Unit 6: Life of Joshua OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice Lesson · 2018-02-03 · 1 OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice ©Beverly Wilson 2018 Unit 6: Life of Joshua OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice

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OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice ©Beverly Wilson 2018

Unit 6: Life of Joshua OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice Lesson

Scripture: Joshua 23-24

Lesson Goal: God had chosen Joshua to lead the children of Israel in defeating their enemies and settling the Promised Land. At the end of Joshua' life he reminded the people of God's faithfulness and challenged them to serve the Lord. Every day we make choices that show whether we are serving God.

Introduction: This is eighth lesson in Unit 6: Life of Joshua. God had chosen Joshua to lead the children of Israel in defeating their enemies and settling the Promised Land. At the end of Joshua' life he reminded the people of God's faithfulness and challenged them to serve the Lord. Every day we make choices that show whether we are serving God. This lesson is found in the book of Joshua. Joshua is the first Book of History in the Old Testament and was written by Joshua himself. This book tells the history of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land. Let’s say the Old Testament Books of history together—Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, I Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Attention Getter: “Serve” Every day we make choices that show whether we are serving God. At the end of Joshua' life he reminded the people of God's faithfulness and challenged them to serve the Lord. Sometimes one word can mean different things. Let’s use the word “Serve” as an example. Serve can mean hitting a ball. This girl can serve the volley ball. That means she can hit the ball over the high net to the other team. Serve can also mean serving a ping pong ball. To start a round of play one player or team has to serve or hit the ping pong ball to the other team. Has your mom ever served you juice and cookies? That is a totally different meaning for serve. It means to pass out the refreshments to everyone. A waitress serves food at the restaurant. We use the word serve a lot! What might be some other ways people serve? You can serve God. That means that if we serve Him we will help other people, obey His commands, and tell others about Him. We can also serve God by worshipping Him. We can sing songs to Him. We can pray to Him, and read His Word. Today we will talk about what it means to serve God. Joshua led the Israelites in their new land for many years. The Israelites had one victory after another as Joshua and the people loved and served God and followed His commands. At the end of his life Joshua challenged the people of Israel to serve God.

Opening Prayer: “Father, thank you for your love and care. We pray today that You will help us to always choose to love, serve, and obey You. Help us to believe in Your Son Jesus as our Savior and to trust Him to give us eternal life. We confess that we have sinned and have done wrong things against You. We ask you to forgive us our sin and to give us the gift of eternal life. As a member of your family help us to show love toward everyone in our life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Joshua 24:15 “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/USKzB8NMGJk Joshua was the man God chose to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. God had promised Joshua that He would be with Him wherever He went. God also commanded Joshua to be careful to completely obey His Words and He promised that he would be prosperous. As Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan there was a lot of work that needed to be done before the Israelites could safely settle there. The Israelites had to take the land back from the Canaanites. The Promised Land was occupied by the Canaanite people who did many wicked things. These people did not obey God. They worshipped idols instead of the true God. And because they believed in false gods, God wanted the children of Israel to destroy them. So God told Joshua exactly what to do. The first city they faced was Jericho. Jericho was a highly fortified city with a huge double wall around it. God told Joshua to have seven priests carrying seven trumpets to walk in front of the Ark of the Covenant. These priests were to be followed by the armed men and finally the people of Israel. This caravan was to march around the city of Jericho one time for six straight days. On the seventh day they were to march seven times around the city. When the priests blew their trumpets and the people shouted to the Lord, the walls of Jericho collapsed and fell to the ground. The wicked city of Jericho was conquered because God made the walls fall down! What a miracle God accomplished for Israel on that day! From Jericho the Israelites marched on to conquer the city of Ai where God taught them through the example of Achan that they must completely obey Him in order to be successful. After the Israelites took the city of Ai, word quickly spread of their victory. The Canaanites heard how the God of the Israelites had commanded them to destroy the entire city of Jericho because it was so sinful. They were terrified! All the Canaanite kings who lived in the land met to discuss what to do about the Israelites. Finally the kings all decided that everyone must come together and make war against Joshua and the Israelites! That is, everyone except the Gibeonites. They decided to trick Joshua and the Israelites! They sent some messengers in old worn out clothes with some moldy bread to trick Joshua into believing they were from a far away country. Their trick worked and Joshua made a treaty with the people not to destroy them. When Joshua discovered that he had been lied to he made the Gibeonites become servants to the Israelites by chopping wood and carrying water. When the kings of the Canaanite nations came against Israel in war, God miraculously saved his people by confusing the enemy and causing them to flee from the battle. Then God sent hail stones to kill the soldiers as they ran away. When Joshua prayed for help God miraculously stopped the sun and moon for a day so Joshua and his men could pursue and capture the remaining enemy. The Israelites totally wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified towns. This one big battle enabled Joshua to gained control of the hill country of Bethel and Gibeon. He captured the kings, struck them down, and killed all the people because they were determined to harden their heart toward God. For seven years the army marched across the Promised Land destroying all the cities and towns just as the Lord had commanded. All together God helped Joshua and his army defeat 31 different kings! The conquest of the beautiful land of Canaan was almost complete but God wanted the Israelites to have all of it, not just part of it. So the Lord told Joshua, "Divide the land among the tribes of Israel so each tribe can drive out the enemies of their part. So Joshua divided the Promised Land among the twelve family groups of the children of Israel. This map shows where each tribe received their inheritance. The land was given according to the prophecies of Moses and Jacob and it was allotted by the casting of lots according to the size of the family in each tribe.

