Series: The Faith Hall of Fame

Lesson 5 – Joshua and Jericho

LESSON OVERVIEW
Key Point: God uses everyday people to stand up for what is right, even when it is hard to do.

Bible Story: Joshua and the Israelite people win the battle for Jericho.

Challenge Verse: Joshua 1:7 – “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go” (NAS).

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ITEMS NEEDED
Each class needs the following:
2 Christian pencils for every child in your class and several extras for an illustration below.
Memory Verse Card for Joshua 1:7—size 3 3/4″ x 2 5/8″
Optional Activity—making footprint stepping stones
Plaster of Paris
Water
Disposable round pie tins (one per child
Wet paper towels
You will also want to spread out some sort of floor covering—i.e., newspapers, trash bags, painter’s sheets, or butcher paper.
Alternate Activity—making footprint mobiles
Construction Paper
Yarn
Markers
Large Paper Clips

BEFORE CLASS
– For today’s craft activity you will need Plaster of Paris, water, disposable round pie tins (one per child), and wet paper towels. You will also want to use something (i.e. painter’s sheets or butcher paper) to cover the floor.
– Pray for each student by name.

AS STUDENTS ARRIVE
– Greet each student by name as they enter.
– Give each student an attendance sticker for the attendance chart, and feel free to add guest names to the chart. This will give them a sense of belonging.
– Get to know any guests and help them fill out a guest form.
– Be sure to smile—Your smile and attitude sets the atmosphere as students enter.

THE FAITH HALL OF FAME
Ask your students to turn to Hebrews 11. This week’s verses 23-31.

SAY: Let’s read Hebrews 11:23-31. Every time you hear the phrase, “By faith,” stand up or sit down.

Read Hebrews 11:23-31 from your Bible.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Control Tool
Anytime you say, “Don’t Turn” students should say back, “To the Right or Left” (and as they say “Right,” they should hold up their right hand and as they say “Left,” they should hold up their left hand.
Leader: Don’t Turn—Kids: To the Right or Left!

SAY: God wants you to stay on His path and not to turn off it to the right or the left. But right now, we’re going to play a game that uses both your right and left hands.

Have the students stand facing each other (they should be in pairs of two), with their feet planted square with their shoulders. Tell the students that once you say “go” they are not allowed to move their feet. Tell both kids to put their hands up and stand palm-to-palm. The object of the game is to get the other person to lose balance (and move their feet) by pushing on the other person’s palms.

PLAY IT AGAIN: This time have the students stand on one foot as they play.

Ask the students:
• Was it hard to keep your balance when you standing there by yourself? (No)

• What made it hard to keep your balance? (the other person pushing on my palms)

• How is this like our lives? (Sometimes other people try to push us to do things we know we shouldn’t do.)
SAY: Today we are talking about standing up for what is right. It is often easier to do the right thing when no one wants us to do the wrong thing. But sometimes there are other people (friends, TV ads, etc.) who try to get us to do the wrong thing. It can be hard to stand firm when other people are pushing us to do the wrong thing.

ASK: Can you think of a time when someone tried to get you to do something that you knew was wrong? What did you do? (Let a few volunteers answer).

KEY: God uses ordinary people to stand up for what is right, even when it is hard to do.

CHALLENGE VERSE
Tell your kids to get ready for a Bible drill.
Get ready… Joshua 1:7…Go!

Read Joshua 1:7 from your Bible

SAY: God told Joshua to follow Him, encouraging him to stand up for what was right even when it was hard to do.

ASK: Is it ever hard for you to stand up for what is right?

Situation Game
SAY to the students: Listen to the following situations. If what the person in the story does is right (something that God would want you to do), stand up. If what the person in the story does is wrong, sit down or stay sitting.

Situation 1: Brian plays soccer almost everyday at recess. His best friend, Todd, usually picks the teams. One day while picking teams, Todd tells John (another boy in Brian’s class) that he is not good at soccer and can’t be on their team. Brian knows that this hurt John’s feelings, so he tells Todd that he should let John play soccer with them.

• After the kids have stood (or sat), ask: Why might this be hard for Brian to do?

