Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (2 minutes)

Welcome back for the last lesson of our Superbook adventure called “Rahab and the Walls of Jericho.” Can someone tell me how Rahab helped Joshua’s two spies? She hid them on her rooftop, provided a way of escape, told them where and how long to hide from the soldiers looking for them outside the walls of Jericho.

What did the spies tell Rahab to do to save her family? Tie a scarlet or red cord/rope outside her window.

Yes, Rahab and her family needed someone to save them when Jericho fell. And we need Someone to save us from our sins! Let’s all stand up and sing The Salvation Poem—and as we do, let’s think about how Jesus gave His life so we could be saved!    

Play Video 7:(Song) The Salvation Poem (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along with the children.

The Salvation Poem

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperTruth for today is: “Through Christ, I am adopted into His family.” Let’s say that aloud together! Through Christ, I am adopted into His family.

Whose family? God’s family.

God adopts us into His family, as His own children, when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior!

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If most or all children watched the Bible story video in a previous lesson, omit it here and go straight to the SuperVerse.

Let’s watch a short version of our Superbookadventure about Rahab and Joshua’s spies in Jericho. If you’ve already seen it, watch for the answers to two bonus questions you will be asked in Small Group time:

1. What is the Commander of the Lord’s army holding in His hand?

2. Joshua’s army marched silently and the men carried the ark. What did the priests carry as they marched around Jericho?

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Joy, Chris and Gizmo to Jericho as Joshua and the Israelite army are preparing to attack the walled city. They meet Rahab, who risks her life to hide the Hebrew spies. The children discover that even the highest walls are no match for faith in God!

Play Video 10C: SuperVerse Graphic 3

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 3

SuperVerse (2 minutes)

Our SuperVerse, Romans 8:15b, says,

You received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”

The word Abba comes from an Aramaic word that is closely translated as “dear father” or even “daddy.” It represents a close, trusting, intimate relationship of children with their father. This is the kind of relationship God, our Father, wants to have with all of His children!

Let’s have the girls say the first sentence, the boys say the second sentence, and everyone say the scripture reference at the end. Ready? Go! Children say the SuperVerse.

Awesome job! Let’s do it again, but this time, let’s shout our parts! Ready? Go! Children say the SuperVerse.

That was fun! You have some loud voices, and that’s good—so we can be bold for God! It is so exciting to be adopted by God into His family. When He adopts us, He gives us a special gift. That gift is His Holy Spirit, who lives inside us, protects us, gives us wisdom, and helps us to better know our wonderful heavenly Father.        

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group.

Introduce Signposts Video (1 minute)

Can you guess how the story of Rahab points to Jesus?

Let’s watch our Signposts video and find out!

Play Video 6: Signposts Video (4.5 minutes)

Signposts Video

Prayer and Send-Off (2 minutes)

Let’s pray before we move to our Small Groups. Dear God, thank You for adopting us into Your family and giving us Your Holy Spirit to live inside of us. We praise You that we are Your children, and we can call You Father! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.   

Today in Small Group, we are going to have a fun review game about Rahab and Joshua. Are you ready to play? Let’s go! 

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

Note: You will also use the cardboard box with window for the Teaching section. 

Since this is our last lesson about Rahab and Joshua, we are going to have a fun review game and play like we are soldiers at the same time! Do you remember in our video what two things the soldiers carried as they marched around the walls of Jericho? Spears, shields.

Yes, for our game, these will be your spears! Hold up the paper towel rolls.

Perhaps when Joshua’s soldiers saw the walls of Jericho, they thought they might have to throw their spears through the windows because the walls were so high! They didn’t know that God had very different plans! But let’s pretend that the soldiers held target practice to prepare for the battle. As we do our review, we’ll go over what really happened in the Bible story.  

Divide the children into two equal teams. One player may play twice if necessary. Children may choose to throw two spears from any of the three lines. Points are scored as follows:

• 5 foot line = 1 point.
• 8 foot line = 2 points.
• 10 foot line = 3 points. 
• Correct answer = 5 points.

