High Wire

[]

September 18th, 2016 .:. .:. Room 301

Pathways Kids Weekend Small Groups

This curriculum is for the 4th, 5th and 6th graders.

This Weeks Scope

Joseph in Charge
Bible Story: Joseph in Charge (Joseph Interprets Pharaohs Dreams) Genesis 41
Bottom Line: When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.
Memory Verse: Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5, NIrV
Life App: Trustputting your confidence in someone you can depend on.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Welcome Time
Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience
todays story.
Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group
for the first time. Pray for any kids you know of who are struggling to perform well at school or in sports,
or struggling to succeed in general. Ask God to alleviate some of the pressure on these kids help them
see that Hes got their backs.
The Bible Story: Genesis 41 (Here for your reference if you need it!)
When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the
river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven
other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the
cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep
again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single
stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sproutedthin and scorched by the east wind. The thin
heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a
dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt.
Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. Then the chief cupbearer said
to Pharaoh, Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and
he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream
the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a
servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving
each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I

was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was
quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before
Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said
of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it. I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but
God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream I was
standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and
they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came upscrawny and very ugly and
lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat
cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they
looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good,
growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sproutedwithered and thin and scorched by
the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians,
but none of them could explain it to me. Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dreams of Pharaoh are
one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are
seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The
seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads
of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God
has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout
the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be
forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered,
because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two
forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. And now let Pharaoh
look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint
commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of
abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain
under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for
the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country
may not be ruined by the famine. The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So
Pharaoh asked them, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God? Then
Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and
wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only
with respect to the throne will I be greater than you. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, I hereby put you in
charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on
Josephs finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him
ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, Make way! Thus he put
him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all
Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of
Potiphera, priest of On to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty
years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaohs
presence and traveled throughout Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced
plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and
stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up
huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records
because it was beyond measure. Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by
Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, It is
because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my fathers household. The second son he
named Ephraim and said, It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. The
seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as
Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.
When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all
the Egyptians, Go to Joseph and do what he tells you. When the famine had spread over the whole
country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe
throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was
severe everywhere.
What You Need: No supplies necessary
What You Do:
Give kids 15-30 seconds to AMAZE the group. Introduce them one by one as The Amazing
[name].
They could pat their heads and rub their stomachs at the same time, say the alphabet
backwards, snap their fingers in rhythm, etc.
Any silly human trick works great.
If kids hesitate or are unsure, encourage them to try. (That feeling of being under pressure is
actually the whole point of the game.)
What You Say:
Excellent job! You were all fantastic! It was hard to do something amazing right on the spot like that.
[Transition] Lets go hear about someone else who had a lot of pressure in his life.
Lead your group to the Large Group area.

Activity #1
What You Need: 2 Hula-hoops; red, yellow, and orange construction paper; markers, tape, Bible
What You Do:
Hand out the construction paper and scissors. Instruct kids to spend a couple minutes cutting
the paper into shapes like flames. Tell them to make the flames different sizes, but they should
all be big enough for a sentence to be written on.
Open the Bible to Genesis 41 and help the kids see the words/phrases that show Joseph and
Pharaoh were both under pressure. (Check out verse 13!)
Assign a Team Pharaoh and a Team Joseph.
Give each team some markers and flames, and guide them to write some words/phrases on the
flames that show Joseph and Pharaoh under pressure.
Tape the flames to the hula-hoops, one for Team Pharaoh and one for Team Joseph.
Let kids take turns either holding the hoops or jumping or diving through them.
What You Say:
Both Pharaoh and Joseph were under pressure. Pharaoh had to figure out his dreams and lead his
whole country, and Joseph had to give the right answer and have the right plan at the right time. How
did they each deal with their pressure? (Look up Genesis 41:8 and 41:16.) Pharaoh got worried and
tried to find out the answers himself by calling all his advisers together. But Joseph trusted that God
would give him the answer to Pharaohs dream. And whats more, God gave Joseph a great plan to
save Pharaohs whole country. God helped both Josephs high-pressure situation and Pharaohs too!
We all have high-pressure situations in our lifetimes when it feels like we HAVE to get it right.
Whether its a test at school or a big game or taking on a new responsibility at home or keeping our
friendships strong, there are a lot of times we can all feel pressure. Pharaoh felt pressure and tried to
fix it himself, but Joseph felt pressure and trusted God. This story is one example that shows [Bottom
Line] when the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you.

Activity #2
Discussion Questions:
Ask these discussion questions:

What kind of pressure do you feel the most from yourself, your parents, your teachers, or your
friends? What do you feel during those times? How do you deal with those feelings?
What does it mean that God is with you at those times? Do you feel more confident about being
loved even if you mess up, and do you feel more confident making the wise choice? How does
this change how willing you are to try your best, to give something your best shot, even when it
is hard, or there is pressure?
Read Luke 22:41-44. He withdrew about a stones throw beyond them, knelt down and
prayed, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. An
angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed
more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
How do you think Jesus felt just before He died on the cross? Youve never been faced with
dying on a cross, but have you felt the same things Jesus probably felt? Jesus felt pressure,
too. He knew that going to the cross would be painful and scary, and when He felt like that,
Jesus prayed. Even Jesus needed to know [Bottom Line] when the pressure is on, you can
trust God is with you. How do you feel, knowing that Jesus felt pressure like you do?

Prayer
Opposites

Time

What You Need: Bibles

What You Do:
Ask kids to look at their index cards. (tell kids to look up Proverbs 3:5 in their Bibles.)
Explain that kids will turn their Scripture into a prayer.
For example, the memory verse could be prayed like this: God, help me to trust You with all my
heart. I dont want to depend on my own understanding, but on Yours. Amen.
Give kids time to take turns praying aloud if they wish. Then give them 20-30 seconds to pray
silently.
What You Say:
Did you know that you could use Scripture to pray? Now you do! Lots of verses can be turned into
prayers. Whenever you see your index card this week, I want you to not only remember that you can
trust God is with you, but I also want you to pray about it! Thank God for His presence, and pray your
Scriptures back to Him.
Tell parents to ask kids about the verse on their index cards and why they wrote it.