Joseph Sunday School Lesson: The Whole Story for a Small Class

Use this free Joseph Sunday school lesson to teach the whole story of Joseph, Genesis 37 to 50, in one Sunday. It is for a small class of mixed ages, from preschool to 6th grade, all in one room. The plan takes 30 to 45 minutes and tells the story in five short scenes, from the robe of many colors to Joseph forgiving his brothers. You need a Bible, paper and crayons. Read it once on Saturday night and you can teach it on Sunday, even if only two kids come.

How to teach the whole Joseph story to a small, mixed-age class

Joseph’s story runs across 14 chapters. That is too much to read aloud to a 4-year-old and an 11-year-old at the same table. In a small class, the best tool you have is knowing each child by name.

Learner motivation is largely an effect of the teacher-student relationship. The old cliché is true, “Kids don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.” There is no single technique or trick that can compensate for a poor student-teacher relationship.

Tony Kummer, founder of Ministry-to-Children, writing in 2007

So the Joseph lesson gives every child a part. Older kids read one key verse in each scene. The youngest kids lead the thumbs up and thumbs down. The teacher tells the rest in plain words and asks each child a question that fits their age.

Joseph lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Genesis 37 to 50 (the whole story of Joseph)
• Big idea: God was with Joseph in every hard place, and He used what the brothers meant for evil to save many lives. Joseph forgave his brothers.
• Memory verse: “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good” (Genesis 50:20, BSB, first part)
• Ages: mixed ages, about 4 to 12, in one room
• Class size: 1 to 15 kids
• Time: about 45 minutes, or 30 with the short version below (a 5-minute children’s sermon is below too)
• Supplies: a Bible, paper (one long sheet or a few sheets taped end to end), crayons or markers

45-minute Joseph Sunday school lesson plan

Follow the six steps in order. The minutes add up to about 45. If kids arrive late, start at step 2.

1. Opening: thumbs up, thumbs down (5 minutes)

Ask each child about their week. A good day gets a thumbs up. A hard day gets a thumbs down. Then teach the one motion that matters most: point up to God. Say, “Today’s story is about a man who had a lot of thumbs-down days. Every time you hear the words ‘But God was with Joseph,’ point up.”

2. Tell the story of Joseph in five scenes (15 minutes)

Tell each scene in your own words, about three minutes each. Kids give a thumbs up or thumbs down as the story turns. At the end of each scene, an older child reads the key verse.

1. The robe and the dreams (Genesis 37:1-11). Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons and made him a robe of many colors. Joseph dreamed that his brothers’ bundles of grain bowed down to his. His brothers hated him even more. Thumbs: up for the robe, down for the hate. Key verse: Genesis 37:3.
2. Sold by his brothers (Genesis 37:12-36). The brothers threw Joseph into an empty pit. Then they sold him for twenty shekels of silver to traders on their way to Egypt. They dipped his robe in goat’s blood, and Jacob thought a wild animal had killed his son. Thumbs down. Key verse: Genesis 37:28.
3. God was with Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 39 to 41). Joseph worked hard for Potiphar. Potiphar’s wife lied about him, and he was thrown into prison (Genesis 39:7-20). But God was with Joseph. In prison he told two men what their dreams meant. Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed of seven fat cows and seven thin cows. Joseph said God would give the answer: seven good years, then seven years of famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt (Genesis 41:41). Thumbs down for prison, up for the palace. Key verse: Genesis 39:2.
4. The brothers come for grain (Genesis 42 to 45). The famine reached Joseph’s family, so ten brothers went to Egypt to buy food. They bowed down to Joseph, just like his dream, but they did not know him. Joseph tested them. When Benjamin was in trouble, Judah offered to stay as a slave in his place (Genesis 44:33). Joseph wept and said, “I am Joseph, your brother” (Genesis 45:4). Thumbs up. Key verse: Genesis 45:5.
5. God meant it for good (Genesis 45:25 to 50:21). Jacob heard that Joseph was alive. The whole family, seventy in all, moved to Egypt, and Joseph gave them food and land. After Jacob died, the brothers were afraid Joseph would pay them back. Joseph wept and said, “Do not be afraid” (Genesis 50:19). He promised to care for them and spoke kindly to them. Thumbs up and point up. Key verse: Genesis 50:20.

Pick verses short enough for your readers. A 2nd grader can read Genesis 37:3: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.” A 5th grader can read Genesis 45:5. Tell the kids that Israel is another name for Jacob.

3. Joseph discussion questions by age (5 minutes)

Ask the youngest kids first, so they answer before the big kids jump in.

• Ages 4 to 5: Who gave Joseph a colorful robe? Was God with Joseph in the prison?
• Ages 6 to 8: How did Joseph’s brothers treat him? How did Joseph treat them at the end?
• Ages 9 to 12: Read Genesis 50:20. What did the brothers plan, and what did God plan? Joseph had the power to pay them back. Why do you think he forgave them? Read Ephesians 4:32. Who might you need to forgive?

4. Joseph memory verse: Genesis 50:20 (5 minutes)

Say the verse together: “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good.” Older kids say the whole line. Little ones say the short version, “God meant it for good,” with a thumbs down on “evil” and a thumbs up on “good.” Say it three times, then let one child lead it alone.

