JULY MEMORY VERSE
The LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9)
“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” the people cried out as Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the day that we celebrate as Palm Sunday (Luke 19:38). When the Pharisees asked Jesus to tell the people to stop, Jesus responded, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout” (Luke 19:40). God’s glory is so magnificent that it must be proclaimed! In today’s Bible story from the Old Testament, the stones do tell of the wonderful works of God.
God chose Joshua to lead the Israelites following Moses’ death. After forty years in the wilderness, it was finally time for the Israelites to move into the land God had promised to give them! The Israelites packed up their tents and got ready to follow the Lord’s chest, the ark of the covenant, into the land, but the Jordan River was between the Israelites and their new home. The situation seemed impossible, but Joshua reminded the people to trust God. When the priests carrying the ark stepped into the Jordan River, the water stopped flowing and the people were able to cross the river on dry land. Sound familiar? Forty years earlier, God had parted the Reed Sea to let the Israelites escape Pharaoh’s army as they left Egypt. Remember that other than Joshua and Caleb, none of the Israelites currently on the move had been alive when the Israelites left Egypt. They had heard the stories of God’s mighty act of parting the waters. Now, they were witnessing God’s power for themselves!
Once through the river, God instructed Joshua to have the Israelites build a monument out of stones. The stones used in the monument came from the bottom of the Jordan River. Joshua told the Israelites that in the future when their children asked about the stones, they were to tell them the story. We still tell our children the stories of God today.
Young children will enjoy the wonder of the river drying up, as well as the concreteness of the building of the monument. Children know how it feels to go somewhere new. It might be exciting, but a little scary too. They can imagine God drying up the river with a sense of wonder. They can appreciate the building of a monument to help them remember. All of this happened because Joshua and the people trusted God. Remind the children that God can help us in so many ways, if we trust and follow what God wants us to do.
Today, we will do activities about remembering and activities involving monuments and rocks to help us remember the story of Joshua and the Israelites crossing the Jordan. You’ll want your children to be reminded that God is indeed with them wherever they go, even in unusual circumstances and situations. You’ll also want them to understand the importance of remembering and sharing with others the stories of our faith and the work of God in their lives.
Where have you seen God doing amazing things? Be intentional this week about looking for amazing acts of God. Look for small, quiet acts as well as large, awesome acts. In each act you see, remember the one who is always with you, God.
DEEP BLUE ADVENTURES APP
While I was looking for all the new material to share with you about our new unit, I stumbled across this app. I downloaded it for free, and it has all the videos to go along with the Bible story each week. There is a trivia game, a fun scripture game and another maze game that reinforced the verse of the month. It isn’t anything fancy, but I thought I would share if you were looking for new ways to engage your kids with our weekly Bible stories at home. GET IT HERE
For the month of July, we will be taking a break from Zoom Sunday school. Pastor Lisa and Allison will be collaborating on new ideas for interacting with your children. Please join our Chapel Hill Kids Facebook Group for prerecorded and “Godly Play LIVE” Sunday School lessons. We will post favorite songs with actions each week as well as lesson plan demonstrations, and much more!
If your child did not receive a “Flat Jesus” in the mail this week, here is a digital download for you to print at home. We want the kids to remember that, even though we cannot meet together at church right now, that Jesus is always with them! Have your child color, cut out, and laminate his/her “Flat Jesus” then take him with you on your summer trips and outings. Snap a picture of “Flat Jesus” and post on our Chapel Hill Kids Facebook Group to see where CH Kids are taking Him this Summer.