252 GroupsSeptember 2016, Week 3
Small Group, K-1
Joseph in Charge
Bible Story: Joseph in Charge (Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams) • Genesis 41
Bottom Line: When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.
Memory Verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5, NIrV
Life App: Trust—putting your confidence in someone you can depend on.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
GET READY
Prepare ahead of time for Kindergarten – 1stgrade Small Groups this week:
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction(Choose one or both of these activities.)
Early Arriver
- An offering container
Don’t Let it Fall!
- Jenga® blocks or other similar wood blocks
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect(Choose as many of these activities as you like.)
* If you don’t have time to do all these activities, be sure to do activity #1.
* 1. Joseph’s Life Mural: Part Three(review the Bible story)
- Butcher paper from previous weeks
- “Story Titles: Week 3” Activity Page
- Markers or crayons
- Paperclips
- Twine
- Dried grass or raffia
- Farm stickers
- School (white) glue
- Scissors
2. “The Pressure’s On!” Poses (application activity)
- No supplies needed
3. Target Practice(memory verse activity)
- Ping-pong ball
- Small bucket or bin
- Masking tape
Prayer
- No supplies needed
Joseph in Charge
Bible Story: Joseph in Charge (Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams) • Genesis 41
Bottom Line: When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.
Memory Verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5, NIrV
Life App: Trust—putting your confidence in someone you can depend on.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction(Small Groups, 15 minutes)
Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s story.
Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Pray for any kids you know of who are struggling to perform well at school or in sports, or struggling to succeed in general. Ask God to alleviate some of the pressure on these kids help them see that He’s got their backs.
1. Early Arriver Idea
What You Need:Offering container
What You Do:
- Encourage the kids to place their offerings in the offering container.
- Ask kids:
- What are some jobs that you are responsible for at home?
- Do you have some kind of chore chart at your house?
- If so, what things are written next to your name?
- What are you expected to just do without being asked to do?
- What about at school?
- Do you have some jobs at school that you’re responsible for?
2. Don’t Let it Fall!
What You Need:Jenga® blocks or other similar wood blocks
What You Do:
- Stack up the blocks in the center of your small group area.
- Let the kids take turns pushing a block out of the center (just as you would play Jenga®) without causing the whole tower to fall.
- If it falls, restack and start play again. Try to play long enough so that each child has a turn.
- Adaptation: If you have too many groups to provide a set of blocks for each, provide one or two sets for each room. Place the towers at the front of the room and let kids come up to represent their group as they take out a block. Try to move quickly so you give each kid the chance to take out a block. Provide paper and markers for kids to draw with so they don’t lose interest while they’re not playing.
What You Say:
“When it was your turn, did you feel a lot of pressure to get your piece out with out making the whole tower fall?[Transition] Let’s see what kind of pressure Joseph had to face in our Bible story today!”
Lead your group to the Large Group area.
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes)
Create a safe place to connect and learn howthe Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions.
* 1. Joseph’s Life Mural: Part Three(application activity / review the Bible story)
What You Need: Butcher paper from previous weeks, “Story Titles: Week 3” Activity Page, paperclips, markers, crayons, twine, raffia or dried grass, farm stickers, glue, scissors
What You Do:
- Roll out the butcher paper to reveal sections one and two.Briefly review what you talked about the last two weeks: Joseph had a special coat, his brothers were so jealous they threw him in a well and then sold him off, Joseph was sent to Egypt,he worked for Potiphar, he was falsely accused and thrown in jail, he was put in charge of all the prisoners, he met the baker and cupbearer, and with God’s help he correctly interpreted their dreams.
- Roll the mural back up and paperclip it so that only the thirdsection is available for the kids to use. Glue the “Story Titles: Week 3” Activity Page to the top of the third section.
- Review today’s Bible story using the points below.
- Two years had passed while Joseph sat in jail.
- The cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh he could interpret dreams.
- Joseph told Pharaoh that HE couldn’t interpret dreams but GOD could.
- Pharaoh explained his dreams: seven fat cows were eaten by seven skinny cows; and seven fat heads of grain were swallowed by seven thin, dried out heads of grain.
- Joseph told Pharaoh that his dreams meant that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine (no rain and not enough food).
- Pharaoh was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of everything. He was second in command behind Pharaoh.
- Joseph wisely stored up food during the seven years of plenty so they would have enough for the seven years of little.
- Ask the kids to gather around the butcher paper.
- Let them choose a partner or work in groups of three. Assign each pair/group a part of the story using the suggested supplies below.
- Use twine, raffia or dried grass to represent the stalks of grain.
- Use farm stickers for the cows.
- Use markers or crayons to draw the rest of the details.
