Consider what an act of faith it was for God’s people to fight each battle, one city at a time, trusting God’s promises despite the opposition ahead. The belief that God is all-powerful not only aided the Israelites in their mission to conquer the land; it also serves to encourage us as we live by faith and not by sight.  Lead the boys and girls in your care to see the power of God who fights on our behalf and the love of His Son who died on the cross in our place and rose again.

Lead the boys and girls in your care to see that this story does not end with dismal destruction; rather, we see the Lord faithfully keep His promise to deliver His people from their enemies. God set Achan apart for destruction, just as He said He would. Destruction, however, does not have to be our end. By placing faith in Jesus, the punishment we deserve has been placed on God’s Son instead. Remind your kids of God’s faithfulness in providing a sacrifice on our behalf and an eternal victory secured in His Son—a victory that transforms hearts and frees people from the destruction they deserve.

Like the Israelites, we bring nothing to the table except our need for God’s saving grace. Yet by trusting in the Lord’s power to save us through faith in His Son, His victory is our reward. Help the boys and girls in your care see the power of God at work in this story, as well as in their own lives—that God has the power to deliver us into the kingdom of His Son. Pray that the children in your care will trust in Jesus for His gift of salvation.

In Joshua 1, we learn the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land following the death of Moses. God spoke directly to Joshua, commissioning him as the new leader of His people. The Lord commanded Joshua three times to be strong and courageous as he was about to guide the Israelites across the Jordan River.

As we read of Moses’ passing the baton to his successor, we must recognize the goodness of God in sending an even greater Leader to shepherd God’s people for all eternity: Jesus Christ. While Moses could not lead the Israelites into the land, Jesus fulfilled every requirement as a good and faithful servant of the Lord, therefore leading us into the eternal promise of His kingdom. Ask God to soften the hearts of kids in your family, that they may glean these great gospel truths as you faithfully teach this passage. May they see the faithful kindness of the loving God who desires to dwell with them not only today, but for all eternity.

Moses interceded for the people, and God miraculously provided them rescue. By looking at the bronze snake mounted on a pole, the people would recover. This was a glimmer of the eternal salvation that would one day come through the Son of God lifted up on the cross. Though the Israelites did not deserve this rescue, God saved them by His grace. Likewise, the Son of Man lifted up on the cross provided a once-and-for-all sacrifice for those who look to Him for salvation. Pray for the kids in your family to sees God’s gracious provision, that they would put their confidence in Christ for salvation.

After Israel left Sinai, God led them through the wilderness to the land He had promised Abraham. God was faithful to keep His promise and brought His people to spy out the land He was going to give them. Moses chose twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel, to see if the land was good and to bring a report back to the people. Rather than focus on the good land God was giving them, they gave a negative report about the land based on the people living there. They focused their mind on the strength of the people rather than the promises of God.

Grumbling shows that we sometimes forget how kind and good God is to us. Even when we grumble, God lovingly cares for us and provides everything we need. When things are hard or not how we wish, we can trust that God knows what’s best for us. Instead of grumbling, we can remember His goodness, thank Him for His care, and ask Him to help us have a thankful heart.

Anyone who trusts in Jesus can experience the hope and joy of being made new and living as part of God’s family. The Day of Atonement pointed to this incredible gift, and through Jesus, we can always celebrate God’s love and grace. Isn’t it amazing how much He cares for us?

Today, though we gather at local churches to worship God and commune with fellow believers, it is not in physical structures where God dwells among His people. Instead, those who are in Christ receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Jesus tells us in John 16:7 that the gift of the Holy Spirit is greater than His physical presence was as He walked among His disciples! Pray for the Lord to prompt the kids in your family to heed His call of salvation, that He would dwell within them as their Lord. May we read of the tabernacle’s splendor and respond, not out of obligation, but in awe of the closeness and kindness of our Lord.

An idol is anything we worship in the place of God. Unfortunately, the Israelites wrongly believed they needed a new god to go before them since Moses’ absence left them doubting if he would return and worried about who would lead them. How ironic it was that they sought to dethrone God while claiming to throw a festival in His honor (Exodus 32:5). Their impatient uncertainty led them to replace God’s sovereign plans and rightful worship with this golden god of their own creation.

