God is With You

---

God is With You Bible Story: Joseph and His Brothers, (The Life of Joseph) • Genesis 37, 39-45, 50:19-20 Bottom Line: God is with You. Memory Verse: “I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.” John 10:10 NIrV Christ Connection: Just like Joseph, we can live like God is with us because He sent His Son Jesus to forgive of our sins. After you believe in Christ, you are always His and the Holy Spirit lives in you. 10 Minutes SOCIAL: SETTING THE TONE OF THE EXPERIENCE Matching Game What You Need: Set of matching cards or tokens What You Do: Lay out the cards face down  Kids take turns turning over cards to make matching pairs. If cards do not match, play goes to next kid.  Keep going till all cards have found a match  As you play help kids talk about the pictures on their cards and find ways to relate to the pictures.  What You Say: “As we go this month, we are all going to learn about people from the Bible who had to find ways to relate to God. Let’s see if we can find our match as we learn about Joseph today.”

10 Minutes Worship: CELEBRATING WHAT GOD IS DOING SONGS, OFFERING AND PRAYER

15 Minutes LARGE GROUP: COMMUNICATING GOD’S TRUTH IN ENGAGING WAYS

Today’s Passage 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:19-20 Context Bottom Line: Live like you know God is with you. Joseph’s life was full of ups and downs. It seemed like he went from the best of times to the worst of times overnight! But through it all, he still worked hard. He still helped others. He still had hope, a nd he still believed God had a bright future for him. Joseph lived like he knew God was with him the whole time. Live like you know God is with you. It might not feel like things are looking ‘UP,’ but you can trust God no matter what. He is with you always! Today’s Takeaways  Even when life doesn’t go according to our plan, God has a plan.  BL: Live like you know God is with you.  You can trust God no matter what.  He is with you always.  He proves this by giving us His Son, Jesus. Give kids a chance to believe in Jesus for the first time. Remind them that God loves them so much that He sent Jesus to ear th to pay for their sins. Lead them to pray as you pray. Pray that believers will submit their lives to the Holy Spirit, follow Jesus, and tell others about Him.

25 Minutes SMALL GROUPS : CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT Discussion Questions:    

What did Joseph’s brothers do to him? When something went bad in Joseph’s life, where was God? When things are tough for you, how can you remember that God is with you? Is there ever a time when God can’t be trusted?

Activity: Watch the Pros What You Need: “MX Mania Motorcycles” (Activity Page), markers, scissors What You Do: Small Group © 2018 AMPED VBS

1

   



Invite kids to tell you what they know about motocross (also known as Moto X or MX) racing. Give kids the “MX Mania Motorcycles” (Activity Page). Set out the markers and invite kids to color their bikes as they choose. As they color, unpack the concept of “highs” and “lows” as they relate to life: o “highs” are times when things seem to be going well o “lows” are times when things seem to be going poorly. o Invite kids to give examples of what might be “highs” and “lows” in peoples’ lives. Next, ask prompting questions to help kids recall the events of Joseph’s life. o As the kids tell each event, invite them to decide if the event would be a “high” or a “low” in Joseph’s life. o Emphasize that no matter what happened to him, Joseph lived like he knew God was with him. o Finally, narrate the Bible story, leading kids to use their motorcycle “spinners” to go “up” on imaginary motocross jumps with the “highs” of Joseph’s life and “down” with the “lows.” o Be sure to touch on the following key points:  Jacob loved his son, Joseph, more than any of his other sons. He showed his love by giving Joseph a beautiful coat to wear.  Joseph had dreams that one day his father and brothers would bow before him.  Joseph’s brothers hated him for his dreams, so they threw him into a pit.  Joseph was sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar.  God gave Joseph success, so Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything.  Potiphar’s wife lied and said that Joseph did something that he didn’t do. Joseph was put in prison.  The man who ran the prison saw that God gave Joseph success in everything he did, so he put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners.  One night, the baker and wine taster each had a dream. God gave Joseph the meanings of their dreams, and the dreams came true.  But Joseph stayed in prison for two more years.  When Joseph told Pharaoh the meaning of his dream, Pharaoh made him second in command.  There were seven years with plenty of food, followed by seven years with no food at all.  When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food, they bowed down to him.  Joseph told his brothers who he was. He hugged them and said, “Don’t be afraid. You planned to harm me. But God planned it for good.”

What You Say: “Some things in Joseph’s life seemed to be real lows: his brothers threw him in a pit, Potiphar’s wife lied and said that he d id something that he didn’t do, and he was in prison for many years. Other things in Joseph’s life seemed to be highs: his father gave him a special robe, he had dreams that his father and brothers would bow to him, and Pharaoh made him second in command over all of Egypt.” “But no matter what was happening in his life, Joseph lived like he knew God was with him. He never complained. He never got angry. He even forgave his brothers for the bad things they did to him.” “Just like Joseph, you can live like you know God is with you, too. You can live like you know God is with you because God IS with you, no matter what! He’s with you when things are hard, and He’s with you when things are easy. He’s with you when you’re happy, and He’s with you when you’re sad. No matter what, God is ALWAYS with you. So remember: God is with you. He will NEVER leave you. He will N EVER turn away from you.”

Activity: Memory Verse Activity What You Need: “Riding the Course Memory Verse Cards” Activity Page, two copies per small group; masking tape; Bibles , poster board What You Do:  Hand out the Bibles and look up John 10:10b together, using the Bible Navigation Tips below.  Divide the group into two teams.  Line them up behind a starting point at one side of your small group area.  Give each team a set of the Memory Verse Cards. If you haven't put masking tape loops on the cards already, let kids work together to do that now.  If you'd like, you can scramble the cards so that kids have the verse out of order as they stand in line.  Across from the kids on the other side, outline 2 hilly "courses" with colored masking tape on the wall , table or poster.  Teams must relay race to put the Memory Verse Cards in order along the hill. The first team to get their cards in order wins. What You Say: “This is a great verse to remember when the track gets tough! "Life in the fullest possible way" means living without fear. It means that even though I know life can have ups and downs, I can trust God no matter what. I'm never alone even when I feel lonely, and I can always be thankful. I don't have to worry about what happens later on in the course, and I don't have to control everything in order to be happy. I can trust that God has my back no matter what lies ahead, and just like that, you too can know God is with you.” Small Group © 2018 AMPED VBS

2

Pray and Dismiss: What You Need: No supplies needed What You Say: “.“Dear God, thank You that You are always with us. You will never leave us. You will never turn away from us. Help us remember that You are with us when things are good, and help us remember that You are with us when things are hard. We love You, Lord. Amen .”

5 Minutes HOME: PROMPTING ACTION BEYOND THE EXPERIENCE As adults arrive to pick up, ask kids to use their motorcycles to tell someone else the Bible story today.

Small Group © 2018 AMPED VBS

3