Joseph who is still locked away in prison. If Joseph had interpreted the cupbearer’s dream, why couldn’t he interpret Pharaoh’s dream too?
Joseph is brought out of prison and taken before Pharaoh where he interprets Pharaoh’s dream for him… There are seven years of feast coming to the land of Egypt. It will be a wonderful time filled with great harvests and lots of food. But after the seven years of feast, there will be seven years of famine. In this famine, food will be scarce and people will go hungry.
Joseph tells the king that he should put someone in charge to rule over the food. This person will make sure that enough food is saved during the seven years of feast so that there is plenty of food left when the seven years of famine hit.
Pharaoh likes this idea and determines that Joseph is the best guy for the job. “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you’” (Genesis 41:39-40a).
Things are looking up for Joseph! He’s out of prison and is second in command over all of Egypt! This is awesome! But we’re not done. Things are going to get even crazier when Joseph’s brothers come to town…
Last week we talked about obeying God, this week we’re talking about serving Him. Let’s take a look at our Go Answer…
“I will serve God and finish His plan.”
Consider having the kidssay 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!
Recruit some help for the dialogue, or turn the dialogue into a crazy story.
Interrupter: I had a great time at the zoo yesterday!
Presenter: Tell me about it!
Interrupter: I started at the ostriches.
Presenter: That’s fun.
Interrupter: Yeah, but one tried to bite my finger off.
Presenter: Yikes!
Interrupter: It’s okay, he missed.
Presenter: Well, that’s a relief.
Interrupter: Yeah, but instead he poked me in the eye.
Presenter: Ouch!
Interrupter: It’s okay, I got to wear an eye patch!
Presenter: That would be fun.
Interrupter: Yeah, but unfortunately, I couldn’t see too well with just one eye.
Presenter: That is unfortunate.
Interrupter: No problem, I can run fast.
Presenter: Run?
Interrupter: The ostrich got loose and started to chase me.
Presenter: Yikes!
Interrupter: It’s okay, I outran him.
Presenter: Good job!
Interrupter: But I ran straight into the lion’s cage.
Presenter: What?! How scary!
Interrupter: No worries, he was asleep.
Presenter: Well, that was fortunate.
Interrupter: Yeah, but the monkeys woke him up.
Presenter: That’s horrible!
Interrupter: It’s okay, I threw him my lunch sack.
Presenter: Good thinking.
Interrupter: Yeah, but he didn’t want it.
Presenter: Run!
Interrupter: No worries, I got away.
Presenter: Whew! What a relief.
Interrupter: Because the monkeys picked me up.
Presenter: They sound really strong.
Interrupter: It’s okay, they set me down quick.
Presenter: Oh good.
Interrupter: But I landed in the mud.
Presenter: Well, at least it was soft.
Interrupter: But then the ostrich found me again.
(Interrupter exits.)
These stories are getting out of hand! Too many ups and downs! Life hasn’t been going so well for our pal Joseph, but things are about to change for the better. Let’s jump in…
Scripture Reference: Genesis 41:14—47:26
Objective: The goal during week five of our series is to conclude Joseph’s wild journey. We will cover his rise to second in command of all of Egypt to his brothers’ return and the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream when he was a teenager. The key element for children to understand this week is that Joseph served God his whole life and God carried him through to an amazing completion and achievement.
Message: Joseph is now thirty years old and is second in command over all of Egypt. He is now wealthy and rules over many. Because of his leadership, the people of Egypt will not starve during the seven years of famine. They have plenty of food to last because Joseph has instructed people to save up food supplies during the years of plenty. After the seven years of feast, the famine hits. The famine was severe across the whole land. People from all over came to Egypt in order to buy food supplies. In the midst of all those people, guess who shows up? Joseph’s brothers!
Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food: “Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground… Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before” (42:6-9).
Do you remember the dreams? We learned about them in week one. Joseph dreamt that people would bow down to him. The whole land would bow down, including his brothers. It has been over twenty years since Joseph first had that dream (37:2, 41:46).
Joseph decided to have a little fun with his brothers and tricked them a few times. You can read all about it in Genesis chapters 43 and 44. But, after teasing and tricking them a few times, Joseph couldn’t wait any longer and decided to tell his brothers who he really was. The Bible says, “Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he broke down and wept…’I am Joseph!’ he said to his brothers. ‘Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. ‘Please, come closer,’ he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, ‘I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! You can live in the region … where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. I will take care of you …’ Then Joseph added, ‘… Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.’ … Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him” (Genesis 45:1-15).
Conclusion: Joseph chose to listen, trust, honor, obey and serve God every step of the way. By doing that, he was able to see God do incredible things with his life. Joseph had no idea the crazy life he would end up having when he was a young shepherd, watching over his father’s flock, but God knew. God knew the exact plan that He had for Joseph’s life. This is why it’s so important to remember what God says in His Word: “‘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).
God had an incredible plan for Joseph’s life and He has an incredible plan for your life too!
Our Go Answer this week says, “I will serve God and stay faithful to His plan.” It’s a great Go Answer, but what does it mean to be faithful? What does that look like?
Have you ever started something like a puzzle or a video game? (Ask for a show of hands.). If you put the puzzle together half-way, does that mean you are done with it? (No.) What about if you play a video game up to level 5 even though the game ends at level 12 – does that mean you have conquered the game? Of course not! You have to complete it. You have to finish it.
(Display LEGO set to the audience.)
It’s just like this LEGO set I have here. It’s still in the box. I haven’t created it yet. But I’m about to … who would like to help me?
Ask for a volunteer from the audience to join you on stage and quickly put together the LEGO set. Stop at least twice while putting together the set – once around the halfway point and then again when there is only one piece remaining. Each time, ask the audience if you have completed the LEGO set. (No.)
If I want to have the cool LEGO set, I have to finish putting it together. This is the same with a lot of things in life…
• If I want to get to the final level and beat the video game, I have to finish each level.
• If I want to get a good grade in class, I have to finish my test.
• If I want to grow healthy and strong, I have to finish my dinner.
There were many times in Joseph’s life when he could have called it quits. He could have decided to stop doing what is right. But he didn’t do that. Instead, Joseph chose to live in a way that honored God. No matter what Joseph was faced with, he chose to listen, trust, honor, obey, and serve God. By doing that, he was able to see just how awesome God’s plan was for his life.
Our challenge is to live like Joseph did by staying faithful to God and to His plan for our lives!
This is your opportunity to invite all the children to respond to what was just taught. Before service begins, make sure you’re prayed up and allow God to lead you during this time of response.
1.) Fill in the blanks from week 1’s Go Answer: I will listen to God so I know ___ _____.”
a. my plan.
b. His plan.
c. Joseph’s plan.
d. the plan.
2.) Fill in the blanks from week 2’s Go Answer: “I will trust God even when I _____ _____ ___ _____.”
a. don’t know His plan.
b. can’t see the way.
c. turn the wrong way.
d. don’t know the answers.
3.) Fill in the blanks from week 3’s Go Answer: “I will honor God and stay ____ ____ ____ ____.”
a. true to my word.
b. firm to His plan.
c. faithful to His plan.
d. far from bad decisions..
4.) Fill in the blanks from week 4’s Go Answer: “I will ____ ___ even when I can’t see His plan.”
a. stand firm
b. stay true
c. eat food
d. serve God