https://youtu.be/USKzB8NMGJk

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When all the tribes were gathered together at the city of Gilgal to receive their land, Caleb who was the father of the tribe of Judah asked to be first. Caleb said, "Remember I was forty years old when Moses sent me to spy out this land. I reported to him that Israel could take the land. But the people were afraid and did not trust God. I wholly followed the Lord with all my heart. And Moses promised me at that time that the land I had spied out would belong to me and my children forever. Even though I am 85 years old, I am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out as a spy! So Caleb said, "Give me the mountains!" This was the place where the giant sons of Anak lived in high walled cities. They were the strongest of the enemies and would be the toughest to fight. Now because Moses had promised Caleb the land, he could have chosen the nice green valley near the Jordan River, But he didn't! Caleb was not afraid of the tough enemies! He said, "Since the Lord is with me, I should be able to drive the giants out of the land!" And he did! In fact Caleb was the only tribe who completely drove out the enemy from their land. In the last part of the book of Joshua we read about the other tribes and the land they were given. While they had some victories the other tribes were not able to drive out all their enemies. The chariots of iron were for too strong for them. The other tribes did not have the faith or courage that Caleb had! For many years the Israelites lived in Canaan. They were years of peace and joy. They built homes and cities, and cultivated the rich, fertile land. How much they enjoyed the land God had given them! But they did not drive out all their enemies. Now Joshua was growing old and he was 110 years old. His long life as leader of the Israelites was coming to an end. But he hadn’t finished the job of taking the Promised Land. There were still groups of people living in the Promised Land that God wanted to destroy. Joshua knew that the Israelites were going to have a lot more work to do. Joshua called the leaders of the people together to a big meeting in Shechem and said to them: “I am old, advanced in age.” Joshua, Israel’s courageous leader, knew that he was about to die. He had seen God do many mighty miracles, and he wanted the Israelites to remember God’s goodness to them. "Please call the people together so I can speak to them for the last time." When all the tribes of Israel had come together, Joshua said, "You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these enemy nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you. Remember how God made the walls of Jericho fall." Joshua then encouraged the children of Israel, he said, "Even though I am getting old and about to die and I won’t be here to lead you, God will help you finish the job just as He promised." "Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses." Joshua warned the children of Israel to always love and obey God and not to ever follow after the false gods of the people who still remain in the land. Joshua reminded the people, "Remember that it is by God’s might that the enemies have been driven out. It is not by your own strength. For the Lord is the One who did it!”

Joshua again told the people to love and obey God. He warned them not to follow after other gods and warned them about what will happen if they don’t stay loyal to God. As long as the children of Israel loved and obeyed God, all would go well for them. But, if they started to follow after false gods, then God would stop taking care of them. Then they would lose the land that God had given to them. Joshua then told the people, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

