INTRODUCTION

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

Bible Point:

God wants us to forgive.

Key Verse:

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Big Picture:

Explore the forgiveness you’ve received and how you can extend it to others.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

Genesis 42-45

You likely know what it is like both to need forgiveness and to offer it. Emotions can shift quickly, making forgiveness feel simple one day and overwhelming the next. As you study this topic throughout the week, pay attention to how your own emotional growth affects your ability to forgive. Trust that God understands your experience and invites you to keep practicing forgiveness, even when it feels difficult.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Choose one or more of these Daily Challenges to do this week.

• Ask for forgiveness from someone who you know you have offended or wronged in some way.

• Pray for a forgiving heart in any situations you are facing that leave you feeling angry or frustrated. Write each one on your index card in permanent marker, and at the end of the week use a dry-erase marker to erase your grudges.

• Look up FORGIVENESS in a Bible app or on biblegateway.com and read at least one verse every day that deals with the issue. Reflect on each verse and consider how God might be calling you to apply it.

FAITH JOURNAL

How can you practice true forgiveness in your life?

TALK WITH YOUR FAMILY

Read Psalm 103:8-12 as a family. Then discuss these questions:

• What evidence have you seen that God is slow to anger?

• What do you think of when you read that God has removed our transgressions “as far as the east is from the west”?

• Give everyone a rubber band, and have each person mark one side with his or her initials and the opposite side with an X to represent sin. Then have everyone stretch the rubber band to pull the sin and initials apart. Tell everyone to stop stretching the rubber bands when they feel like they may break. Then discuss these questions:

• Why do you or don’t you think there are limits on how far God’s forgiveness stretches?

• Go through each characteristic of God in Psalm 103:8-12 one by one. How can you show those attributes to others?