Joseph and the Kids
Our current Sunday morning series is off to a good start. We've spent time already looking at the lives of Noah and Abraham. This week I get my first crack at things with Joseph.Each Sunday we are having the kids join us for a few songs and a story before dismissing them to Children's Church. One of the reasons we launched this series is because of the distinct lack of knowledge among adults concerning the Old Testament stories. By gathering the kids up front and telling the stories to them, we are giving the information to those who may have never learned it in a simple way without making them feel somehow lesser than anyone else. In only two weeks, I have already heard "I never knew that" more than once.
This week my brother-in-law (who could drop the "in-law" part and still be accurate as far as I'm concerned), Lex, will be telling the story of Joseph to the kids in a fresh way. He teaches this group during class time anyway and has developed a tremendous rapport with them. He is going to be asking them to respond to some questions that put them in Joseph's place. For instance, what would you do if your brothers and sisters drove you to New York and left you there, then came back here and told your parents you had run away? What if they came back to find you in charge of the only grocery store still running in the whole world? Would you give them food they needed to live even after what they had done to you? You never know what kids are going to say and I can't wait to hear their answers.
My spin on Joseph is that he lost everything. Everything. And he never took his eyes off of God. Even after years of living in a foreign land...falsely accused...imprisoned...God's promises going without being fulfilled...he still had faith. Why? How?
It's so important to know who these people, our adoptive ancestors, were. They are our heritage. They are our examples. They are our cloud of witnesses. I hope we all personalize these stories and take something from them. Prayers, as always, are appreciated.
posted by Thurman8er @ 10:10 AM
3 Comments:
Good stuff, the series sounds great. That's why I use the NCV when I preach. It's a version for kids that adults easily understand.
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I love your idea and Lex's involvement with the kiddos. I wonder if we could take your "West Coast Offense" and adapt it here on the East Coast?
We have a very young church (I'm 47 and one of the geezers) in the same situation as far as basic Biblical knowledge is concerned.
By the way, I didn't know Joseph ran a Grocery Store in Egypt?
My bexhqua version doesn't contain that tidbit of 411.
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