Nothing is Too Hard for God!

We opened our evening by reviewing Joshua 1:9 again, this time using words taped to the back of dominoes. We had only three little boys, Patrick, Jacob and C.J., but this was really a story that little boys love -- the fall of Jericho. When we got into our classroom, the boys helped to tape up boxes and then used them to build a wall.

While we were putting the boxes together, I noted that all of the boxes were different, each one was unique. Someone asked what that meant, so I said, "One-of-a-kind, just like each of you is one of a kind. No one else is just like you." C.J. said, "Someone else is just like me." When I asked him what he meant, he said, "Barack Obama looks just like me when he was little." Maybe C.J. will be our president someday!

We had fun building and knocking down our wall for a while, then I reviewed last week's story about Rahab, and hung a red ribbon from the wall they had rebuilt. Some of the children had missed last week, so I needed to tell them about Moses dying and God picking Joshua to be the new leader. They were very sad to hear about Moses' death -- I do think they have come to love him in this little class -- so I told them that even though Moses didn't get to go into the Promised Land, Moses was trusting in the Messiah to come, in Jesus, and so we will see him in heaven someday.

Patrick said, "When I see him, I'm going to ask him if I can see that snake." (The one that he held up for the people to look at and be healed.)

Then I told the boys to do what I was doing, and we walked around the wall, pretended to play trumpets and then shouted. We couldn't knock down the wall just by shouting, but I told the boys that we were going to hear a story in which God knocked down a big strong wall that went around a whole city. The children knew this story well, and I emphasized that the Israelites were obeying God even though it seemed a very silly way to conquer a city. I also told them how the priests blowing the trumpets and carrying the ark made the procession a very worshipful time, rather than a typical battle scene. So this really gave God the glory when the wall came down.

I pointed to the red ribbon and again reminded them that the spies had told Rahab that they would save her if they saw that rope hanging from her window. God used the Hebrews to judge the evil city of Jericho, but they did not harm Rahab because of the red rope hung there by faith. When the Israelites saw the rope, they treated her as a friend of God, not an enemy. That red rope reminds us of the red blood of Jesus, and when we believe what God says -- that all who trust in Jesus' work on the cross will be saved -- we too will be spared the wrath of God's judgment and will be reckoned as righteous, friends of God, rather than enemies.

Some of the children had not gotten to recite individual verses in class, so we took some time to go over all of those. I held up large cards with the same pictures from their verse packs on them, and they sang the verses. They seem to really be retaining these verses, and I told them that I don't think they will ever forget them -- I don't think I will either since I'll always remember learning them with them.