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| Even though his brothers had hurt him and hated him and wanted him dead...he couldn't stop loving them (JSB 81) |
For the Kids
Read: Joseph
Sing: Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne
Abide with Me (Tune #1) (Tune #2) - see here for when we sang it earlier this year
Think: Genesis 39:2a "The Lord was with Joseph."
Pray:
Do: Coat
For You
- Big Picture Story Bible: God's People Grow (89-101)
- The Jesus Storybook Bible: The Forgiving Prince (76-83))
- The Gospel Story Bible: Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (52-53)
** once again, there are many stories in the The Gospel Story Bible that focus on Joseph. I chose the last story, but you can certainly choose another or more than one to read. I chose to read from Genesis to my children this year. I think we sometimes shy away from reading long stories to them from the Bible because we think it is too long or the words are too big, but do not underestimate the power of God's Word and how God can and will help your children understand It.
Abide with Me (Tune #1) (Tune #2) - see here for when we sang it earlier this year
Think: Genesis 39:2a "The Lord was with Joseph."
Pray:
Do: Coat
For You
Genesis 50:15-21
Matthew 2:13-15
Acts 7:9-16
Romans 8:28-29
Verse:
Joseph has always been one of my favorite stories. As a child (Adventures in Odyssey with Bernard telling the story - for those of you Odyssey fans), I was always so excited to hear about all of the adventures that Joseph had and that God was always with him. Not many stories can boast brothers fighting against one another, kidnapping, false accusations, imprisonment, visions, and forgiveness! I love the story of Joseph now because I see pictures of Jesus everywhere. And I see the character of God revealed again and again through the waiting and seeming injustices.
There are many things to remember about this story, but I will only mention a few. If you were to look in my Bible, you would find the phrase "and the Lord was with Joseph" underlined over and over again. Even though nothing seemed to be going as Joseph planned, God saw. God knew. God was with Joseph. Those times in my life when I feel alone and hopeless, I remember how God promises to be with His people....with me.
God is with us during the times of injustice, during the times we are waiting, during those times when nothing makes sense (even though we are striving to do everything right), during times of deepest sorrow and loss, during the times of rejoicing: God is with us. Stories like Joseph remind me to long for the future advent of Jesus when we will be forever with Him. There will be no more injustice, no more waiting to see all the pieces of the puzzle. We will be WITH Him, our future Hope. Our Lord Emmanuel: God with us (Titus 2:11-14).
God is gracious in forgiveness. "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20) never gets old. I smile every time I read those wonderful words of forgiveness. God gave Joseph the grace to forgive some pretty terrible things and to see His good purpose. Forgiveness is a hard thing to do. Even in the lives of my young children, I see already how they struggle to say the words "will you forgive me?" or "yes, I forgive you." It's almost as if they know that if they say those words, they are admitting 1) that they are in the wrong and need forgiving or 2) that they have to move on from being wronged. The truth for our children is that we cannot forgive on our own. We must first look to the cross where we saw the Perfect Life (Life, Itself) dying the required penalty so that we may have God's forgiveness. God has forgiven us (1 John 1:9), so we ought to forgive one another. God gave Joseph the grace to forgive, and that same God has forgiven me too! I am thankful that as I enter this season of advent, I can remember that I am forgiven.
Have you seen Jesus woven throughout the story of Joseph? We have seen the past few days, God's promise passed down from Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob - and to Judah (eventually). One interesting thing to notice is that Judah is the one who offers to take Benjamin's place. He offered his life as a substitute. Does this sound like something someone else from the tribe of Judah would do in the future? Could it be too far of a stretch to see a glimmer of what the Rescuer would do for us, the Lion of Judah. One day, this Lion of Judah would offer to take our place and be our substitute for sin and be slain as a lamb. All so that I could be forgiven. What a Promise!
Tidings and tidbits:There are many things to remember about this story, but I will only mention a few. If you were to look in my Bible, you would find the phrase "and the Lord was with Joseph" underlined over and over again. Even though nothing seemed to be going as Joseph planned, God saw. God knew. God was with Joseph. Those times in my life when I feel alone and hopeless, I remember how God promises to be with His people....with me.
God is with us during the times of injustice, during the times we are waiting, during those times when nothing makes sense (even though we are striving to do everything right), during times of deepest sorrow and loss, during the times of rejoicing: God is with us. Stories like Joseph remind me to long for the future advent of Jesus when we will be forever with Him. There will be no more injustice, no more waiting to see all the pieces of the puzzle. We will be WITH Him, our future Hope. Our Lord Emmanuel: God with us (Titus 2:11-14).
God is gracious in forgiveness. "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20) never gets old. I smile every time I read those wonderful words of forgiveness. God gave Joseph the grace to forgive some pretty terrible things and to see His good purpose. Forgiveness is a hard thing to do. Even in the lives of my young children, I see already how they struggle to say the words "will you forgive me?" or "yes, I forgive you." It's almost as if they know that if they say those words, they are admitting 1) that they are in the wrong and need forgiving or 2) that they have to move on from being wronged. The truth for our children is that we cannot forgive on our own. We must first look to the cross where we saw the Perfect Life (Life, Itself) dying the required penalty so that we may have God's forgiveness. God has forgiven us (1 John 1:9), so we ought to forgive one another. God gave Joseph the grace to forgive, and that same God has forgiven me too! I am thankful that as I enter this season of advent, I can remember that I am forgiven.
Have you seen Jesus woven throughout the story of Joseph? We have seen the past few days, God's promise passed down from Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob - and to Judah (eventually). One interesting thing to notice is that Judah is the one who offers to take Benjamin's place. He offered his life as a substitute. Does this sound like something someone else from the tribe of Judah would do in the future? Could it be too far of a stretch to see a glimmer of what the Rescuer would do for us, the Lion of Judah. One day, this Lion of Judah would offer to take our place and be our substitute for sin and be slain as a lamb. All so that I could be forgiven. What a Promise!
- Ornament credit to my three year old who picked out the colors and pieces to make Joseph's coat.
- The story of Joseph takes up a large portion of the book of Genesis. If you have time, read the rest of the chapters on Joseph.
- Here is a great Christmas album to share with your children and family
- Read Psalm 103:1-22 and meditate on God's forgiveness. Start memorizing it with your children. There are a lot of word pictures that remind us of Joseph's story in this chapter. You can also sing a hymn based on this text Praise My Soul the King of Heaven (this was just sung at the funeral of President Bush if you watched that).
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