Teaching

Stand the five bags or boxes in chronological order as listed above, with the writing facing you. Have the children stand in rows of about five or six across. You will command them to march and stop at certain times in the lesson. Omit the marching if it causes too much distraction as you speak.

Rahab said the hearts of the people of Jericho were melting in fear because they had heard about the miracles God performed for His people. Let’s look at a few of those miracles. As we do, you are going to march on the journey! When I give the order, march in place quietly as I speak. These bags represent obstacles or problems that would be impossible for the Israelites to overcome without God’s miraculous help. Whenever I ask why something happened, we will shout the SuperTruth together. Let’s practice! “Nothing can stand against God!”

Now let’s start on our journey to Jericho! 

Turn Bag #1 around so children can see: “Pharaoh/Egypt.” Before the Israelites could begin their journey, they had to escape from Egypt, where they were slaves. Pharaoh was stubborn, but God sent ten plagues on Egypt until Pharaoh finally let the people go! Why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Choose a child to kick over the bag. Troops, it is time to march! Children march in place.

Turn Bag #2 around so children can see: “Red Sea.” Troops, halt; stop marching! Children halt. When they left Egypt, the Israelites may have thought they were safe—but then they saw the Red Sea directly in front of them and the Egyptian chariots with soldiers coming up fast behind them. It seemed as if they were trapped, but they weren’t! Why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Choose a child to kick over the bag. Troops, it’s time to march again! Children march in place. Yes, God held back the water and created a dry path in the Red Sea for His people to cross over to the other side. When the Egyptian soldiers followed with their chariots, God let the water fall back into place, drowning them! The Israelites marched on until they faced their next obstacle.

Turn Bag #3 around so children can see: “Amorites.” Troops, halt! Children halt. The Amorites were a mighty nation of giant warriors. But the warriors could not defeat God; why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Choose a child to kick over the bag. Troops, let’s march! Children march in place. The Israelites marched on toward the Promised Land for many years and found their next obstacle.

Turn Bag #4 around so children can see: “Jordan River.” Troops, halt! Children stop marching. The river was so high it was overflowing its banks. There was no way to cross, but the Israelites should have faith. Why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Choose a child to kick over the bag. God stopped the Jordan River and created a dry path for the Israelites to cross! Troops, it’s time to march again! Children march in place. The Israelites stopped to set up camp a short distance from Jericho. Halt; stop marching! Children halt. 

Turn Bag #5 around so children can see: “Jericho.” The walls were strong and tall. There was no way to get into the city, but Joshua was confident they had the victory, why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Yes! Let’s march! Children march in place. The Israelite army marched one time around the city for six days. On the seventh day they marched seven times and then stopped! Halt; stop marching! Children stop marching. Joshua told the army to shout! Let’s shout our SuperTruth! “Nothing can stand against God!”

The walls began to shake and crumble, then the walls fell to the ground! Choose a child to kick over the bag. Why? “Nothing can stand against God!”

Those are just a few of the miracles God performed for His people on their journey! He performed many other miracles in the Bible, too. The greatest miracle of all is that after Jesus died on the cross for our sins, God raised Him back to life again! When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and to be our Lord and Savior, He forgives us and gives us His power to meet any challenge we may face. He is the supreme God over heaven and Earth. When we obediently serve the Lord and rely on the power of His Holy Spirit, nothing can stop us!    

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Distribute the Walls of Jericho patterns, scissors and tape to the children, and show them the sample you made. Have children cut the two long dashed lines to separate the wall sections. Have them fold the wall sections along the dotted lines, then carefully snip the short dashed lines. Roll each section loosely and connect the side tabs on the inside of the walls, securing each side tab with a small piece of tape. Do not attach the three sections of the wall together so they can be knocked down easily. 

What did Joy think about Becky at the beginning of our video today?

Why did she not want to work with Becky on the project?

Why did Joy change her mind at the end of the video?

Some people build “walls” around their hearts to protect themselves. Can you think of some reasons? They are shy; they have been hurt; they don’t want to be hurt; they are afraid of being judged.

Have you ever judged or formed an opinion about someone and later found out that it was not true?

The walls of Jericho looked strong, but they came tumbling down when the Israelites acted in faith. Use this craft as a reminder to pray for God's help whenever you face a difficult challenge. At home, you can knock down the walls of your craft with a paper airplane, a rubber band, or even a puff of air. Remember, “Nothing can stand against God!” The next two times we get together, I’ll ask if you remembered to pray about any hard situations—and how God answered!