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The people replied, “We will not forsake the Lord to serve other gods!” Joshua questioned them again. The people declared, “We will serve the Lord.” Joshua said again, “You have chosen to obey the Lord. You must destroy any idols.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey.” Joshua recorded the people’s reply in the books of the laws of God. But Joshua knew that just saying the words was not enough. He wrote what the people said on a huge stone and put it there to remind the people of the choice they had made. Now it was in writing, an agreement between the people and God. Then Joshua set it up the stone there under the oak that was beside the Tabernacle. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." The Israelites promised to serve only God. And if they broke that promise, they had only themselves to blame. It was their choice and they would have to face the consequences. Then the people returned to their homes. Soon after this Joshua the servant of the Lord died at the age of 110. Joshua was buried on his own land at Timnathserah in the hill country of Ephraim. The nation of Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds the Lord had done for them. Just like the Israelites we have to make choices every day. Some choices are very important because they show whether or not we are serving God. When we love God, our choices will show our love for Him. We will choose to obey Him and serve Him by showing His love to other people. God will help us make choices to serve Him and show His love to others. Our memory verse is Joshua 24:15 “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” In this verse Joshua was giving the people of Israel a choice. Would they choose God who had proven Himself worthy or would they obey the false gods of the land? We too have to choose whom we will obey. Will it be God or will it be our own selfish desires? Let’s say our memory verse again together. Joshua 24:15 Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Everybody has to make some important choices in their lives. The most important choice you will ever make is whether you will become a part of God's family or not. Will you believe in Jesus as your Savior? Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins? That is the most important choice you will ever make. Other choices that we make are whether we will do what is right or will we do what is wrong? Will we care about ourselves or will we care about others? When we choose to serve God it means that we will treat other people fairly. We will be patient with younger brothers and sisters. We will help at home without complaining. We will do our best at school and be kind to other kids. We will keep our promises and help friends with their problems. We will say kind words. We will read and pay attention to what the Bible says. Serving God means we will put Him first and ourselves second. To do that we will need lots of help and God promises to help us serve Him. Remember let's choose to serve God!

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Review Questions: “Checker Game” Preparation: Place at least twenty red and twenty black checkers or plastic game pieces in a small paper bag. Procedure: Divide the children into two teams and have them take turns answering questions. As a child answers the question correctly, he can reach into the bag and pull out a checker for his team. If the checker is red, he gets to keep the checker and draw again. If he draws a black checker he keeps it but his turn is finished. At the end of the game the team with the most checkers (red and black) wins the game.

1. Who did God choose to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land and to conquer the enemies? (God chose Joshua.)

2. Why did God say the all the people of Cana must be destroyed? (They worshipped idols and their heart was hardened against God.)

3. Why was God concerned about Israel if the Canaanites continued to live in the land? (The Israelites would be influenced by their worship of idols and turn away from God.)

4. What miracle did God perform at the Battle of Jericho? (God caused the walls to collapse.) 5. What miracles did God perform at the Battle of the Five Kings? (God caused the enemy

soldiers to be confused and to run away. He caused hailstones to fall on the fleeing army destroying many of them. God answered Joshua’s prayer by making the sun and moon stand still for a day while the Israelites chased the enemy soldiers and destroyed them.)

6. What plan did God have for completely ridding the Promised Land of all the idol worshipping Canaanites? (Joshua was to assign the land to the families of Israel and they were to rid the remaining people in their section of the Promised Land.)

7. Who wanted to be first in taking a portion of the Promised Land and what part did he choose? (Caleb who was one of the original twelve spies who had come into the Promised Land wanted first choice. He wanted to take the mountainous area because he trusted in God to be successful even in the most difficult area.)

8. Why was the mountainous area that Caleb chose the most difficult? (This was the place where the giant sons of Anak lived in high walled cities. They were the strongest of the enemies and would be the toughest to fight.)

9. How successful was Caleb and the other leaders of the tribes of Israel in conquering the remaining people? (Only Caleb was totally successful. The other tribes drove out some of the people but not all. These remaining people would prove to be a great problem later for Israel.)

10. What long did Israel enjoy cultivating the land and growing crops with peace and prosperity? (Israel had peace while the older men of Israel who had seen God’s hand in conquering the land lived.)

11. When Joshua realized he was about to die what did he do? (He called for a big meeting of all the children of Israel at Shechem.)

12. What things did Joshua remind the people about? (He reminded them of the victories that God had given them in the battles to conquer the land especially the city of Jericho.)

13. What warning the Joshua give to the people? (He warned them not to worship false idol gods but to love and obey God and serve Him.)

14. What are some reasons Joshua gave the people for choosing to serve and obey God? (God gave them food and water. God helped them defeat their enemies.)

