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Family Discipleship: Crossing the Jordan

Dear Parents,

Our KidLife Preschool and Elementary Class are currently studying through the entire Bible while focusing on the Gospel. As they learn the incredible stories of Scripture, they’ll be taught how Christ is connected to all of it.

We have a deep desire to come along side you, the parent, and help you disciple your children. We want to help you teach them about God’s Word. Every week, we will send home information about the lesson your child learned. We also plan to include the lesson in our church program and post a weekly summary here, on the Grace Life Blog.

Take the time each day to go over what they learn, memorize the Scripture verse with them, and continue to show them Jesus. The greatest responsibility we have as parents is to disciple are kids and to show them how to follow Jesus. For more information on the importance of Family Discipleship, here’s a quick Facebook Live video from Pastor Matt.

Want the weekly KidLife lesson recap and other blog post delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to signup to receive post from the Grace Life Blog.

Here is this week’s summary:

CROSSING THE JORDAN

Joshua 1-4

Story Point: God held back the Jordan River for His people to cross.

Big Picture Question: How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and obeying Him.

Christ Connection: God went ahead of Joshua and the Israelites into the promised land. He showed His power to them so they would trust in Him. When Jesus came to earth, He showed His power so people would trust in Him and be saved from sin.

Key Passage: Deuteronomy 31:8

You and your children have been learning about the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness. Forty years later, it was time for the next generation to enter the land. Only one geographical barrier separated the Israelites from the promised land of Canaan: the Jordan River. When the Israelites arrived, the Jordan River was flooded due to spring rains and snowmelt. Any other time, the river would have been manageable, but crossing the swollen river would have been as daunting as crossing the Red Sea. (See Josh. 4:23.)

The Israelites had mourned Moses’ death for 30 days (Deut. 34:8), but now this new generation looked to Joshua to lead them into the promised land. God had chosen Joshua and promised to be with him. Joshua prepared the people to cross the Jordan River, and they agreed to obey him as they obeyed Moses.

God gave Joshua a promise and a command. First, He promised to go before them and drive out all the people of the land. Then God commanded him to tell the priests to carry the ark of the LORD (a symbol of God’s powerful presence) into the waters of the Jordan. Then the waters of the river would be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above would stand in one heap. When this happened, all of Israel would know that God was with Joshua.

All of the people passed over on dry ground. Joshua set up 12 memorial stones as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in bringing Israel safely across the Jordan into the promised land.

The Israelites could do nothing apart from God. He was with them, and He was going to fight for them. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “You can do nothing without me.”

As you go through this week, emphasize with your kids that God was still at work with His people. God went ahead of Joshua and the Israelites into the promised land. He showed His power to them so they would trust in Him. When Jesus came to earth, He showed His power so people would trust in Him and be saved from sin. The cross is our reminder of what Jesus has done for us: a miraculous saving we could never do for ourselves.

Check this session’s Activity Page and Big Picture Card as well as the Gospel Project for Kids Family App for ways to interact with the Bible content this week.

FAMILY STARTING POINTS

  • Babies and Toddlers
    • God is always with us.
    • God promised to be with Joshua.
    • God made the Jordan River stop.
    • The people set up stones to remember what God had done.
  • Preschool
    • How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and obeying Him.
    • God led His people through the Jordan River on dry ground.
  • Kids
    • How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and obeying Him.
    • God held back the Jordan River for His people to cross.

UNIT KEY PASSAGE

    • Deuteronomy 31:8 (Deuteronomy 31:8a for Babies and Toddlers)

NEXT WEEK

    • “The Battle of Jericho” (Joshua 2; 6)

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