Dear Parents, We hope the following summary of the Sunday School lesson will help you in discussing the lesson with your children and in working through this booklet together. SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: Genesis 39 – 40
Joseph He Chose to Obey
BIBLE STORY SUMMARY: God was with Joseph while he was a slave, and He blessed him and the household of his master. God allowed Joseph to remain a slave for a long time. Joseph refused to become bitter, and He trusted and obeyed God, resisting temptation. God was in control, and Joseph trusted God to bring about the promises He had made for him even when he was treated unjustly. LESSON FOCUS: To understand that God’s plan for my life is that I am obedient and that I trust Him. To understand that obedience to God results in His blessing, but God’s blessing may not include removing the difficult situation. WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD: God is faithful to keep His promises. God may use difficulty to reach the goal of helping me to trust Him. LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED: Joseph had been taken to Egypt and sold as a slave to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials. How did Joseph handle his new job as a slave? Joseph worked hard, and God was with him, giving success to all that he did. God blessed the household of Potiphar because of Joseph. What happened when Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt Joseph into sin? Joseph refused. She grabbed hold of his robe. But Joseph fled, leaving the robe in her hand. He was put in prison when Potiphar’s wife lied to her husband, saying Joseph had tried to assault her. She used his robe as “proof” to support her story. How did Joseph handle being in prison? Though the sentence was unjust, Joseph worked hard and was given much responsibility. Two servants of Pharaoh were imprisoned and put under his care. What happened with them? Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker each had a dream. Joseph interpreted these, acknowledging that the answers came from God. Each dream came true.
God Gives Success When I Am Obedient
Joseph Is a Slave This Week’s Memory Verse “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Will you believe that God is using the hard situations in your life to teach you to trust Him?
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Will you choose to be obedient to God every day?
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.
See you on Sunday!
Copyright 2007 Berean Baptist Church 309 E. Co. Rd. 42 Burnsville, MN 55306 952-432-7168
Jeremiah 29:11-14a
MONDAY – JOSEPH IN EGYPT Joseph was brought to Egypt, a long way away from his family. Then he was sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar. Could Joseph ask his dad for help? Could he ask his friends to help him? No28, 2007 October
Yes
No
Yes
Who was with Joseph wherever he went? ______________ Read Genesis 39:1 to 6. Mark a T by what is true about Joseph’s life as a slave. Mark an F by what is false. _____ Joseph earned the important job of taking care of Potiphar’s household. _____ Joseph planned how to get back at his brothers who had sold him. _____ Joseph tried to get out of doing hard work. _____ The Lord gave Joseph success. _____ The Lord gave Potiphar success. Even when he was a slave far away from home, God was with Joseph. But this didn’t mean his life was always easy. Can you write down one time when you were punished for something you did not do? ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Tell God, “Thanks,” that He is always with you.
Draw a face that shows how you felt about that time.
Practice saying the last line of our memory verse. Don’t forget its reference – its Bible address!
SATURDAY – THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE
FRIDAY – JOSEPH IS FORGOTTEN Read Genesis 40:14 to 15. What did Joseph ask the cupbearer to do when he got out of prison?
How are you doing on learning our memory verses? Without peeking (!!!) see how many spaces you can fill in by using the words below. Then say the lines out loud. listen
seek prosper
heart pray
plans find
found hope
“I know the ________________ I have for you,” declares the LORD,
Bring Joseph some food Ask the Pharaoh to get him out of prison Remember Joseph and show him kindness Go tell his brothers to come and get him
Did the cupbearer keep his promise? (Genesis 40:23) Yes
“plans to _____________________ you and not to harm you, plans to give you a ________________ and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and _________________ to Me, and I will ___________________ to you. You will _____________________ Me and ______________ Me when you seek Me with all your _____________________. I will be ____________________ by you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11 to 14a.
No, he forgot Joseph
How do you think Joseph must have felt when the cupbearer forgot about him? Draw a line under the words that you think tell how Joseph felt. If you think of a word that you think is better, write that one. Okay
Lonely
Happy
Sad
______________
Even though Joseph probably wasn’t too happy about being forgotten, he knew that God was still with him. Can you think of a time when you felt like someone forgot about you? ____________________________________________________________________ Will you choose to remember that God is always with you even if others forget you? Yes, He’s always with me. I’m not sure I’ll remember. No, I don’t want to think about God. Ask God to help you always follow Him. Can you say all the lines of our memory verse?
TUESDAY – JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR’S HOUSE
WEDNESDAY – JOSEPH IN PRISON Read Genesis 39:20 to 23. Besides the other prisoners and the warden, who was with Joseph in prison? __________
Potiphar was so pleased with Joseph that he trusted him to take care of everything in his house. Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to act like he was married to her even though she was married to Potiphar. Joseph knew that God did not want him to do this.
What happened to Joseph because God was with him?
Read Genesis 39:12. What did Joseph do when Mrs. Potiphar wanted him to sin?
Joseph was put in charge of other prisoners. The other prisoners were mean to Joseph. The warden (boss) of the prison was pleased with Joseph. The Lord gave Joseph success in all he did. Joseph got out of prison early.
“He left his cloak in her hand and ___________ out of the house.” Can you think of any time that you should run away from sin? _____________________________________________ When Potiphar’s wife was trying to get Joseph to sin, he ran right out of the house! But she held on to his coat and used it to make up a lie about Joseph. She said it proved that Joseph had tried to do something wrong to her. Read Genesis 39:19 to 20. What did Potiphar do when he heard his wife’s lies about Joseph? He got very angry with Joseph. He threw Joseph into prison. He believed his wife’s lie. All of these. Potiphar never asked to hear Joseph’s side of the story. Read James 4:7. What does it tell us?
What do you think? Did Joseph deserve to be put in jail? __________ Did Joseph deserve to be sold into slavery? __________ Did Joseph deserve to be mistreated by his brothers? __________ Do bad things ever happen to you that you feel you don’t deserve? __________ God has promised all of us that He has “plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, part of our memory verse) God does NOT promise us that we will never be sick, never be mistreated, or that we will never have hard things in life.
“_____________________ the devil and he will ________________ from you.”
God uses the hard things in our lives to teach us and change us so that we become more like Jesus!
When you resist something, you say, “NO!” to it. When we say, “NO!” to sin, the devil just runs away!
Ask God to help you remember He is with you when times are hard.
Ask God to help you say, “NO!” to sin today.
Try saying this week’s memory line with the lines that come before it.
THURSDAY – TWO DREAMS Today we’re looking at Genesis 40:1 to 22. Ask someone to read it with you, if you’d like. Two new prisoners were placed under Joseph’s care. What were their jobs for the king? (Verse 2) They were his chief:
C___________________ and B___________________. It was the cupbearer’s job to taste the king’s food and drink to make sure it was good. What do you think the baker’s job was? _________________ One night, each of these men had a dream. But, they were sad because they didn’t know what the dreams meant. Who did Joseph say knew the meaning of the dreams? (Verse 8)
G________ What kind of things did the cupbearer’s dream say would happen to him? (Verses 9 to 13) Good
Not so good
Bad
What kind of things did the baker’s dream say would happen to him? (Verses 16 to 19) Good
Not so good
Bad
Did their dreams come true? (Verses 20 to 22) _____________ When God told Joseph what the dreams meant, He was reminding Joseph that He also knew about Joseph’s future. How do you feel about God knowing your future? Tell that to God. Tell our memory lines to someone in your family.