The giving of the law was never the end goal; it was always God’s plan to redeem a people for Himself through the death and resurrection of His Son. Help the kids in your family see that because they cannot measure up to the law’s requirements, our hope rests in Christ alone. Lead them to see God’s greatness and what He has done to offer them salvation.

In this lesson we see how Moses was burdened with caring for the people of Israel and how God provided help for Moses to lead the people.

Pastor Char will be sharing a special message with the kids about Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, & Peace.

The parting of the Red Sea is an incredible accounts in Scripture. After God freed His people through the events of the Passover, He performed this amazing miracle to deliver them from danger and secure their hearts in worship to Him alone. In this passage, we see glimmers of an even greater miracle––the salvation of God’s people, once and for all time, through Christ’s miraculous sacrifice on our behalf.

God repeated His covenant promises and reminded His people that He would be faithful to deliver them from Egypt and bring them to the land of promise. Through the suffering of slavery and desolation of the plagues, God’s people waited. And upon hearing God’s Passover instructions, they did as He commanded.  

Consider Moses’ difficulties in confronting Pharaoh, a man of great prestige. Then, reflect on the grace and mercy of God who reigns in sovereign power. Though it appeared impossible, God made good on His promises.

While Moses would not flawlessly follow God nor perfectly trust in His promises, God promised to provide Moses with help and demonstrate His power. Moses was aware of his own shortcomings as a leader, yet God still used him mightily to rescue the Israelites.

Although God allowed Job to suffer, His hand was there to guide him, and His comfort remained by his side. What we glean from Job’s story is that God’s righteousness is so much greater than our own, that He is worthy of worship despite our circumstances. In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul declared that “our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.” 

There is only one truly righteous person who suffered unjustly: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Help kids see that God is good, and His full worthiness is displayed in Jesus, the only truly righteous One. By faith in His finished work on the cross, we are counted as righteous and granted eternal hope. Pray that your kids will experience God's goodness and place their faith in Him alone.

At the closing of Genesis, Joseph—in the aftermath of slavery, famine, and injustice—declares that God used his brothers’ evil plans to bring about flourishing for His people. Joseph extended words of comfort, courage, and kindness his brothers did not deserve. 

In Christ, we receive an even greater gift—everlasting life, the undeserved bestowal of immeasurable peace, courage, and kindness. Christ experienced injustice and suffering on our behalf so that we might gain eternal life and redemption. As faithful to God as Joseph was, Jesus is even more faithful, forever renowned as the suffering Servant who takes away our sin. Pray for your kids to place their faith in the One who redeems our sins and suffering for His glory and our good.

In today’s passage, God continued His faithfulness to Abraham by extending kindness to Jacob amidst a time of great turmoil. God promised to bless Jacob, be with him, watch over him, and never leave him until His faithful promises had been fulfilled. Jacob found himself at a crossroads, seemingly alone, and was tasked with finding a wife in accordance with God’s plan to bless their family.

What can we learn from Jacob’s time of trial and his wrestling with God? How can this help us when we are suffering or wrestling with God ourselves?

After receiving his father’s blessing, Jacob was instructed by his mother and father to flee Esau’s wrath and find a wife. While on the run, God visited Jacob in a dream by which He confirmed the promises He had made to Abraham. Even in Jacob's sinfulness, God's faithful lovingkindness was shown to him as God declared that His covenantal promises would continue through Jacob's family. Then, Jacob made a vow, just as God had made one to him: “If God remains with me, watches over me, provides for me, and returns me safely as He says He will, then He will be my God.”

Later in chapter 32, we see the next phase of Jacob’s journey with God, as he wrestled with Him unknowingly. Jacob said to the man, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man—whom we know to be God—changed Jacob’s name from that of a deceiver to “Israel” Israel, meaning “He Sstruggled with God.” Despite Jacob's struggles with God, he prevailed and was blessed by Him. In the end, Jacob realized that God spared his life in this encounter. By grace, he was granted a new name and identity and was able to return home.

Today, we come to a similar crossroads as we wrestle with the role Jesus deserves in our lives as Savior and Lord. Those who surrender to Him by faith can, like Israel, experience new life in He who redeems and restores sinners, bringing them into His family forever. No longer are we bound by our old selves but given a new identity in Jesus.

Ask God to reveal to your kids the reality of the new life He offers in Jesus. Though we may not always understand His ways, God gives us grace as we come to surrender to His will for our lives. May His truth become clear in their hearts and minds as you teach them about His love.