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The List Joseph Could Have Read

Game · Upper elementary · 10 min

Bear Valley Community Church
POWERED BY KIDOLOGY
GAME · Ages 9–11 · 16-23 MIN · Genesis 45:1-15; Genesis 50:15-21

The List Joseph Could Have Read

BIG IDEA
Forgiveness isn't forgetting — Joseph remembered exactly what his brothers did and chose kindness anyway, because he trusted God was at work.
SUPPLIES · 1 ITEM
A Bible
HOW TO PLAY YOUR NOTES
1
1-2 min
Nobody Forgets This Stuff
DO Get everyone standing in a circle with room to move their arms without hitting a neighbor.
SAY I don't think this group can remember anything for more than ten seconds.
DO Wait for the protests — someone will insist they've got a great memory. Good, that's the hook.
SAY Prove it. We're going to build a list, and you have to remember every part, in order, with the actions. Let's see how far we get.
DO Don't mention forgiveness yet. Right now this is just a memory game.
2
3-5 min
Build the Wrong List
DO Explain the rule: you'll tell a true story a few seconds at a time. Each part gets an action. Every time you add a new part, the whole group does the whole list from the beginning, together, before you add the next one. Keep everyone standing in place — no travelling round the room.
SAY Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, so they grabbed him and threw him into a deep pit.
DO Action: everyone points down and drops their arms like something falling. Run it together two or three times.
SAY Then they sold him to some traders for pieces of silver.
DO Action: rub thumb and fingers together like counting coins. Run beats one and two together.
SAY They tore up his coat and lied to their father, telling him Joseph was dead.
DO Action: pretend to tear cloth, then wipe fake tears. Run all three beats together, a little faster. If the group drops a beat, just call it out and restart from the top — nobody's out, you're building it together.
3
2-3 min
The champion remembers
DO Ask for one or two volunteers to do the whole list solo, actions and all, while everyone else watches and can jump in to help if they blank.
DO Let them succeed. Cheer them on.
SAY Look at that. You remember every single wrong thing that happened to Joseph, in order, without missing one.
SAY So here's the real question. If Joseph had those exact brothers standing right in front of him — the ones who did every single thing on that list — what do you think he said to them first?
DO Take a few guesses out loud. Don't correct any of them yet — you want the gap open before you read the answer.
4
3-5 min
What Joseph actually said
DO Open a Bible to Genesis 45.
SAY Years later, that's exactly what happened. Joseph is now the second most powerful man in Egypt, and his brothers come looking for food during a famine, with no idea it's him. Here's what he says.
DO Read Genesis 45:4-5 (WEB) aloud, straight from the Bible.
SAY "Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come near to me, please.' They came near. He said, 'I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now don't be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.'"
SAY He says it out loud — 'whom you sold into Egypt.' Joseph remembered the list too. Every part of it.
DO Read Genesis 50:19-21 (WEB) aloud.
SAY "Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore don't be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones.' He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them."
SAY Joseph didn't forget what happened. He said it out loud, twice. He just decided not to make them pay for it. That's what forgiveness actually is — not pretending it didn't happen, but being kind anyway.
5
1-2 min
One name, before Wednesday
DO Have everyone stand quietly for a moment. No one shares out loud.
SAY Think of one person. Someone who did something to you that you could still list perfectly, step by step, if I asked you to. You don't have to tell anyone who it is.
SAY Now think of one small thing you could actually do for that person tomorrow — sit next to them, say their name, hand them the ball before you take your own turn.
SAY God was kind to us before we ever deserved it. This is us doing the same for someone else — not paying God back for it, just passing it on.
THE PASSAGE · Genesis 45:1-15; Genesis 50:15-21
Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery years earlier. Now he's second-in-command of Egypt, and they come looking for food with no idea who he is. Joseph reveals himself, names exactly what they did to him, and instead of paying them back he provides for them. Later, after their father dies, the brothers are afraid Joseph will finally get revenge — but he tells them he isn't in God's place to punish them, and he keeps caring for them.
TALK ABOUT IT · PICK ONE OR TWO
YOUNGER
What's something someone did to you a long time ago that you could still describe perfectly, step by step, if I asked you to?
OLDER
Do you think forgiving someone means acting like it never happened? Why or why not?
Joseph's brothers were scared he'd finally get revenge once their dad was gone. Why do you think they still expected that, even after years of Joseph being kind to them?
Joseph says 'you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.' Does that mean what the brothers did wasn't really wrong?
BEFORE YOU TEACH IT
Please review and adapt all generated content before use.
Bear Valley Community Church · GAME · The List Joseph Could Have Read KIDOLOGY.ORG

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