Joshua and the City of Jericho

Games Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will play several games to explore not only the story of Joshua’s leading the people into the Promised Land but also the qualities of a Godly leader.

Scripture Reference: Joshua 1-6

Memory Verse: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)

Lesson Objectives for the rotation
(see listing above)

Additional objectives for the games workshop
At the end of the session, the students will

• consider what it takes to be a good, Godly leader.

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ...
• Learn the memory verse.
• Prepare the paper shapes for the listening/following instructions activity: shapes cut from construction paper: one blue circle (2 inch diameter), one orange square (2¼ inch sides), one orange rectangle (3 and 4 inch sides), one green triangle (2½ inch sided square, halved), one yellow square (2¼ inch sides), and one black circle (2 inch diameter). Put the shapes and glue stick in a baggie and put one baggie and piece of white copier paper with each clipboard.
• Practice the listening/following instructions activity at home to ensure that your shapes are the appropriate size and color.
• Confer with the Shepherd on age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own). Consider the “Stretchers” you can use, especially with the youngest children.
• To our teachers at RCC: The design of this workshop is very intentional. The activities and discussion questions for this workshop were designed to meet the goals of the entire rotation and the educational objectives of the Rotation Model (tm) at River Community Church. While we feel it is important to follow the serendipitous leading of the Holy Spirit, please do not change the lesson plan without consulting a Curriculum Planning and Writing Team member.
• Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.
• The bin with supplies is located in the Sunday School room. Purchase or request additional supplies from -- by May 15.

Room set-up:
Chairs in a circle for sitting and talking, used later for the Into the City game. Put two masking tape lines on the floor for the “Down Come the Walls” games (one line to stand behind and one line to build the wall on).

Supply List

• for each child: set of construction paper shapes (described in Teacher Preparation) in a zipper baggie, clipboard, glue stick and a piece of 8 ½ by 11 white paper
• a copy of the Mustard Seed Ministries Joshua sample lesson plan, Temple workshop. (link - removed, site no longer exists). (Source for following instructions activity, story, discussion questions, and Shepherd Time.)
• small cardboard boxes or clean milk cartons or cardboard blocks, masking tape, several beach balls, horn or whistle
• CD or tape player and music (preferably one of the songs the music team selected for this rotation)
• ten Bibles
• memory verse on a piece of posterboard or flipchart
• Memento: musical instrument stickers (especially horns) or musical note stickers
• Shepherd Time: no supplies needed

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember, you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we are going to play several different games that will show us what it means to be obedient servants and follow instructions as Joshua did, and also to remind us of the story of Joshua.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Game: "God Says (Simon Says)"

But first, let’s play Simon says, but we are going to call it “God Says.” [Select one child to be “God;” with younger, the Workshop Leader should be God. God gives directions. For example the child says, “God says, ‘Put your hands on your head.’” All the children should put their hands on their heads. The child then says, “Hands down.” Anyone who puts his hands down is out, because the child did not say “God Says.” Play this game briefly.]

Scripture/Bible Story:

This game reminds me of our Bible story. Today we are talking about how the leader of the Israelite people after Moses — that’s Joshua — was an obedient servant. He did whatever God told him to do, even when the directions did not make much sense.

Let’s review our Old Testament story so far. Do you remember the stories of Joseph and Moses? [Take a few minutes to remember how Jacob’s jealous sons sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt, but it was part of God’s good plan. But eventually the Pharaohs forgot Joseph and the Israelites were made into slaves. Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt with God’s help after ten plagues, the last of which was the angel of death passing over the homes of the Israelites, but killing the firstborn in each Egyptian household. God gave his people rules to follow, the Ten Commandments.]

Now the Israelites led by Moses into the wilderness were not always obedient to God. So it took them a while to get to the Promised Land. Forty years, in fact. But God always keeps His promises. After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites.

Adapt “Opening” from Mustard Seed Temple lesson plan — skip the first paragraph about dividing the toys. Then read the first paragraph about the Bible Story.

Read the scripture: Joshua 1: 1-9.
[Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. For example, “To find Joshua, look in the table of contents at the front of the Bible. Joshua is in the Old Testament. What page does it begin on? Let’s all turn to that page.” We restate information about Bible organization in each workshop to be sensitive to visitors and new children in the class who may not have any knowledge of the Bible. We never want a child to feel like they do not belong because they do not know this information before they come to class.]

Ask questions from Mustard Seed Temple lesson plan that follow the Bible verses and read the next paragraph. (Stop at discussion of map and dividing land.)

Application:
Joshua had to follow instructions from God carefully in order to win all those battles. We’ll talk about one battle in particular, the one for the city of Jericho, in a minute. But first, I need everyone to spread out around the room, facing the walls, so you can’t see anyone next to you.

Do the activity in the Mustard Seed Temple lesson plan. Ask the discussion questions and continue the Bible Story, ending with “Because they obeyed God, they were given victory.”

Game: “Down Come the Walls”
[adapted from Bible Story Games for Preschoolers]

Remember how the walls of Jericho came falling down when Joshua gave the signal? Today we are going to use these beach balls to knock down the walls.