For each round, a player from each team will throw two spears toward the window. Points are then given to each player who successfully throws 1 or 2 spears into the window. Give players the two spears with their team number on them. Ask the same question to both players. The player who raises a hand first gets a chance to answer within three seconds. If that player cannot answer, the other player gets a chance to answer within three seconds. Add the points for a correct answer to the spear point totals. Play another round with two new players. Have the two players in the first round become assistants. One will retrieve spears and the other will record the points on the board. The team that has the most points after all players have taken a turn wins.

Note: If both players in a round cannot answer the question correctly, ask the question to both teams but no points will be scored. Choose easier questions for younger children, those with disabilities, and visitors. Give hints to help as necessary. 

Questions and Answers:

Ask:

1. What leader of the Israelites did Joshua replace? Moses.

2. How did Joshua gather important information about the city of Jericho? He sent two spies.

3. Who hid the two spies and saved them from being caught? Rahab.

4. Where did Rahab hide the spies? On her roof, hidden in the stalks of flax.

5. What did the spies promise Rahab if she hung the scarlet rope outside her window and didn’t leave her house? That she and her family would be saved.

6. How did the spies escape from Jericho? Rahab gave them a rope to climb down the wall from her window.

7. What does the scarlet rope or thread represent or point to? The blood of Jesus who saves us.

8. What did the Israelites have to cross before they could reach Jericho? The Jordan River.

9. How were the Israelites able to cross the Jordan River? God held the waters back so they could cross on dry ground.

10. Who appeared to Joshua before the Israelites marched around Jericho? The Commander of the Lord’s army, Jesus Christ.

11. What were the Israelites instructed by God to do for 7 days? March around the city of Jericho.

12. What could the Israelites NOT do as they marched around the walls of Jericho? Talk.

13. Joshua’s men carried a wood chest covered in gold as they marched around Jericho. What was this chest called? The Ark of the Covenant.

14. What was one of the items that the Ark of the Covenant contained? Hint—we learned about this in the Bible Background Video in lesson 2. The Ten Commandment tablets.

15. How were the instructions different for the seventh day of the march? They marched around the city seven times instead of just one time as done on the previous 6 days.

16. On the seventh day, what did the Israelites do after marching around the walls seven times? Shouted.

17. Who besides Rahab was saved inside Jericho when the Israelites attacked? Rahab’s family.

18. Who makes it possible for us to be adopted into God’s family? Hint—God’s Son. Jesus Christ.

19. What is another name for Father that we can call God? Hint—It’s in our SuperVerse. Abba.

20. Who does God send to live inside us when we are adopted as His children? His Spirit.

The following bonus questions are from the Condensed Bible Video shown in Large Group. These can be used as tie breakers or possibly to give a team a chance to catch up. 

1. What was the Commander of the Lord’s army holding in His hand when He spoke to Joshua? A sword.

2. Joshua’s army marched silently and the men carried the ark. What did the priests carry as they marched around Jericho? Ram’s horns.

Good work! Let’s talk more about our Signposts video that we watched today and look a little deeper into how this story points to the life and mission of Jesus.

Teaching

Today we are going to discuss some of the events we saw in our Signposts Video about how Rahab’s actions were Signposts to the life and death of Jesus Christ. To help us do that, we will use Rahab’s window from our game we just played. What was hung out of Rahab’s window?

Yes, a scarlet colored rope or cord. Rahab asked Joshua’s two spies for a sure sign that Joshua’s army would be kind to her and her family because she helped the two spies escape. Rahab is a model to us for how we can respond to God: The Supreme God of heaven and Earth!     

For each of the four Signposts, choose a child to come up and gently pull the end of the yarn until only one of the Signposts cards comes out of the window. Hold onto the yarn and have the child pull the card off and read it aloud. After each card is pulled off, place the yarn back down on the window edge so it hangs from the window for effect as you present the Signpost. The yarn will hang lower with each pull. 

Signpost 1: Hand the beginning of the yarn to the volunteer.

