December 7th, 2025
Recap: Sunday December 7th, 2025
**Before we get to today’s recap, we’d love for you to join us at TPC Commons for our TPC Kids Christmas Parade Watch & 456 Market NEXT Saturday, December 13th!
Beginning at 5 pm, come and support our 456 ministry by making a donation or shopping our market. Our 4th, 5th, and & 6th grade students have been hard at work crafting their wares for the market with the goal of raising $5,000. All proceeds will go towards the purchase of socks, blankets, and gas cards for vulnerable families or persons in need.
At 6:30 pm, we'll gather outside TPC Commons for hot chocolate & Christmas cookies as we watch the annual Downtown McKinney Christmas Parade of Lights. We will cheer and watch together from The Commons and our parking lot!
The 456 Market will remain open after the Parade of Lights until 8 pm, so dress for the weather, bring some chairs and a friend, and let's enjoy some festive time together!
Now… on to our weekly recap!
Story 12: Joseph’s Mean Brothers and What God Meant to Do (Genesis 37; 50)
*Continue the conversation at home reading through Genesis 37 & 50 and going through The Biggest Story Family Devotional that corresponds with Story 12!
Big Picture: Remember the family tree in Genesis that began with Adam and Eve? It became a very messy family tree. Here are just a few examples. Before Abraham and Sarah gave birth to Isaac (the son God had promised), Abraham had doubted God’s promise and taken matters into his own hands. As a result, he had children from two women who were not his wife, Sarah. What a mess!
And if that wasn’t messy enough, Isaac’s son Jacob stole the birthright and blessing from older-brother Esau. But things got even messier. Jacob married beautiful-eyed Rachel, whom he loved very much. But he also married her sister, weak-eyed Leah, because he was tricked by her father. And the mess continues. God blessed Leah with many children, but Rachel was sad because she had none. She gave her maid as a wife to Jacob so she could have children on Rachel’s behalf. It worked. But that made Leah jealous, so she gave her maid to Jacob.
Like Abraham and Sarah, they had taken matters into their own hands. Jacob had ten boys and a girl with Leah and the two maids, but still no child for Rachel. Finally, she got pregnant—twice! She had two boys: Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel and Jacob were so happy when Joseph was born. But Jacob was sad when Benjamin was born because Rachel died after giving birth to him. Talk about a mess! Why are we talking about this messy family tree? Because God is able to work through our mess to bring about good. And our story today is one of the messiest (but best!) stories in all the Bible. Will God bring about good from this mess? (From The Biggest Story Curriculum)
Big Truth: God works all things according to his perfect plan.
Memory Verse: “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Extension Activities:
Coat of Many Colors Relay: They were divided into teams, with each team having a “Joseph.” The Josephs stood at the other end of the room wearing the coats while each person on the team took turns grabbing a piece of colored paper, putting tape on it, and running down to attach it to the back of their team’s coat. They did this until each team was out of strips!
Joesph’s Coat of Many Colors Suncatcher: They were each given a black coat outline and a piece of contact paper. They placed tissue paper squares onto the sticky contact paper on top of the coat following the color pattern of a traditional coat of many colors. Hang it up at home and talk about the story!
THIS IS OUR LAST WEEK IN GENESIS! NEXT WEEK WE WILL START IN EXODUS!
Resources for Parents about Genesis:
Does your child have questions about some of the topics brought up in Genesis? Unsure how to answer those in a way that is age appropriate?
“Christians are counter-cultural: our primary goal should not be to raise intelligent, successful, competent, and upright citizens, our primary concern ought to be for the good of our children's souls - and so for God's glory.
Teaching our children the Scriptures in a compelling, relevant, and holistic manner during daily family worship is one of the chief means we can achieve this. If you need help to do that - this is the series for you! It's a comprehensive guide for the entire family and particularly children between the ages of 5-12.”
Beginning: Family Worship in Genesis By Joel R. Beeke & Nick Thompson is a great additional resource to The Biggest Story Family Devotional, diving deeper into specific questions and reflection throughout Genesis.
The Bible Project overview video on Genesis 12-50, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Genesis, God promises to bless rebellious humanity through the family of Abraham, despite their constant failure and folly.