15. Why did Joshua want the people to remember that it was God who had given them the victory? (He wanted them to finish driving out all the people. He wanted them to know that God was stronger and more powerful than the idols of the Canaanites. He wanted them to remain faithful to serving God.)

16. What challenge or choice did Joshua give the people? (He asked them to choose who they would serve. He told them that he and his family would serve the Lord.)

17. What things did Joshua do to record the promise that Israel made to serve the Lord? (Joshua wrote the promise in the Book of Joshua and he set up a stone with an inscription on it.)

18. Where did Joshua set up the stone of memorial? (He put it under the Oak Tree that was by the Tabernacle in Shechem.)

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19. What is the most important choice that everyone has to make? (Everyone has to choose whether they will become a part of God’s family by believing in Jesus as their Savior and asking Him to forgive their sins.)

20. What is the memory verse? Joshua 24:15 “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Verse Draw” Have students locate in scripture the memory verse Joshua 24:15 “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Read verse several times together. Say: “In this verse Joshua was giving the people of Israel a choice. Would they choose God who had proven Himself worthy or would they obey the false gods of the land? We too have to choose whom we will obey. Will it be God or will it be our own selfish desires?” Preparation: You will need Bibles, index cards, and markers. Divide Joshua 24:15 into six sections: Joshua 24:15 / “Choose for yourselves / this day / whom you will serve /….But as for me / and my household,/ we will serve the Lord.” Print each section on separate index cards. Make two complete sets of verse cards. Mix together both sets and place face down. If you have more than twelve students in your class, divide the class into two groups of two teams each to play game. Make two additional sets of cards for the second group. Procedure: Divide the class into two teams. Volunteer reads Joshua 24:15 aloud. Say: “Joshua said these words when he was reminding the people to love, serve, and obey God. Think of the stories we’ve heard about Joshua. How did he serve God? (He obeyed what God asked him to do in battles. He led the people across the Jordan River and around Jericho like God told him to do. He helped the Gibeonites even though they tricked him. He always reminded the people of God’s ways and why they should obey them.) Students from each team take turns choosing cards from the stack trying to collect a complete set of verse cards. If the student’s team needs the card to complete the verse, the student keeps the card, placing it face up in front of the team. If the student’s team already has the card, he or she returns the card to the bottom of the stack. (Teams may check verse in the Bible.) Play continues until both teams have completed the verse.

Group Learning Activity: “Half or Whole?” Object Lesson (Grades K-3) Preparation: Bring some items to demonstrate half and whole. For example, you might choose half a paper grocery sack (cut vertically), half of a plastic container (possibly a plastic butter dish cut vertically); half of a dollar bill, half a pair of scissors, half a pair of shoes, or half a recipe (written or mixed). You could always play or sing a song for (not with) your class. Stop the song before the end, leaving everyone with that funny “you have got to finish that!” feeling. Each child will need a large circle cut from poster board or cardstock, crayons, or drawing pencils, and markers. Procedure: Show these items to the class and ask what is wrong with them (they are not complete). Choose as many examples as you have time to discuss. Stress the importance of serving God for our whole lives, not just part of them. Our goal is to hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” We want to finish the race and win the prize.

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We want to be like Joshua, full of faith, obedience, and commitment. Let us serve God our entire lives. After the discussion give each child a sheet poster board or card stock. Have each child make a pie chart showing how much of his time is spent serving the Lord. Fold a piece of paper in quarters. Make one for each child. Cut out a pattern of a pie (a circle) from heavy paper for them to trace onto the 1/2 of the sheet of folded paper. Let the kids cut out a circle for their pie chart. Make a sample of the pie chart and tape it on the chalkboard or whiteboard. Divide the pie in a way appropriate to the ages of your class, such as: morning, noon, and night; or day and night, or maybe hourly. Have the children fill in or shade in the amount of time spent serving the Lord. Is it 10%? 25%? 50%? Discuss how God wants us to serve Him with our entire lives. Write the memory verse on the chart.

Group Learning Activity: “Serving God” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To help students learn how to serve God biblically. Preparation: You will need Bibles, pencils, paper, and spiritual notebooks. Procedure: Have students locate the following scriptures and discuss the principles being taught in each one:

Read Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?” What do these verses say to do? (Fear God or have reverence for Him; walk in all His ways; love Him; serve Him with all your heart and soul; observe His commands.) How often we want to complicate faith with man-made rules, regulations, and requirements? The real requirement for serving God is trusting in Him. What does it mean to “fear God”? (The words “to fear” means to honor or respect)? How can you serve God in these ways every day? (We should show God’s love by treating others fairly, being patient with family, and obeying the Bible.)