After hiding the spies on the roof, Rahab told them she knew that the Lord was with them and had given them the land. She told them that everyone was afraid of them because they had heard of the miracles God had performed and the victories that He had given them over their enemies. Rahab told them that because of all they had heard, no one had the courage now to fight the Israelites because God protected them! This is what God had promised Joshua—He would go with him and He would not fail or abandon him.   

This is a Signpost to Jesus. After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He promised to be with His followers always—until the end of the world! Today, we are His followers, and He is with us! God protects us and gives us victory over the world through Jesus Christ!

OPTIONAL 4–6 GRADE DISCUSSION

Have the children look up the scriptures below and discuss how they support the main points of the Signpost.

Joshua 1:3–6:

³“I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you — ⁴ from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’⁵No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. ⁶Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.”

1 Corinthians 15:57:

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:20:

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

John 17:12a:

“During My time here, I protected them by the power of the name You gave Me. I guarded them so that not one was lost.”

Signpost 2:

Rahab didn’t just know about God—she had faith that He is the One, True God! Rahab said in Joshua 2:11b: 

“For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.”

The book of Hebrews records Rahab’s faith and how she put her faith into action by helping the spies escape using a rope! Rahab also put her faith into action by obediently hanging the scarlet cord outside her window as the spies had instructed. 

Hold up the yarn. This is a Signpost to putting our faith and trust in Jesus. The red cord or rope represents Jesus’ blood that He shed on the cross to pay the punishment for our sins so we could be forgiven. Just as the scarlet cord or rope was used to protect the spies and Rahab, we have faith that the blood of Jesus protects and saves us!        

OPTIONAL 4–6 GRADE DISCUSSION

Have the children look up the scriptures below and discuss how they support the main points of the Signpost.   

Joshua 2:11:

“No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.”

Hebrews 11:6:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

John 1:29:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Hebrews 9:14:

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Signpost 3:

Rahab not only had faith in God to save herself, she trusted God to save her entire family! She asked for a promise from the spies that her family would be protected. The spies agreed, as long as her family stayed inside her house. Outside of her house, there was no promise of protection. Rahab’s family could not have escaped the attack had Rahab not shared what they must do to be protected and saved!   

This is a Signpost to sharing our faith and trust in Jesus, and how He sends us out to share the Good News of the Gospel with others, such as our family and friends. By doing this, we share the love of God and give them the opportunity to be forgiven for their sins and to receive the gift of eternal life! 

OPTIONAL 4–6 GRADE DISCUSSION

Have the children look up the scriptures below and discuss how they support the main points of the Signpost.   

Joshua 2:17–19a:

¹⁷ Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions.¹⁸ When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house.¹⁹ If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault.”

1 Peter 3:15:

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

Acts 16:31–32:

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³² And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

Signpost 4:

The Israelites kept their promise, and Rahab and her family were protected from harm. Rahab and her family were taken to Israel’s camp and lived with the Israelites as part of their family. Rahab shared in the blessings of God’s people. One of Rahab’s descendants was King David—and one of his descendants was Jesus! This means that Rahab and Jesus were related! 

This is a Signpost to Jesus. God planned to bring us to Himself through His Son Jesus. Our sins are forgiven when we trust in Jesus, and we are then adopted into God’s family as His sons and daughters. Because of this, we share in Jesus’ inheritance from God the Father.       

OPTIONAL 4–6 GRADE DISCUSSION

Have the children look up the scriptures below and discuss how they support the main points of the Signpost.

Joshua 6:23,25:

²³ The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.²⁵ So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.

Ephesians 1:5:

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

Ephesians 3:6:

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

Praise God! Through faith in Jesus and His blood that He shed on the cross, we are rescued from sin and can live as part of God’s family forever!  

Joshua trusted in God for help in a very difficult time. Joshua knew that in his own wisdom and strength, he could not defeat Jericho. Now it’s time for our Discipleship Challenge, where we will share how God helps us in difficult times. 

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Display the model and distribute a Walls of Jericho Pattern to any children who did not receive it in lesson one or two.