What You Say:
“Can you believe it was TWO years before the cupbearer remembered to mention Joseph to Pharaoh? Joseph was called to stand before the most powerful man in the land. Talk about pressure! And Pharaoh needed answers. I love how Joseph told Pharaoh that he couldn’t interpret dreams but God could. Joseph believed that God was with him.[Bottom Line] When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you. Joseph trusted God. He trusted Him while he sat in that prison day after day. He trusted God as he stood in front of Pharaoh. He trusted God as he explained what Pharaoh’s dreams meant. And then he became second in command in Egypt. Wow! [Bottom Line]When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.”
[Make It Personal] (Tell the kids about a time when you were under pressure but you knew that God was with you. What happened? How did trusting God help you face a scary situation? Make sure your example is age-appropriate.)
2. “The Pressure’s On!”Poses(application activity)
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
- Divide kids into pairs and then gather the kids to sit down in your Small Group area.
- Take a moment to explain what “the pressure is on” means, in terms that kids this age can understand. Tell kids they might feel “pressure” whenever they have to do something hard or learn something new. That feeling they get when learning to tie their shoes or reading a new word is like feeling the “pressure” of wanting to get that thing right.
- Explain that you’ll read a “pressure” scenario and kids will “pose” their partner like he/she is actually doing the thing in the scenario. (For example, for #3, a kid could put his partner in a seated position and turn her head upward, as if looking at a server at a restaurant. Then he could move his partner’s jaw up and down, as if she’s talking.)
- Instruct kids to switch roles each time.
- Give kids ideas about how to pose their partner if they seem to have trouble coming up with ideas. And remind the kids being posed to let their partner move them; don’t stiffen up.
Scenarios
- You are called to on to read something on the board in front of the whole class.
- You’re up to bat in tee ball or coach pitch baseball.
- Your mom encourages you to order your own food at a restaurant.
- You have to take a skills test for your yellow belt.
- You have to spell a word in front of everyone in the spelling bee.
- You need to apologize to a friend that you hurt.
- You lied about something and you need to confess it to your mom or dad.
- Your teacher asks you to read your journal entry to the whole class.
- You are called on to read a poem at the school assembly.
- Everyone on your team has run the obstacle course; you’re the LAST one to run and you want to win for your team.
- You are chosen to sing a solo in the talent show at school.
- You are playing in your first piano recital.
- Your teammate kicks you the ball because you’re right in front of the goal.
- You’re at the pool and all your friends are just jumping right in, so you do the same.
- You’re on first base and the batter hits the ball right towards you.
What You Say:
“Great job, everybody! Today we’re learning that[Bottom Line] when the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.You probably won’t have to face a man as powerful as Pharaoh and interpret his dreams, but you will face situations like these where you might feel like you’re under pressure. It’s important to trust God in these situations and believe that you aren’t alone. God is right there with you when you swing that bat or apologize or tell the truth or run that obstacle course. He is with you and He loves you whether you win that yellow belt, read every word perfectly, or completely forget the poem you memorized. No matter what pressure you face, God is on your side. He is your biggest cheerleader. [Bottom Line] When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.And when you remember that, it makes it easier to do the hard things!”
3. Target Practice (memory verse activity)
What You Need:Ping-pong ball, small bucket or bin, masking tape
What You Do:
- Help the kids look up Proverbs 3:5 and read it together.
- Use the masking tape to mark a small starting line.
- Place the bucket about two feet away from the starting line.
- Line up kids behind the starting line. Let them take turns throwing the ping-pong ball into the bucket.
- If a child gets the ball into the bucket, she selects two people in the group to say this month’s memory verse together.
- If she misses, she picks someone to say the verse with her.
- Repeat so that every child has a turn.
What You Say:
“That was fun! Did you feel pressure to sink the shot when it was your turn? How about if you were called on to say the verse? We all face pressure situations. But we can trust and depend on God. He will guide and direct our steps if we choose to put our trust in Him. [Bottom Line] When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
- Ask kids to think about one of the “pressure scenarios” from the game earlier. (Or choose a couple to read again to the group. You could even make up a couple scenarios, depending on what you know about your kids.)
- Pray for the group, asking God to help them remember that He is with them, even when the pressure is on.
What You Say:
“Heavenly Father, you are an awesome, holy, BIG and powerful God. And yet, You know everything about us. You know when we face situations where we feel pressure or when we’re scared about how things will turn out. Help us to believe that You are with us, just as You were with Joseph. We love You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
As adults arrive to pick up, pass out Parent Cue cards and encourage the kids to show their parents the “Joseph Mural” from Weeks 1-3.Give each child a GodTime card.
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