joseph and potiphar’s wife - creative kidswork · with the children about the bible story. during...

© Copyright – Matthijs & Lindsey Vlaardingerbroek – www.creativekidswork.com

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Joseph and Potiphar’s wife

- a complete Sunday School lesson -

In this booklet we offer you twelve creative ideas that you can use in your Sunday school, kids

ministry, children's church or youth work on the Bible story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.

Twelve ideas for your Sunday school lesson:

* The layers of an onion - a children's moment * Number 1?! - an icebreaker * How do I tell the this Bible story? - five storytelling tips * Watch the video “The Egyptian pyramids” - YouTube video and discussion * The floating / sinking orange - a fun science experiment * Do you recognize all the emotions? - a creative activity * The longest chain in the world - a creative activity * A reflecting mirror - a creative activity * Build a pyramid - a Bible game * Going against the current - a Bible game * A ball and chain - a crafts idea * What are you full of? - a creative prayer idea

https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/699-578-who-can-you-trust-a-creative-activity

https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/699-578-who-can-you-trust-a-creative-activity


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The Bible story in this lesson:

In Egypt Joseph is sold as a slave to Potiphar, the head of the

Pharaoh’s bodyguard. Potiphar soon realises that the Lord Is with

Joseph and is helping him, because he succeeds in everything he does.

Joseph is put in charge of Potiphar’s household. He trusts Joseph

completely.

In the meantime Potiphar’s wife also likes Joseph very much, and

wants him to go to bed with her. He doesn’t want to disappoint

Potiphar and God, and keeps refusing her, but Potiphar’s wife doesn’t give up. One day she pulls on

his coat and doesn’t let go, but Joseph manages to run away, leaving his coat behind. Potiphar’s wife

starts to scream and tells everyone that Joseph tried to hurt her.

Potiphar is furious when he hears his wife’s story. He throws Joseph into prison.

However even in prison, God takes care of Joseph. Before long the warden had put him in charge of

all the other prisoners. The warden didn’t have to worry about anything while Joseph was there to

take care of it, because the Lord helped him.

(Genesis 39)


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Children’s moment / introduction - The layers of

an onion

This is a short introduction to a telling of the story of Joseph being sold

as a slave.

What do you need:

- an onion

- a knife

- a rubbish bin

What do you do:

Do: Invite the children to come forward (if you are doing this in church) and show them an onion.

Tell: The onion looks like Joseph, with his beautiful coat of many colours. But one day his brothers

pull off his coat, and throw him in the pit.

Do: Take the skin off the onion.

Tell: But not only is his coat gone. He is sold by his own brothers as a slave in Egypt – and at a very

cheap price. It’s enough to make you cry!

Do: Take off the outside layer of the onion.

Tell: In Egypt he was sold to Potiphar as a common house slave, where he was given a different

sort of coat.

Do: Take off the next layer of the onion.

Tell: Soon Potiphar’s wife falls in love with him and tries to take off his coat.

Do: Take off the next layer of the onion.

Tell: And now there are tears running down Joseph’s face (and my face) as Potiphar throws him

into jail.

Do: For the last time, remove the next layer of the onion.

Ask But how does the story continue? Let’s find out – I’ll just dry my tears…..


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Icebreaker - Number 1?!

Joseph is number 1 for everybody in the story. In what are the

children number 1?

What do you need:

- a picture of a ‘1st’ rosette.

What do you do:

Tell: For Jacob, Joseph is ….number 1!

For the brothers, Joseph is arch enemy number 1!

For Potiphar, Joseph is slave number 1!

For Potiphar’s wife Joseph is simply number 1!

For the prison guard Joseph quickly becomes number 1!

Ask: What are you number 1 in? Have them take it in turns to tell or invent something funny at

which they are number 1.

What is it like to be number 1 in something? How do you think Joseph felt about it?


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How do I tell the story myself? - Five storytelling tips

Tip 1:

Use the example of the onion in the children’s moment to tell the whole

story.

Tip 2:

Use the example of the Number 1 icebreaker to tell the whole story.

Before you start, agree a sign with the children – every time you give the sign they have to call out

‘Number 1!’