Our Discipleship Challenge for these three lessons is to take notice of situations in our lives where we need God to help us deal with a hard time or a difficult relationship. We are using this craft as a reminder to pray and ask God for His wisdom, patience, courage, and strength. Did anyone remember to ask God for help when you were facing a hard time, and what happened when you did?

Even though our lesson about Jericho is ending today, let’s continue to be alert for times that we should ask God for His help in our everyday lives. 

SuperVerse

Have children sit in a semi-circle so they can all see the board.

Let’s read our SuperVerse together. Romans 8:15b:

You received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”

Just think of that — we received God’s Spirit inside us when God adopted us into His family. His Spirit creates in us a new, spiritual heart and desire - a longing - for Him. Because we have this longing, we cry out to Him, Abba, Father! Does anyone remember what “Abba” means?

The word Abba comes from an Aramaic word that is closely translated as “dear father” or even “daddy.” It represents a close, trusting, intimate relationship of a child with their father.

Read John 1:12–13:

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

We cannot claim to be a child of God by being a good person, by doing good things, or by being a member of a certain church. Only those who are born again by their faith in Jesus receive the right to become children of God.

Have the children remain seated for this activity. Starting at one end of the semi-circle, have the first child shout the first word of the SuperVerse, the second child shouts the second word, and so on, until the verse is completed, including the scripture reference. Once the last child has shouted a word, continue with the first person in the circle again. If necessary, start again with the next child who hasn’t participated yet. Do this two or three times, then ask if any volunteers would like to try to recite the whole verse by memory.  

Note: Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times, while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer

Have children remain seated for this activity.

What did Rahab put outside her window so that she and her family would be saved when Jericho was destroyed? Scarlet cord or rope.

In our Signposts video, what does the scarlet rope or cord remind us of? Jesus’ blood.

Jesus shed His blood to pay the punishment for our sins. Just as the scarlet rope saved the spies, Jesus’ blood saves us from our sins. This makes it possible to be adopted into God’s family and to be able to call Him our heavenly Father!

We have all sinned, and we all need forgiveness. Let’s bow our heads and ask Jesus to cleanse our hearts right now. And if you have never asked Jesus into your life to be your Lord and Savior, you may do that now. 

Allow time for children to pray. Then, have an older child read Galatians 3:26:

“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Close in prayer: God, we come to You today as our loving Father! We all have sinned, so we need a Savior. Thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your only Son to Earth for us. He lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose again from the dead, to save us from our sins and give us new life as part of Your family. Thank You, dear Father, for Your forgiveness and salvation through Jesus! Amen.

Congratulations; you are now part of God’s family through your faith in Jesus Christ! We are adopted into God’s family, so we can call Him “Abba, Father”! Let’s celebrate by jumping up and saying, “I belong to God’s family!”

Adoption Card Game

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “Through Christ, I am adopted into His family.”

This is what our game is about today.  

Hold up each of the twelve cards as you discuss them:

• Family: Jesus talked with some Jewish leaders who thought that because they were descendants of Abraham and born as Jews, they were automatically children of God. See Matthew 3:9. Jesus told them that everyone must have their sins forgiven and believe in Him to receive salvation. This is true for us today! If your mother and father are Christians, does that mean that you are automatically a Christian?No.

How about your grandparents—if they are Christians, does that mean that you are automatically a Christian? No.

• Church: Some people think that by attending church or being a member of a certain church automatically makes them children of God. Do you think that’s true? No.

We go to church because we love God and we want to praise and worship Him with other believers, but just going into a church building does not make us Christians.  

• Ten Commandments: Some people think that we can get to heaven by doing good things and by trying to keep God’s laws. Is anyone in here perfect? No.

Do you think I am perfect? No.

We have all sinned and done bad things—and we can never do enough good things to earn our way into heaven. Only Jesus is perfect and kept God’s laws perfectly; so by trusting in Him, and in His death on the cross, we are adopted as God’s children by faith—not by anything we do.

• Bible reading: Can we earn our way into heaven by reading the Bible? No.