Situation 2: One day after school, Mary is playing a game of hide-and-seek in her living room with her little sister while her mom is outside talking with a friend. When trying to find a good hiding place, Mary accidentally knocks over her mom’s favorite picture frame and breaks it. When her mom comes back inside, Mary doesn’t mention the broken picture frame and goes over to a friend’s house.

Situation 3: Chandler and his brother Ben like to walk home together after school. Sometimes on their way home they stop by the gas station to get a snack. One afternoon in the gas station Chandler decides that he wants an extra candy bar, but doesn’t have enough money for two. Ben says that he will get the candy for Chandler. As they are about to pay, Chandler notices that Ben has one candy bar stuffed in his pocket while paying for the other. Ben tells Chandler to keep quiet – no one will care if they just take one little candy bar without paying. Even though Chandler really wants the candy bar, he tells Ben to put it back.

SAY: Remember…
Control Tool
Leader: Don’t Turn—Kids: To the Right or Left!

SAY: Don’t let anyone try to push you or lead you away from where God wants you to be.

LESSON ACTIVITY
“Stand Firm” Footprint Stepping Stones
(NOTE: See below for an Alternate Activity)

To make stepping stones you will need Plaster of Paris, water, and disposable round pie tins (one per child), and wet paper towels. You will also want to spread out some newspapers or trash bags on the floor.

SAY: Today we are going to make stepping stones with our footprints. Whenever you see your stepping stone, remember to stand firm and to always do what God would want you to do. Be careful not to step to the “left or the right” but to always stay on God’s path.

Instructions:
Give each of your children a pie tin and have them take off one shoe. After putting some Plaster of Paris in each person’s pie tin, have each student gently press their foot into the mixture. Give each child wet paper towels to clean off his feet.

As the students are putting their shoes back on, tell them that after about 30 minutes the plaster will go from soft and easily molded, to firm.

SAY: There might be times when you are tempted to do something wrong, or to let someone else do something wrong. But God doesn’t want us to be easily swayed and let the ways of the world mold our behavior – He wants us to stand firm. Be careful not to step to the “left or the right” but to always stay on God’s path.

Control Tool
Leader: Don’t Turn—Kids: To the Right or Left!

SAY: But keep following Jesus.

Alternate Activity—Making Footprint Mobiles
SAY: Today we are going to footprint mobiles. Then whenever you see your mobile moving, remember to stand firm and to always do what God would want you to do. Be careful not to step to the “left or the right” but to always stay on God’s path.

Instructions:
Give each of your children enough construction paper to trace and cut out each of their feet two times. Then tell them to write one word on each foot so that it says, “Stay on God’s Path.” Use large paper clips and yarn, or strips of construction paper to connect the feet together.

BIBLE LESSON
Background: After spending 40 years in the wilderness after God brought them out of slavery in Egypt, it is finally time for the Israelite people to enter the Promised Land. Joshua is leading the Israelites as they are getting ready to fight the people of Jericho to take the land that God had promised them.

ASK: How do you think Joshua was feeling? How would you feel if you were leading a group of people in battle against a mighty city?

ASK: Has God ever called you to do something that was difficult or scary? What did you do?

Tell your class that they are going to help you tell the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho, and that you need them to pretend to be the Israelite people and that you (the teacher) are Joshua (the other teacher will play the part of the narrator). Tell the boys that they are going to be the priests, and tell the girls that they are the people. (Make sure to explain to your class that even though you are acting out the story using your lesson book, the story is from Joshua 6). Remember, the more excited you are about telling the story, the more your class will be excited about learning God’s Word.

Joshua: “People of Israel, gather together (gather your students together and have them sit on the floor together). God has given me instructions on how to defeat the city of Jericho. This is what He wants us to do. Priests, (have the priests/boys step forward) you are to take up the Ark of the Covenant and carry it around the city.. Also, seven priests will carry seven trumpets made of a rams’ horns. People of Israel, (have the people/girls step forward) you are to march around the city – people with weapons in front of the people without weapons. (Line up your class in order – Priests with ram horns, priests carrying the Ark, people with weapons, people without weapons). Now, you shall not shout or let your voice be heard or even say a word until the day that I tell you ‘Shout!’ On that day that I say, ‘Shout!’ then you shall shout!”