Tip 3:

Tell the story from the point of view of:

- the prison guard

- the wife of Potiphar

- Potiphar

Tip 4:

Use three different coats to tell the story, and ask a child to come forward to be your model.

Start with the coat of many colours that Jacob gave to Joseph.

Take this coat off while you are telling about the pit.

Then put on the slaves coat.

Take this coat off while you are telling about Potiphar’s wife.

Lastly, put on the prison coat.

Tip 5:

Organise a fashion show with the children and tell the story as they put on the various different

outfits.


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YouTube video and creative activity - The Egyptian pyramids

You can use this secular YouTube video to hold a creative discussion

with the children about the Bible story.

During a dig, an archaeologist discovers an ancient remote control.

When he presses it, the pyramid rises out of the ground, and a staircase

appears. Excitedly he climbs the stairs and enters the pyramid. In the

meantime his camel starts to chew on the remote control, which causes

everything to go wrong. Eventually the archaeologist is shot back out of

the pyramid.

How does this film go with today’s story?

This funny video shows what happens to Joseph. Joseph arrives in Egypt.

He becomes the number one slave, and everything seems to be going

well. But just as the archaeologist is ‘betrayed’ by his camel, Joseph is

betrayed by Potiphar’s wife. The archaeologist gets shot out of the

pyramid; Joseph gets pulled deeper and deeper into the dungeons. Joseph discovers that in his life

someone else has got hold of the remote control, and that he absolutely can’t get a grip on what’s

happening in his life.

Important questions:

It’s important to always watch the film yourself beforehand and to ask yourself:

- do I want to show this to the children? - does this film work in the context and age-range of the children I am working with?

If you choose to show this YouTube video, we suggest you use the following steps:

Step 1: I control your life

What do you need:

- a remote control

What do you do:

Do: Have the children stand in a circle and ask each of them to move in any way they choose, while staying in the circle. One of the children stands in the middle of the circle and has the remote control.

Tell: If the child with the remote control points it at them, they have to stop moving and freeze. Once they have been ‘turned on’ again (by the child pointing the remote at you again) then they can carry on with their action.


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Do: Have a few children take it in turns to stand in the middle and hold the remote control.

Ask: Afterwards ask them how it felt to have someone else controlling what they could or couldn’t do.

Step 2: Watch the video ‘The Egyptian Pyramids’ together

You can find this video here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PbonHsqW0

The film lasts a couple of minutes.

Step 3: I can’t get a grip on it!

What do you need:

- talcum powder

What do you do:

Ask: Have any of the children ever used the rings in gymnastics. Do they use that white powder?

Tell: In gymnastics you use magnesium powder to get a good grip on the rings. This is a sort of

talcum powder.

Do: Have the children put a little talcum powder on their hands so that they can feel if it would

help them to get a good grip.

Tell: In the film we just watched, the archaeologist couldn’t get a grip on anything. His camel

chews on the remote control and in the end he gets thrown out of the pyramid.

Joseph experiences exactly the same. He can’t get a grip on anything either. Potiphar’s wife

threatens and betrays him. She holds the remote control. And Joseph is thrown into the

prison dungeons.

Perhaps Joseph thought about his brothers and about Potiphar’s wife. Both held the remote

control in his life

Ask: Which role do you think that God played in Joseph’s life?

Does God hold the ultimate remote control?

Can God get a grip on everything?

How does that work? How does it work when things go wrong, as they did for Joseph?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PbonHsqW0


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Fun science experiment - The floating / sinking orange

What happens when you put an orange in a glass of water? Does it

float or sink? And what does this have to do with Joseph? A very easy

but powerful experiment that you can apply to Joseph’s life.

What do you need:

- two large glasses of water and two oranges

What do you do:

Do: Show the children an orange and a glass of water

Tell: Joseph’s life is going great – he has just been given a beautiful coat by his father

Jacob.

Do: Put the orange in the glass of water – it will float.

Tell: But when his brothers see him, they pull off his coat and throw him into a deep pit.

Do: Take the orange out of the water, and peel it. Put the peeled orange back in the

water. It will sink.

Tell: Then his brothers pull him out of the pit and sell him as a slave. Eventually he is given

a new coat by his new master Potiphar, and his life doesn’t look too bad again.