What if we read the whole thing, from Genesis to Revelation—is that enough to get into heaven? No.

Reading God’s Word is very important—but simply knowing what the Bible says is not enough to receive eternal life.

• Getting good grades in school: What if we work really hard in school and get good grades on all of our papers, in all of our subjects? Will that make God love us more so He will adopt us? No.

God loves us no matter what grades we get in school. It is important to do your best in school, but no amount of good grades will earn us a place in God’s family. 

• Loving our neighbors: What if we help our neighbors every day—sweeping their sidewalks, or taking out their trash, or babysitting their children. Will that make God decide to adopt us? No.

We want to show God’s love by helping others, but doing good things for others will not give us eternal life. 

• Feeding the hungry: The Bible tells us that we put our faith to action by helping others such as giving them food or a drink.

However, this alone does not make us a child of God. 

• Giving money to the poor: We should always share what we have with those less fortunate.

 But this won’t “buy” our way into heaven! 

• Fasting: Fasting, or giving up food for awhile, can be helpful when we pray and seek God. But how many meals do we need to skip to earn a ticket to heaven—three? No.

Twenty-one? No.

It won’t give us eternal life.

• Obeying our parents: Okay, now; you all know how important this one is! What if we always obey our parents, and we do all of our chores perfectly?

Surely God will say, “Okay, that’s good enough! Now I’ll adopt you!” No.

• Brushing your teeth: Cleaning our teeth is taking good care of our body that God gave us, but can it ever cleanse us from our sin? No.

No, there’s only one way to do that.  

• Cross and scarlet thread: The only way to be adopted into God’s family and become a child of God is to ask Jesus to wash away our sins and to be our Lord and Savior. Only through Christ and the blood He shed for us on the cross can we be accepted into God’s family!

Explain to the children that the taped/marked area represents being in God’s family. Shuffle the cards. Divide the class into two even teams. One child may play twice if necessary. Have the teams make two lines outside the marked/taped square area. This game will have a twist at the end to make a point. Time each player, but don’t tell the children this won’t be used to determine a winning team. At the end, you will tell both teams that everyone wins by being adopted into God’s family though Christ.

Shuffle both sets of cards and place them face down on the floor, at the opposite end of the room from where the teams are standing. Each round consists of a player from each team walking quickly to the cards and turning them over until they find the one with the cross and scarlet thread that says, “Adopted Through Christ.” They should hold the card up and shout the SuperTruth: “Through Christ, I am adopted into His family.” The player will return the card to the other cards and then hop over the tape or mark and remain standing in the square. Record their times on the sheet, keeping in mind that you don’t have to be exact because it won’t matter in the end. Between each round, have assistants such as sixth grade helpers quickly mix the cards and place them face-down again. Continue until all players have played and all are standing together in the taped/marked area.  

The point of this game was to show that you could not enter or be adopted into God’s family unless you find faith in Christ. So, who won? Everyone did! I kept times so the game would be fun for you; but in truth, we are all winners when we become members of God’s family through Christ and can call God, Abba Father! 

Craft

Give each child a bookmark and piece of yarn. Lay out markers or crayons, tape and scissors. Have children write their names on the back of their bookmarks. Show your model bookmark to the children so they can see the finished product. Children should cut out the window and color the bricks on the “wall.” They should then put one end of the yarn through the window and tape it to the back of the bookmark.

As you begin the discussion below, have the children pull the yarn through the window so all of it hangs on the back of their bookmark.

The scarlet rope in our Bible story pointed to Jesus and His blood shed for us to save us from our sin and God’s judgment.

Now have the children drop the yarn through the window so it hangs on the front of the bookmark.

Rahab saved the spies by dropping a rope through her window and helping them escape. Later, a scarlet cord helped save Rahab and her family by showing Joshua’s men where she lived. This represents Jesus’ blood that saves us and identifies us as God’s children; cleansed, righteous and forgiven through Christ!