Read Joshua 24:15 “ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.””

What is the choice this verse tells us to make? (The choice is whether we will choose to serve God or not.) Why do you think it is important to serve God? (Choosing to serve God has eternal consequences. It is the difference between life and death.) In this verse Joshua was giving the people of Israel a choice. Would they choose God who had proven Himself worthy or would they obey the false gods of the land? We too have to choose whom we will obey. Will it be God or will it be our own selfish desires?

Read John 13:13-16. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

How did Jesus serve His disciples? (He washed their feet.) Why does He tell them to serve others? (He wanted them to follow his example. He wanted the disciples to serve others after He was gone. The disciples were to serve God by bringing the message of salvation to all the people

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of the world.) What can you do to obey Jesus by serving other people? (We can share the news about the gift of salvation with everyone we know.)

Read Romans 12:11-13 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

How do these verses tell us to act? (Our service to God should be with great enthusiasm. The attitude of our service is as important as what we do. We should serve others with joy and patience. We should practice hospitality by our willingness to meet the needs of our guests. How have you obeyed these verses in the past? (Examples: helping parents with the chores; caring for younger brothers and sisters; visiting the sick; help without complaining; do the best job you can, say kind words; be kind to others; etc.)

How do we serve God or serve gods? You and I may never bow down to a little statue but anytime we focus more on anyone or anything more than God we are serving false gods. What are some gods that we may be tempted to serve? (Allow responses and write them on the board or a sheet of paper) Money, people, education, popularity, entertainment, clothes, things, etc. are some examples of gods people in our culture may worship. Are these things bad things? They are only sinful if they turn us away from obeying God. How can we serve God with any of these things? Have students summarize what they have learned in their spiritual journals.

Group Learning Activity: “Hot Potato” God’s Faithfulness (Grades K-4) Preparation: a potato or other small object OR you can decorate brown bean bag like a potato. Procedure: Play a game of “Hot Potato.” Children pass an object around the circle as you play a song on a CD or IPOD. After a few minutes, stop the music. Child with the object in their hand names a person who keeps their promises and then describes a situation in which that person kept a promise. Repeat several times asking children to name people and describe situations that fit their categories: People who listen when you need to talk; people who show up at the promised time, and people who tell the truth. Say:”We have been describing the characteristics of faithful people—people who keep their promises and are trustworthy. Today we have been talking about God was faithful to Joshua and is faithful to us as well.” “How can we find out about God’s faithfulness to us?” (Read the Bible. Talk to others who love God and follow Him.) Name one of the promises from God. (God promises to give us wisdom, strength, courage, guidance, salvation, love forever, answered prayer, confidence, and faithfulness.) “Which of God’s promises do you want to thank God for today?” Allow a few minutes for silent prayer. Then close in prayer, thanking God for promising to love and be with us for our whole lives.

Group Learning Activity: “Balloon Relay” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: Blow up one balloon for every two children. Blow up extra balloons in case any balloon pop during play. Place two masking tape lines 10 feet apart on opposite sides of the playing area. Procedure: Lead children in a relay using balloons. Divide class into teams of no more than six children. Children on each team pair up. Teams line up behind one of the masking tape lines. Give the first pair in each line a balloon. At your signal children tap the balloons back and forth with their partners as they move across the playing area to the other masking tape line. Children return to the starting line in the

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same manner and tag the next pair in line. Play continues until all pairs have finished answering one the questions below. Questions:

Read Joshua 23:14 aloud. What do you learn about God and His promises from Joshua 23:14? (God always keeps His promises.)

How can we find out about God’s faithfulness to us?” (Read the Bible. Talk to others who love God and follow Him.)

Name one of the promises from God. (God promises to give us wisdom, strength, courage, guidance, salvation, love forever, answered prayer, confidence, and faithfulness.)

Name a person or situation in which a person kept a promise.

