Free Bible lesson for kids · Joseph
I Am Joseph
Joseph could not hold back his tears any longer: he sent everyone else out, wept aloud, and said to his brothers, “I am Joseph.” They were troubled and afraid, but Joseph said, “Come near to me,” and told them not to be angry with themselves, “for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Then he fell on Benjamin’s neck and wept, kissed all his brothers, and told them to bring their father down to Egypt.
- Bible passage
- Genesis 45:1–15
- Big idea
- Joseph forgave his brothers, because he trusted that God had been at work all along.
- Memory verse
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Luke 6:36 (KJV)- Ages
- Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- Included, free
- Animated story film, coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game
The story
Joseph could not hold back any longer. He sent everyone else out and wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard (Genesis 45:1–2). He said, “I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?” His brothers could not answer, for they were troubled (Genesis 45:3). Joseph said, “Come near to me, I pray you.” Then he told them he was the brother they had sold into Egypt (Genesis 45:4).
He told them not to be grieved or angry with themselves, “for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5). Joseph said that “it was not you that sent me hither, but God” (Genesis 45:8). He told them to bring their father to live near him in Goshen, where he would care for them (Genesis 45:9–11). Then he hugged Benjamin and wept, and he kissed all his brothers, and they talked together (Genesis 45:14–15).
Read it in the Bible: Genesis 45:1–15 (KJV)
1Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 10And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 12And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 13And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 14And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
Questions to ask
What did Joseph say when he made himself known to his brothers?
“I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?” and then, “I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt” (Genesis 45:3–4).
Why did Joseph tell his brothers not to be grieved or angry with themselves?
Because God had sent him before them to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).
What did Joseph do after he told them who he was?
He fell upon Benjamin’s neck and wept, and he kissed all his brethren (Genesis 45:14–15).
What this story teaches
- God was at work even through the wrong done to Joseph (Genesis 45:5).
- God sent Joseph ahead to save many lives (Genesis 45:7).
- Forgiving means inviting those who hurt us to come near (Genesis 45:4).
- God provides for His people, even in a famine (Genesis 45:7, 11).
- God wants us to be merciful as He is merciful (Luke 6:36).
Jesus Forgave His Enemies
Joseph forgave the brothers who sold him. On the cross Jesus prayed for those who hurt Him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34
A 45-minute lesson plan
| 5 min | Welcome and pray. Greet each child by name and pray: Ask God to help us forgive others the way He forgives us. |
|---|---|
| 10 min | The story. Play the story film: each verse appears on screen in the King James Version while the scene plays. Pause to ask what happens next. |
| 10 min | Talk about it. Ask the three questions below. Then ask: “Joseph forgave his brothers, because he trusted that God had been at work all along.” What does that mean for us? |
| 5 min | Memory verse. Say Luke 6:36 together, covering one word at a time until the children can say it alone. |
| 10 min | Activity. Younger children color the coloring page while you retell the story; older children do the class sheet (memory-verse fill-in, word search and questions). |
| 5 min | Pray and send home. Pray together and send the sheet home so families can talk about the first question this week. |
- Preschool: keep it short and physical. Act out the story, use a simple prop, and repeat the big idea in one sentence.
- Elementary: let children find the passage in their own Bibles. Ask “who, what, where” questions first, then “why.”
- Preteens: read the verses before and after the passage, and ask how this story fits the whole story of the Bible.
Game time
For kids · game · indoors · about 10 minutes
Who’s Behind the Sheet?
You need: A sheet held up by two leaders
- One child hides behind the sheet, with only their shoes showing underneath.
- The group guesses who it is.
- The child jumps out and says, “I am ___!” Then everyone cheers, like Joseph’s brothers finally knew him.
Joseph said, “I am Joseph,” and forgave his brothers. God had turned their evil into good.
For youth group · game · indoors · about 25 minutes
Mystery Puzzle
You need: A jigsaw puzzle for each team with no box picture; the finished puzzle shows Genesis 50:20 (print it and cut it up)
- Teams race to finish the puzzle without knowing what it shows.
- The finished picture reveals the verse.
- Talk: when has God’s plan only made sense later?
“Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” God is working even when we can’t see the picture.
Pray
Ask God to help us forgive others the way He forgives us.