Narrator: “Now the people of Israel marched around the great walls of the city for 6 days, getting up early in the morning each day (Joshua – lead your class in a line marching around the room). Now on the seventh day the people of Israel got up early in the morning. That day they marched around the city seven times (Joshua – lead your class in a march around the room).”

Joshua (while leading the class around the room): “People of Israel, Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! (Lead your kids in a shout and yes, it’s okay to disturb the other classes around you.) Now when we go into the city, remember that everything in city belongs to the Lord. Do not take anything for yourself.”

Have your class sit on the floor.
SAY: Thank you for helping me act out Joshua’s story. Now let’s hear how our story ends.

Read Joshua 6:20 from your Bible.

SAY: That day God gave the city of Jericho to the people of Israel.
For the people of Israel, defeating the city of Jericho was not much of a battle… with God, things that might look like a huge problem (i.e. taking over a city full of valiant warriors) are no longer big problems. We can trust God to take care of us, no matter how bad our problems might be. Joshua trusted and followed God.

ASK: What do you think the people of Jericho were saying when they saw the Israelites marching around the city? Do you think that there were some Israelites who did not think that Joshua’s plan would work?

SAY: Joshua stood strong and did what God commanded Him to do even when it might not have made sense to other people. When you are following God, sometimes the things that you do won’t make sense to other people. This is because God’s ways are different from the ways of the world.

ASK: What are some things that God tells us to do that the rest of the world might think is strange? (Love our enemies, give money to the church, put others before ourselves, live by faith, etc.)

ASK: What should we do when other people try to get us to stop following what God has told us to do? (Stand up for what is right and use the opportunity to show and tell other people about Jesus).

SAY: Remember…
Control Tool
Leader: Don’t Turn—Kids: To the Right or Left!

SAY: Don’t let anyone try to push you or lead you away from where God wants you to be.

LESSON ACTIVITY
SAY: Sometimes people give in the doing wrong things because they feel alone.

Choose two volunteers—SAY: Do you remember the Pushing Game we played earlier where you put your hands together and tried to push someone else off-balance. You were alone—by yourself against someone else. In life, you’re never alone.

Have your two volunteers stand facing each other as if they are going to play the game again, but then step up behind one of the children and put your hands on his.

SAY: In life, once you have given your life to Christ, Jesus is always with you. So, when others push against you, (have the other students push his hardest) just know that you’re never alone.

Choose another volunteer—ASK: Do you think you can break a pencil?
Give him a pencil and see if he can break it. Then give him three or four pencils. ASK: Do you think you can break these?

SAY: They can’t be broken because they’re not alone—and neither are you. You can keep your feet on God’s path because you’re never alone. God is with you and so are other believers.

SAY: Today we’re going to give each of you a pencil to remind you that you’re never alone, that you can always stay on God’s path, that no one can push you to the right or to the left and that you can always stand up for what is good.

SAY: Remember…
Control Tool
Leader: Don’t Turn—Kids: To the Right or Left!

PRAYER TIME & WRAP-UP

SAY: God uses everyday people, like you and me, to stand up for what is right. It’s not always easy but just like Joshua, we should always follow and obey everything that God tells us to do, even when it is hard.

Ask your students if they have anything they would like to pray for and list their requests on the next page:

List Prayer Requests Here

Be sure to pray specifically for each request above.

ANNOUCEMENTS
– Today we’re going to give each of you a pencil to remind you that you’re never alone, that you can always stay on God’s path, that no one can push you to the right or to the left and that you can always stand up for what is good.
– Next week is our last week of this series and it’s “God Rocks!” Day. It’ll be great and we have something very special to give to each of you. So, you won’t want to miss it.

EXTRA TIME
Use any extra time to help your students memorize the verse for today.

Follow Jesus

"Jesus must become greater…" John 3:30

Series: The Faith Hall of Fame