Do: Take a new orange and put it in the second glass of water – it will float.

Tell: But then Potiphar’s wife falls in love with Joseph. She pulls on his coat, which comes

off….

Do: Take the orange out of the water and peel this one too. Put it back in the glass of

water – it will sink.

Tell: Each time that people took off Joseph’s coat, it went wrong. This time Joseph sinks

even lower – he is put in the dungeons of the prison in Egypt.


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Creative activity - Emoticons

The story of Joseph is a real roller coaster. Lots of things happen to

Joseph, Potiphar and Potiphar’s wife. There are lots of different

emotions. Using emoticons we’re going to look into this further.

What do you need:

- worksheet and felt pens or biros.

What do you do:

Do: Give each child a worksheet and ask them to draw the right emoticon in the right space. If

you prefer you can have the children work in pairs, so that they have to discuss together

which they think is the best emoticon. Tell the children that there are not any right and

wrong answers.

When they are finished ask six children to come forward and impersonate the emotions of

the people in the story – two children for Joseph, two for Potiphar and two for Potiphar’s

wife.

Tell: Read through the different parts of the story as they are written on the worksheet and each

time ask each child to show the emotion they have written on their worksheet. Because

there is not one right answer, the two children representing Joseph for example may show

different emotions at the same time.

Ask: When you have finished this, talk with the children about all the different emotions that play

a role in the story.

Do; If you have time over you could also see if the children can name all the emotions depicted

by the emoticons.


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Joseph is sold to Potiphar

Joseph becomes Potiphar’s main

servant

From that moment everything thrives in

Potiphar’s Household.

Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph.

Joseph flees from Potiphar’s wife.

Potiphar’s wife lies to Potiphar about

Joseph.

Potiphar believe his wifes story and places Joseph under arrest.

Joseph goes to prison.

The guard places his trust in Joseph and

gives him extra responsibility.

Joseph

Potiphar’s wife Potiphar


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Creative activity - The longest chain in the world

Joseph is sent straight to prison. But even in prison Joseph knows this:

“God is always with me, even here in prison. I can never be separated

from God.”

What do you need:

- many sheets of different coloured A4 paper

- staplers and/or sticky tape

- pairs of scissors

What do you do:

Tell: Joseph is sent to prison, but even in prison he knows this: “God is always with me, even here

in prison. I can never be separated from God.”

Do: Show the children the different coloured A4 sheets of paper.

Ask: Joseph knew some very important things about God. Who can think of something about God

that goes with the colour red? And the colour yellow? Think of something about God that

goes with each of the colours of paper that you have.

Tell: Joseph knew this: “Wherever I am or whatever I do, God will never let go of me. He is always

with me.”

Do: Give each child a pair of scissors and an A4 sheet of each colour. Ask them to cut thin strips

out of the paper, so that they can make a paper chain using either sticky tape or the stapler.

At the end join all the paperchains together to make one super long paperchain.

Tell: Isn’t it wonderful to know that wherever we are or whatever happens, God is always with us.

Ask: Can you remember which colour stands for which wonderful think about God.

Do: Hang the paperchain up in the room and if possible leave it for a few weeks, so that you can

regularly ask the children about the colours and the aspects of God.


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Creative activity - A reflecting mirror

Joseph is just a normal slave in Potiphar’s household, but if you read

the story well in the Bible, you will see that Potiphar understood that

the Lord was with Joseph, and was helping him. Joseph was a sort of

mirror for Potiphar, in which he could see what the Lord was doing.

What do you need:

- a mirror

- printed out worksheets of the mirror

- felt pens/ coloured pencils/paint

What do you do:

Preparation: Print and cut out a mirror for each child.

Ask: Who has ever used a mirror to reflect the sun?

How does it work?

How bright can you let it shine?

Tell: Imagine, you are walking in the mountains. The sun is shining very brightly, and you want to

send a message to people far away down in the valley.

Ask: Do you need a very large mirror because it is a long way away?

No, you only need a small mirror. But how does it work then?

Tell: The brightness of the reflected light has nothing to do with the size of the mirror, but with

the power of the light source!