5. Activity: Joseph’s up-and-down road (10 minutes)

The class draws the shape of Joseph’s life on one long sheet of paper. An older child draws a road that dips down three times and then climbs high. Mark six stops along it:

1. Home, with the robe of many colors (up)
2. The empty pit (down)
3. Sold as a slave in Egypt (down)
4. Prison, the lowest point (down)
5. The palace, in charge of Egypt (up)
6. The family together again (up)

Younger kids draw a picture at each stop: a striped robe, a hole, a chain, bars, a crown, a group of stick people. Older kids write “God was with Joseph” under every stop, even the low ones. At the end of the road, they copy Genesis 50:20. With mixed ages, pair each big kid with a little one on two or three stops. Hang the road on the wall or send it home with a child who will retell the story.

6. Pray and send the story home (5 minutes)

Close in prayer. Thank God for being with Joseph in the pit and the prison, and for being with each child on hard days. Ask Him to help the class forgive people who hurt them, the way Joseph did. Older kids can each pray one line. Before kids leave, ask them to show someone at home the thumbs up and thumbs down for each scene.

Only 30 minutes? A shorter Joseph lesson

• Skip the opening. Teach the point-up motion as you start scene 1.
• Tell all five scenes in 12 minutes. Keep every scene. Read only the last key verse, Genesis 50:20.
• Ask one question per age (5 minutes) and say the memory verse twice (3 minutes).
• Draw a three-stop road (7 minutes): the pit, the prison, the palace. Then pray (3 minutes).

What the story of Joseph teaches kids about God

The main lesson of Joseph is about God more than Joseph. Keep the class on these four points:

1. God is with His people in hard places. In Potiphar’s house and in prison, “the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2, 39:23).
2. God is in charge, even when people do wrong. Joseph told his brothers that “it was to save lives that God sent me before you” (Genesis 45:5).
3. God can use evil for good. The brothers meant to hurt Joseph. God used it to keep many people alive in the famine (Genesis 50:20).
4. God’s people forgive. Joseph did not pay his brothers back. He fed them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:21).

For older kids, point to Jesus. People meant evil when they nailed Jesus to the cross, yet it was God’s plan to save sinners (Acts 2:23-24). Now God tells His people to forgive “just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Teaching Joseph when only two or three kids come

• One child: tell the story side by side. Let the child do every thumbs motion and read a verse if they can. Draw the road together.
• Two or three kids: make the oldest child the reader for all five scenes. Make the youngest the leader of the thumbs.
• No readers at all: read the key verses yourself, and have the kids say “But God was with Joseph” with you after each scene.
• Preschoolers with older kids: little ones color the robe and the crown on the road. Older kids write the words and help the little ones find the stops.
• Extra time: act out scene 4. The kids are the brothers bowing down, and the teacher is Joseph saying, “I am Joseph, your brother.”

5-minute Joseph children’s sermon: the scribble picture

Use this short version for a children’s moment in the worship service, or to open children’s church. Before church, draw a big messy scribble on a sheet of paper with a dark marker. Lightly sketch a simple picture around it in pencil, such as a tree or a house, so the scribble becomes part of it.

1. Hold up the scribble. Ask, “Does this look like a mess? Has anyone ever messed up something of yours on purpose?”
2. Tell the story in four lines: Joseph’s brothers hated him and sold him as a slave. He ended up in prison. But God was with Joseph and made him a ruler in Egypt. When a famine came, Joseph saved his family and forgave his brothers.
3. Trace the pencil picture with the marker while you read Genesis 50:20, first part: “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good.”
4. Show the finished picture. Say, “The brothers made a mess. God made something good out of it. God is with you on your hard days too.” Close by thanking God for being with each child and asking Him to help the kids forgive.

Joseph lesson questions teachers ask

What is the main lesson of the story of Joseph for kids?

God was with Joseph in every hard place, and He used what the brothers meant for evil to save many lives (Genesis 50:20). Kids can learn to trust God on hard days and to forgive people who hurt them.

What is the story of Joseph in the Bible, in short?

Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, and his jealous brothers sold him as a slave. In Egypt he was put in prison, but God was with him. God helped Joseph explain Pharaoh’s dreams, and Pharaoh put him in charge of Egypt. During a famine, his brothers came to buy food. Joseph forgave them and saved the whole family (Genesis 37 to 50).

How many brothers did Joseph have?

Eleven. Jacob had twelve sons (Genesis 35:22-26). Benjamin was the youngest and the only other son of Joseph’s mother, Rachel.

How old was Joseph when his brothers sold him?

Joseph was seventeen when the story starts (Genesis 37:2). He was thirty when he began to serve Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46).

Can you teach the whole Joseph story in one Sunday?

Yes. Tell it in five short scenes and keep each one to about three minutes. Save the details, like the cupbearer and the baker, for a later week or for older kids who ask.

How do you print this Joseph lesson?

Print this page from your browser (Ctrl+P on a computer, or Share and then Print on a phone) and take it to class. The plan fits on a few pages, and the key verses are listed in each scene.

More Joseph lessons, games and coloring pages

• Teaching only the coat of many colors? Ministry-to-Children has a Joseph and his coat of many colors lesson for children’s church on Genesis 37.
• Spending a second week on Genesis 45? Try the Joseph forgives his brothers Sunday school lesson.
• Want a hands-on game for scene 4? Kids Bible Lessons has a silver cup search game from Genesis 44.
• For the youngest kids at the table, print Joseph coloring pages.
• Need a children’s sermon with a printable lesson on Genesis 45 and 50? See Joseph and God’s Plan children’s sermon.