[Line the milk cartons or boxes side by side and several rows high to form a small wall. Mark a throwing line with masking tape several feet away from the wall. Have the children stand behind the line. Select one child to be the horn blower (give him or her the horn or whistle). Pass the beach balls to several children.]

In the Bible, God told Joshua to have the people march around the city how many times? [Once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day.]

So let’s march in place for a count of seven and then our horn blower will blow the horn. If you are holding a ball when you hear the horn, throw the ball at he wall. If you don’t have a ball the first time, don’t worry, everyone will get a turn.

Repair the wall after each round and play until all have had a turn to throw the ball or time runs out or interest lags.

Older children: In order to be given one of the beach balls, a child must answer a question about the story or say the memory verse. They may use their Bibles to find answers to questions and help one another. Here are some questions to get you started — questions will vary depending on whether this is one of the first weeks or last weeks of the rotation. (Make up more as needed.)

• What river did the Israelites cross to enter the Promised Land?
• Who was leading the Israelites?
•  What city’s walls are we remembering as we knock down these blocks?
• Who helped the spies in Jericho?
• How many stones were set up as a memorial at the camp called Gilgal?
• What were the Israelites to tell their children when they asked what the circle of stones means?
• Who knocked down the walls of Jericho?
• What was Joshua to study day and night?
• Who was the leader of the Israelites before Joshua?

If time permits:

Game: "Into the City"

Let’s play a game called “Into the City” which reminds us how God helped the Israelites get into Jericho without their having to fight any battles. They only had to follow instructions.
[adapted from Educational Patterns for Children’s Ministry]

[Set up a circle of chairs, one for each child, each chair facing inward. Leave a gap between 2 chairs to be the city gate.]

Tell the children: “That inside the chairs is a city. The chairs around it are the city walls. The gap between the 2 chairs is the city gate.”

The children start outside the chair circle. You play some music (or sing part of a song). The children must march around the city while the music plays. The object of this game is to get into the city through the gate, not to find an empty chair. Stop the music and the child nearest the city gate gets to go "into the city" and sits down in a chair.

Repeat until every child makes it into the city. Children should be seated in chairs for next discussion and activity.

Reflect:
Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
Use questions and discussion from the Mustard Seed Temple lesson plan in the paragraph following “Because they obeyed God, they were given victory.”

Review the memory verse.
Talk about how part of our ability to be strong in the Lord comes from knowing God’s word, the Bible.

Game: "Memory Verse Bible Stack"

Have two volunteers stand up. Have one stack Bibles in the other’s arms, one for each word of the verse as they say the verse together. (Ten Bibles in all.)

Younger children: have three children stand up (one stacker and two holders). Have the stacker split the ten Bibles between the two holders as they say the verse.

Have the memory verse on a flipchart or posterboard for the first few rounds until most of the children seem to know it. Have everyone say the verse with stackers.

At 11:45 a.m. ask the Shepherd to take over the discussion. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a musical instrument sticker to wear or paste on their journal pages as a reminder of the story.

Shepherd Time:
Use the “Personal Application” section from Mustard Seed Temple lesson plan.

This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Talking, thinking, and writing about faith helps clarify lessons. In addition to the suggested activity, children may draw pictures relating to today’s scripture or memory verse, list highlights of the day’s activities, or rephrase the memory verse. The journal pages will be saved and given to the children at the end of the school year.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journals quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Teachers’ Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

Before noon, stop the discussion for a moment and pray so they can leave when their parents arrive. Finish the discussion after praying, if necessary.

Closing:

[Please read directly from a Bible so that children will see you can use it as a source of prayers.

“Remember what God said to Joshua:” [read Joshua 1:6,9].
“Be brave because God is with you. Whenever you are afraid, say this with the Psalm writer:”
[Read Psalm 56:3-4.]

I am going to read that Psalm again, line by line. Repeat each line after me, as a prayer and then we will conclude with our memory verse:
But when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
O God,
I praise your word.

I trust in God,
so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Amen.

Tidy and Dismissal:

• Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.
• Collect any journal pages before they leave. Make sure their names and the date are on them.
• Give everyone the parent take-home flyer the first week of the rotation; give it only to children who were absent and have not yet received it the other weeks of the rotation.

Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas in addition to those found in the lesson plan:

Younger Children:

• For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.

Resources

• Educational Patterns for Children’s Ministry: Lesson 15: the fall of Jericho (link - removed, site no longer exists) (Source for “Into the City” - a takeoff on Musical Chairs.)
• Mustard Seed Ministries. Joshua sample lesson plan, Temple workshop. 2002. (link - removed, site no longer exists). (Source for following instructions activity, story, discussion questions, and Shepherd Time.)
• Niles, Lori Haynes, editor. Bible Story Games for Preschoolers. Loveland, Colorado: Group Publishing, 1998. {Source for “Down Come the Walls” game.}
• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

A lesson written by Amy Crane from: River Community Church
Prairieville, LA

Copyright 2004 Amy Crane. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included

 A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.