Joseph is also a sort of mirror. Everything he is and does reflects God in Potiphar’s household.

And Potiphar sees this! He sees something of God in who Joseph is. This is how Joseph is like

a mirror.

Do you know what’s so great? We can also be mirrors of God.

Ask: If you are a mirror of God, what would you like to show or reflect of God?

Do: Write, draw or paint in the mirror what you would like to reflect of God.


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Game - Build a pyramid

Joseph tries to build a life up in Egypt but it falls apart around him.

What do you need:

- a few hundred plastic cups

What do you do:

Tell: Joseph is in Egypt, and tries to make a life for himself as a slave.

Ask: Do you know what they used to build in Egypt? Pyramids.

Do: Divide the children into small groups and give each group a pile of at least 100 plastic cups.

Each group has 5 minutes to try and build the highest pyramid that they can.

Tell: Joseph’s life in Egypt collapsed pretty quickly. Which of the pyramids will last the coming five

minutes?


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Game - Going against the current

Joseph tries to build a life up in Egypt but it falls apart around him. A fun game in which the children discover that it’s hard to reach your goal when you’re going against the current. They’ll also discover how great it feels when they succeed.

What do you need:

- a ball, basket/bucket, and tape

How to play:

For this game it’s important to have a large empty space – for example outside on a field or playground. You need to divide the space into three:

- a few players each with their own ball - the rest of the group (the majority) - a basket or a bucket (the goal)

The players with the balls have one aim – to get the ball into the goal at the other end.

The larger group has to stay in the middle part of the field. In order to get to the goal the small group has to get past the large group.

The large group has to try and prevent them getting there.

Before you start, explain the ground rules – children in the large group are not allowed to touch or grab the children trying to get past (and certainly not use their legs to kick them). They can try and block them with their bodies, and form chains with the other children to try and prevent the children with the ball getting past.

In this way it becomes a game in which the children will experience resistance, but in which it is definitely possible to reach your goal. Because the large group is not allowed in the goal area, they can’t block the goal.

After you have played the game with different groups of children, talk about what happened: You wanted to get the ball in the goal, but the large group didn’t want you to get there. You had to try to do it all on your own (or maybe with one or two others). This can feel lonely sometimes. Ask the children how it felt when they did manage to get the ball into the goal.


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Craft activity - A ball and chain

Joseph went straight from Potiphar’s household to an Egyptian jail. That was no fun. Maybe he even had to wear a ball and chain on his ankle. But even in jail Joseph discovered this: ‘Even in hard times God is with me’.

What do you need:

- a worksheet (that you can download below) for each child, printed on thick paper/card - some pairs of scissors - coloured pencils / felt pens - staplers

What to do:

Tell: Joseph went straight from Potiphar’s household to an Egyptian jail. That was no fun. Maybe he even had to wear a ball and chain on his ankle. But even in jail Joseph discovered this: ‘Even in hard times God is with me’

Today we’re going to make our own ball and chain.

Do: Have the children colour in the ball and the three strips on the worksheet – this depends on how much time you have. You can also print the worksheet on coloured paper and just have the children cut out the ball and strips.

Carefully cut along the dotted line at the edge of the ball.

Push one of the strips through this cut and staple it into a circle. Then put the next strip through the first circle and staple it to make another circle. Do this with the last strip, so that you have a short chain.

Ask: How did Joseph know that God was with him even during this really hard time? How do we know that God is with us in hard times?


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Even in hard

times God is

with me!


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Creative prayer idea - What are you full of?

Even when Joseph is thrown into prison for something that he hasn’t

done he doesn’t give up hope. His trust is in God. Being full of trust in

God helps him during these difficult years.

What do you need:

- balloons

What to do:

Tell: Joseph gets thrown into prison for something that he hasn’t done. Joseph doesn’t give up

hope. His trust is in God. Being full of trust in God helps him during these difficult years.

Do: Give each child a balloon and ask them to blow it up but don’t tie it. When the balloons have been blown up, ask the children ‘What are you full of?’ ‘What are you excited about?’ You could also ask them ‘What are you thankful for?’

The children can take it in turns to give their answer, and then let the balloon go – this will fly round the room as it empties!

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