Say: “Which of God’s promises do you want to thank God for today?” Allow a few minutes for silent prayer. Then close in prayer, thanking God for promising to love and be with us for our whole lives. Optional: Have students sit around the table. Place an inflated balloon in the center of the table. At your signal students begin blowing the balloon. When the balloon falls off the table, the student closest to where it fell off answers one of the following review questions:

Group Learning Activity: “Servants and Masters” Role Playing (Grades 2-5) Preparation: No materials needed. Say: “In our lesson today Joshua was a good servant. He loved God and tried to please Him in everything. He was glad to serve God.” Procedure: Say: “We are going to explore the difference between being a good servant and a bad one.” Ask for three volunteers to role play this activity. One will be the “kind master”, one will be the “good servant,” and one will be the “bad servant.” Let the other students choose at least three reasonable jobs the master can ask of both servants. Possible ideas include: answer the door, clean the floor, bring the master a meal, clear the table, and mow the grass. Explain that both servants will perform each job. Have the master ask the servants to do a job. Then each servant performs the job according to whether he or she is a good servant or a bad one. Continue until all the jobs are performed. If time allows, repeat the activity with new volunteers. After the role play activity, ask, “What is the difference between the good and the bad servant? (The good servant cared about what the master wanted. The bad servant did not.) “If you decided to become someone’s servant, what would you do to be good at it? (Try to please the master, work hard, and have a good attitude.)

Group Learning Activity: Bible Jeopardy Purpose: Since this is the last lesson in the unit, it is a good time for review of the Bible stories in the Unit. Bible Jeopardy is a great way to review. Preparation: Choose questions from the stories in this unit and write them on a 3"x5" cards and place in the Bible Jeopardy game pockets. To make the Bible Jeopardy wall hanging, use an old sheet or quilt. Cut out the letters for Bible Jeopardy and zigzag stitch them to the top of the wall hanging. Sew different colored pockets in rows to the quilt to make the Jeopardy game board. The top pocket of the row is for the category (name of the story.) The 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 pockets are for the questions. A simple form of this game is to use sticky notes attached to a dry marker board. Just use a marker board, small and medium sized sticky notes. Write questions on the smaller sticky notes and place

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under the larger sticky notes with the value of the question. Use larger sticky notes for the category. Try to choose questions based on difficulty in answering for the different valued pockets. The game board can be used with any unit as a review! Go to the following lessons and choose five questions from each of the review activities:

OT6.1 Joshua God’s Chosen Leader OT6.2 Rahab and the Spies OT6.3 Crossing the Jordan OT6.4 Battle of Jericho OT6.5 Achan and the Battle of Ai OT6.6 Joshua and the Gibeonites OT6.7 Israel Divides the Land OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice

Craft Learning Activity: “As for My House” (Grades K-3) Preparation: Make a copy of the House Pattern below for each student in your class on copy paper. Students will need a sheet of white construction paper or white poster board to use as a background for their house. Say: “Joshua wanted all of God’s people to promise to worship only God. But even if they did not, he said that his family would always love and worship God. We are going to do an activity to remind us that at our house we should love God more than anyone or anything else.” Procedure: Give each student a copy of the house pattern. Have the children cut out the house. Help them cut out the windows and doors on three sides only so that these doors and windows will open. Direct the students to glue the house to piece of white drawing or white construction paper. Then have children draw members of their family in the window and door openings. Students may color and decorate the house with crayons or markers as desire. Have students cut out the memory verse and glue it to the background.

Craft Learning Activity: “Faithfulness T-shirt” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need a white cotton fabric T-shirt for each student, fabric markers, pencils, white paper, pencils, and scissors. Procedure: Say: “In this lesson Joshua was faithful to God his whole life. Because of his faithfulness God was able to use him to accomplish great things for the children of Israel. God was faithful to Joshua by keeping his promise to be with him and give him success. God is also faithful to us. He loves us and is with us all the time. He has given to us the gift of salvation. What words or pictures can you think of that reminds you of God and His faithfulness? (God’s faithfulness can be expressed through the words “God is with you” or “God keeps His promises.” You could also use the symbol of the cross, heart, rainbow, sun, flowers, etc. Today we are going to use fabric markers to decorate a white T-shirt with pictures and words that remind us about God’s faithfulness to us.”