Read Joshua 6:22–23 (cev):

Joshua said to the two men who had been spies, “Rahab kept you safe when I sent you to Jericho. We promised to protect her and her family, and we will keep that promise. Now go into her house and bring them out.” The two men went into Rahab’s house and brought her out, along with her father and mother, her brothers, and her other relatives. Rahab and her family had to stay in a place just outside the Israelite army camp. But later they were allowed to live among the Israelites, and her descendants still do.

Isn’t that awesome? Rahab and her family were saved! Her descendants continued to live among God’s people! It doesn’t matter what you have done or where you come from; through faith in Christ we are God’s children. When you use your bookmark, thank God that through Christ you are adopted into God’s family and can call Him Abba, Father! Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “Through Christ, I am adopted into His family.” 

Cord Game

We are going to play a game similar to pin the tail on the donkey, but it’s called “Hang the Cord in Rahab’s Window.” You will get the most points for hanging the cord in Rahab’s window; and, as you can see, you receive fewer points for hanging your cord in other windows—and you can even lose points if you hang it on some bricks!

Divide the children into two equal teams—one child may play twice, if necessary. Each team will make a line and stand directly in front of one Jericho wall, approximately 12 feet away. This is not a race, but teams will play simultaneously. Hand each player a piece of yarn with a piece of tape. Stand with one team, helping them put on their blindfolds, while an assistant helps the other team. Players will walk carefully toward the wall, with their hands out in front of them so they do not run into it, and try to tape their yarn inside Rahab’s window. Players may take their blindfolds off after they have taped their yarn to the wall to see where they placed it. Have one or two assistants, such as sixth grade helpers, stand near the walls to assist children as necessary in taping their yarn to the wall and re-taping any pieces that may fall off. The players will then return to the line and give their blindfold to the next player on their team.

Afterward, count up the points for both teams. The team with the most points wins. Play another round if time permits.

Great job everyone; that looked like a lot of fun! The scarlet cord was a Signpost to the blood of Jesus that saves us and allows us to be adopted as God’s children into His family!  

Bible Study

Divide the verses of the passage between the children to read aloud and then lead a discussion with the questions and comments below.

Ephesians 2:13–18:

¹³ But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.¹⁵ He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups.¹⁶ Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. ¹⁷ He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near.¹⁸ Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

These verses are from a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Ephesus. He is talking about how some of the Gentile people or non-Jews became part of God’s family through Christ.

Optional: have the children build a small wall using the blocks as you speak about verses 13–14; then have the children break down the wall at the proper time when you talk about verse 14.

• In verses 13 and 14, how do you think we are united in Christ? By faith, belief in Him and what He did on the cross, and through His blood.
• How were we separated from God, from being close to God? Sin.
• How is anyone brought near to God? Through the blood of Christ—cleansing of sin.
• In verse 14, what does Christ bring to us? Is that peace just a good feeling or is it more? Peace—inner peace, not only a feeling, but peace in our relationship and being united with God again.
• The Jewish people are God’s chosen people. The Jews believed that only they could be God’s children, so they felt separated from non-Jewish people. But Jesus Himself ministered to Gentile people, such as the woman at the well; and God sent Peter, Paul, and other apostles to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. God wants all people, in all nations, to know Him as Father. Through Jesus, the walls of separation are broken down! Children break wall down now.
• Compare the wall torn down at Jericho and the wall of hostility in this passage. Take a few moments to consider this. Children consider and discuss.
• Verses 15–16: Jesus kept God’s laws and commandments perfectly, so we simply have to put our faith in Him. He is our Savior! Through Christ, we are one family! Christ’s death on the cross brought common ground to both Jews and Gentiles and removed the wall of separation.  
• Verse 17: Discuss the kind of peace that God gives us. This peace cannot be found through religion or natural birth, even the Jewish people received this peace that before Christ didn’t exist through the law. Children consider and discuss.
• Verse 18: How is this similar to our SuperVerse?
• What does this say about all believers in Christ—all who have been adopted? Are there any differences in how God sees us or what rights and privileges He gives us?
• How does verse 18 relate to what we have been talking about in our lesson today?