Joseph's dreams and the colorful coat (Sunday school lesson)

Week 1 of a free 4-week Joseph unit: when people treat us badly, God has not forgotten us. One story for everyone, then activities for ages 4–6, 7–10 and 11–14.

Updated 3 November 2026 · How we pick resources

Week 1 of 4 · Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace · Get the printable PDF and Google Doc free

Joseph's colorful robe under the sun, the moon and eleven stars, with bundles of grain

Bible passage: Genesis 37

Big idea: When people treat us badly, God has not forgotten us.

Memory verse: "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." (Psalm 56:3)

Prep: about 10 minutes: read the story aloud once and print the activity page.

You need:

Paper and crayons or markers
A piece of colorful cloth or a towel (optional, for the coat)
Tape
The printable coat page (one per child aged 4–6)

Timing (45 min): Welcome 5 min · Story together 10 min · Activities by age 15 min · Review game 10 min · Memory verse and prayer 5 min

1. Welcome (5 minutes)

Ask: "Have you ever had a dream you remember? What happened in it?" Let two or three children answer. Say: "Today we meet a young man who had two very strange dreams, and they got him into a lot of trouble."

2. Story together (10 minutes)

Read aloud to everyone together. Words in [brackets] are actions for the children. Retold from Genesis 37:2–36; words in quotation marks are from the NIV.

Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved Joseph more than all the others. Joseph was seventeen. Jacob gave him a special robe, a coat of many colors. [Hold up the cloth and drape it over a child's shoulders.] Joseph's brothers saw it and were jealous. They could not even say a kind word to him.

One night Joseph had a dream. He and his brothers were tying up bundles of grain in a field, and his brothers' bundles bowed down to his. [Have the children bow.] Then he dreamed that the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. When Joseph told his family, his brothers hated him even more. Did he think he was going to rule over them?

One day Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, who were looking after the sheep far from home. When they saw him coming, they said, "Here comes that dreamer!" and they made a plan to kill him. But Reuben, the oldest, told them not to kill him and to throw him into an empty well instead. He planned to rescue Joseph later.

So the brothers pulled off Joseph's coat and threw him into the dry pit. [Crouch down low.] While they were eating, some traders came by on camels, on their way to Egypt. Judah said they should sell him instead. So they sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver, and the traders took him far away to Egypt.

The brothers dipped Joseph's coat in goat's blood and took it home. Jacob thought a wild animal had killed his son, and he cried for a long time. It looked as if everything had gone wrong. But God had not forgotten Joseph. God was with him, even in the pit, and even on the road to Egypt.

3. Activities by age (15 minutes)

Split into age groups, or run all three at separate tables. One teacher can move between them; older children can help the youngest.

Ages 4–6: Color Joseph's coat

Give each child the printable coat page.
As they color each stripe, name a color and say, "God loves me when I'm happy," "God loves me when I'm sad," and so on.
Practice the memory verse together with actions: hands over eyes for "afraid", hands on heart for "trust".

Ages 7–10: Freeze-frame the story

In groups of three or four, children choose one scene: the coat, the dreams, the pit or the traders.
Each group makes a frozen "photo" of their scene while the others guess it.
After each guess, ask: "How do you think Joseph felt right then?"

Ages 11–14: Jealousy talk

Read Genesis 37:3–4 and 37:18–20 together.
Ask: "What did jealousy make the brothers do, step by step?" (They stopped being kind, then plotted, then hurt him.)
Ask: "When has jealousy made a small problem much bigger in your own life?"
Write one way to answer jealousy this week (for example, say something good about the person) and keep it.

4. Review game (10 minutes)

Play in two or three teams: 100 points a question. Give the "All ages" questions to the youngest player on each team and the "Ages 11+" ones to the oldest.

All ages How many sons did Jacob have?
Show answer
Twelve (Genesis 35:22)
All ages What special gift did Jacob give Joseph?
Show answer
A colorful robe, or coat of many colors (37:3)
All ages How did Joseph's brothers feel about the coat?
Show answer
Jealous; they hated him (37:4)
Ages 7+ In Joseph's first dream, what bowed down to his bundle of grain?
Show answer
His brothers' bundles (37:7)
Ages 7+ What bowed down in Joseph's second dream?
Show answer
The sun, the moon and eleven stars (37:9)
All ages Where did the brothers throw Joseph?
Show answer
Into an empty well, or pit (37:24)
Ages 7+ Which brother tried to save Joseph's life?
Show answer
Reuben (37:21–22)
Ages 11+ Who suggested selling Joseph?
Show answer
Judah (37:26–27)
Ages 11+ How much silver did the traders pay for Joseph?
Show answer
Twenty pieces (37:28)
All ages Where did the traders take Joseph?
Show answer
To Egypt (37:28)

5. Memory verse and prayer (5 minutes)

Say the memory verse together three times: loud, whispered, then with actions.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you that you never forget us, even when people are unkind or things go wrong. Help us to trust you when we are afraid. Amen.

Take-home sheet

Take home · Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace, week 1: Joseph's dreams and the colorful coat

Today we learned how Joseph's brothers were jealous of his special coat and his dreams, and sold him to traders going to Egypt. But God had not forgotten him.

Ask your child:

What did Joseph's brothers do to him?
Who was with Joseph in the pit?
What can you do when you feel afraid?