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Have students draw pictures or write words on the T-shirts with fabric markers. Have students write whatever they want to remember these promises about God on their shirts. Be sure to make a t-shirt for yourself and write your words on the front and back. Optional: If you are having younger children decorate T-shirts to wear, use permanent marker to write “God’s promises never fail!” on T-shirts for them. Place fabric dyes in spray bottles, hang T-shirts from a clothesline in an outdoor area. Have children wear plastic gloves and let them spray one or more color of paint on their T-shirt Optional: Draw an outline of a T-shirt on construction paper. Have students draw pictures on the outline of God’s faithfulness using crayons or colored markers For younger children: Before class, cut out T-shirt outlines and print “God’s promises never fail!” on each shirt. Provide stickers for children to use in decorating their paper T-shirts. Conclusion: Lead children in prayer thanking God that He promises to love and be with us for our whole lives.

Craft Learning Activity: “Me, Serve?” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need Bibles, Gel pens, yarn, cardboard or poster board, construction paper, and a hole puncher. Cut construction paper shapes into the following A: Rectangle 4” X 12; B: Circle with 4” diameter; C: Rectangle 4” X 5”; D. Triangle 4” on each side; E. Rhombus with 3” and 5” sides’ F: square 4”; and G: Oval 5”. Write SERVE on shape A. Procedure: Give a Bible to each student. Allow the students to work in pairs or small groups. Give each of the groups one of the verses below. For smaller classes give each group two or more verses. Here are the verses and the key word for each one.

Joshua 1:9—Strong and Courageous

Psalm 91:2—Trust God

Matthew 22: 37-38— Love God

Matthew 22: 39-40— Love Others

Joshua 1:8 —Obey God’s Word

Romans 10:9 —Confess and Believe

Say: “In our lesson today Joshua and the Israelites decided to live for God and serve Him. Let’s find out what the Bible says about how we do this.” Give each group a shape and a gel pen. Once the group finds their verse, have them write a word or short phrase on their shape that tells what the verse says. Have them punch a hole in the top and bottom of their shape and tie a piece of yarn in the top hole. After each group has completed their project, have someone from each group read their verse and show the completed shape. When all groups have shared, attach the shapes to for a mobile as shown. Hang the mobile from the ceiling or on the wall. Say: “Sometimes it is easy for people your age to think that you are not old enough to live for God. But reading these six verses on our SERVE mobile helps see that anyone can choose to become a Christian and then live for God.

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Give each student a sheet of paper and some gel pens. Say: “In our lesson today we learned that Joshua and the Israelites chose to serve God. God wants us to make a choice too. I’m glad we were able to learn about that choice.” Ask students to sit in a circle where they can see the mobile. Say: “I will begin our closing prayer. As we go around the circle, I want each of you to pray that we could all serve God in a specific way. Use our mobile for ideas. You could say something like: Help us to be strong and courageous because you are with us. Then when it gets back to me, I will close in prayer.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Door Hanger” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need foam door hangers, foam decorative shapes, craft glue, and colored markers. Procedure: Give each student a foam door hangar shape. Say: “Today you may make a door hangar to take home and use. Write something on the hanger that will help you to continue to think of ways to serve the Lord. You might write “Do something for Jesus today.” Or “Serve the Lord with gladness.” Then decorate your hanger as you wish.” Allow the students to take the hangars home with them. Optional: If you cannot find foam door hangers, you can make them out of poster board or card stock. You can make a pattern or find one on the internet.

Life Application Challenge: “Love Letters to God” Say: Joshua wanted the people to love and obey God. He encouraged them to do this by reminding them of all the things God had done for them. I am sure that we can think of a lot of good things God has done for us, too.” Procedure: Give each student a sheet of stationery or print the template below. Tell the students to write out a letter to God telling him thanks for some of the good things He has done for them. Have them tell how they will be devoted to Him. Explain that sometimes it is hard to show God complete devotion but that through His power we can always be growing in our devotion. If time allows tell students they can decorate their letters and plan to keep them somewhere safe like in the Bibles. If students struggle with what to write encourage them to read a scripture passage and consider rewriting it in their own words. (Examples: Psalm 25:4-6; 33:1-5; 34:1-4; 62:5-8.)

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Joshua's Final Choice

Joshua 24:15 Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Be Strong! Obey God!

Do not serve other gods!

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Joshua 24:15 “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and

my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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Documents

Unit 6: Life of Joshua OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice Lesson · 2018-02-03 · 1 OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice ©Beverly Wilson 2018 Unit 6: Life of Joshua OT6.8 Joshua’s Final Choice