Family Feud

Contributed by: Charlie Baker, Diocese of Auckland

Explore the power of forgiveness in this third study on Joseph’s Story.

Family Feud

Play a game of Family Feud (optional)


If you played Family Feud, explain that Joseph’s own ‘family feud’ is at the root of his whole story.

Ask the group to recount all the ways Joseph’s family had wronged him.

When his brothers came to Egypt he was so angry with them for all they had done. Ask the group to recall what he did to his brothers. (Pretended he didn’t know them, accused them of being spies, put them in jail for 3 days, sent them away, hid money in their bags so they looked like thieves)

But then he saw that his brothers had changed.

Ask two volunteers to read Genesis 45 v1-8, 14-15

Somehow, Joseph forgave his brothers. Ask:

  • On a scale of 1 to 10 – with 1 being “very easy to do” and 10 being “very difficult to do” – how easy/difficult you think it would have been for Joseph to forgive his brothers?
  • How do you define forgiveness?
  • Do you think it would have been easier or harder for Joseph to forgive his brothers when he was younger (before all those other bad things had happened to him)? Explain your answer.


Watch this true story of forgiveness.

  • Mary says that unforgiveness is like a cancer. Why do you think she says that?
  • In what ways was Mary’s life changed by forgiving Oshea?
  • Do you think Oshea Israel’s life was changed as a result of being forgiven? Why?
  • What usually keeps us from forgiving others?

Ask a volunteer to read Matthew 18:21-35


  • How many times did Jesus say we should forgive others?
  • What usually keeps us from forgiving others?
  • How does having a relationship with Jesus/being a Christian affect our ability to forgive?

Credit: adapted from ‘Extreme Forgiveness’ – The Source for Youth Ministry

Knotted Up

Hand out pieces of string to everyone.

Without naming names, think about if there is someone you need to forgive (it might help if you give some suggestions of situations to help them). Like Joseph, sometimes the people who hurt us the most can be people in our family. You might have someone in your family you need to forgive, or perhaps a friend or someone at school.

For every person or situation that comes to mind, tie a knot in your string.

This is what unforgiveness does to us, it makes us all twisted up inside.

Knots can be hard to untie. It can be hard to forgive. It takes a lot of courage.

Go around the circle, praying and asking God to help us to forgive.