The Biblical Path of Life

Category: Year One Quarter Three

  • Lesson 3 (Lesson 29): Judges 1-12: Decline of the Judges

    Key Verse:

    “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”  Proverbs 15:3

    Read the Key Verse with your class.  Ask your students if they can see everything all of the time.  Help them understand that we are limited in what we can see.  God is not.  Help them understand that God can see everything, everywhere, all of the time!  Even when we don’t think God knows what is going on, He does.  Today we see what happens to a people who forgot God.  The people turned their heart from Him and did evil.

    Summary:  Judges was a sad time in Israel’s history.  Notice:  Judges 3:7 “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.”   They did not obey the commands God had given them.  There was a vicious cycle that began of the people forsaking God, God allowing the enemy to oppress the people, the people crying out to God, and God sending a deliverer (a judge) to end the oppression.  (They had a people and land but rejected their God.)  We see the rejection go from actions to a verbal request.  In spite of the people’s rejection of God, we see that God never forsook His people.  He continued to send a deliverer each time they cried out.

    Encourage your students to bring their Bibles and use them!

    Emphasis:  The people in Judges became like the people who lived in Canaan land, the people they did not remove from the land.  When they became like them, their hearts were turned from God and God allowed the enemies to oppress them.  We, today, must not be like the world around us, or they will turn our hearts from God.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 29 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 29 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

    Ideas for children:

    Stickers always work well with children. Often times I watch Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company for specials or deals on things I can use for crafts for Sunday School (i.e. foam sheets, Bible Story scene stickers, crowns, stick on jewels, construction paper, etc.).  I keep a stash and when I need something, I go search in my stash!  Pinterest always has great ideas!

    You could have a coloring sheet that goes with the lesson.

    One idea for today’s lesson:  (See picture below).  For today’s lesson we made a coloring book for each child.  Because Gideon is such a popular judge, there were many choices of coloring pages.  I chose some that told the story of Gideon’s life.  I had a book of construction paper cut and stapled together for them to glue the different pictures into in the correct order.  We colored some of the pictures in them with the time we had left.  They were then able to take their books home to color the rest of the pictures as they had time, helping them remember what we had learned in class that day.

    Mural idea:

    Refer to the wall in your classroom that has become a mural.

    By now your class should be in a groove as to the direction and areas in which they need to focus and work on to improve their Christian lives.  Use this knowledge to help you address specific areas in each lesson that your class can discuss and share as you add new things to your mural.  Continue to watch as your class grows in their knowledge of not only God’s Word, but areas in their lives that can be corrected, drawing them closer to the Lord.

    Have them each add anything else they may have brought to add to the wall.  Encourage everyone to participate.

  • Lesson 2 (Lesson 28): Joshua 12-24: Possessing the Land

    Key Verse

    “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.” Proverbs 4:26

     

    Read the Key Verse with your class.  Help them understand the word “ponder” means “to think about.”  They should think about where they go and what they do.  We need to be sure we only go the places God would approve of.  When we walk with God, He will bless us.  That is why it is important to “ponder the path of thy feet.”  Today, we see instances when God’s people choose to allow God to establish their ways.

    Summary:  Joshua opens with a listing and remembering of the lands and kingdoms conquered.  God tells Joshua how the land is to be divided.  The land is distributed and the people finally occupy the land (13-24), making it the land of Israel.  The people set up the tabernacle in the city of Shiloh (18).

    We also see a great conflict today, one that could have caused a civil war among God’s people.  We have a great example of a potentially divisive matter being handled in a godly manner, an example we all should heed today.

    We close today with a mighty challenge from Joshua:  choose this day who you will serve.  Joshua constantly reminded the people about God and what God had done for them.  He encouraged them to make a commitment, just as God’s people need to do today.  We must decide, each individual person, who we will serve.  In Joshua, we see God’s people choose to serve God.

    Until Joshua and his leading of God’s people into Canaan, they were a nation without a land.  At the close of Joshua, they are now a nation with a land mass.

    Encourage your students to bring their Bibles and use them!

    Emphasis:  We must choose for ourselves to obey and serve God.  We will then see God bless and establish us as His people.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 28 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 28 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

     

    Ideas for children:

    Stickers always work well with children. Often times I watch Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company for specials or deals on things I can use for crafts for Sunday School (i.e. foam sheets, Bible Story scene stickers, crowns, stick on jewels, construction paper, etc.).  I keep a stash and when I need something, I go search in my stash!  Pinterest always has great ideas!

    You could have a coloring sheet that goes with the lesson.

    One idea for today’s lesson:  (See picture below).  For today’s lesson we took an oval foam sheet to make a hanging verse.  We put a foam sticker of a Bible times’ house, a cross and some heart stickers (you can choose different ones) and then we glued today’s key verse to it.  The idea is to remember that each house must choose to serve the Lord.

     

    Mural idea:

    Refer to the wall in your classroom that has become a mural.

    By now your class should be in a groove as to the direction and areas in which they need to focus and work on to improve their Christian lives.  Use this knowledge to help you address specific areas in each lesson that your class can discuss and share as you add new things to your mural.  Continue to watch as your class grows in their knowledge of not only God’s Word, but areas in their lives that can be corrected, drawing them closer to the Lord.

    Have them each add anything else they may have brought to add to the wall.  Encourage everyone to participate.

  • Lesson 1 (Lesson 27): Joshua 1-11: Conquering the Land

    Key Verse

    “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalms 27:1 

     

    Read the Key Verse with your class.  Ask your students if they have ever been afraid of doing something.  Encourage them to share a time they may have been afraid (help them with some suggestions if they have trouble thinking of some-thing, i.e.:  going to a new place they have never been before, standing in front of a classroom alone, meeting someone new, telling someone about Jesus …).  Help them understand that when we do things God wants us to do, He is with us and will help us.  There is nothing to be afraid of.  Today we will see how God encouraged Joshua as he prepared to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land.

    Summary:  At the close of Deuteronomy, we saw the death of Moses.  God had appointed a new leader to lead the people into the land of Canaan.  Joshua was the man God chose to lead His people into the land of promise.  If you remember, Joshua had been born a slave in Egypt (where he witnessed God’s miracles), learned much from Moses, and endured the 40 years of wandering.  He was one of only two to live through the time of wandering (Caleb being the other man).  Joshua covers about 25 years of history.  Today we look at the first part and see where the Israelites (lead by Joshua) entered the land of Canaan   (Joshua 1-5), and conquered the land (Joshua 6-11).

    Encourage your students to bring their Bibles and use them!

    Emphasis:  When we walk with God in the ways the Bible teaches, God will be with us.  We should not be afraid of anything.  Joshua proved this in his life as he led the children of Israel to conquer the Promised Land.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 27 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 27 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

     

    Ideas for children:

    Stickers always work well with children. Often times I watch Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company for specials or deals on things I can use for crafts for Sunday School (i.e. foam sheets, Bible Story scene stickers, crowns, stick on jewels, construction paper, etc.).  I keep a stash and when I need something, I go search in my stash!  Pinterest always has great ideas!

    You could have a coloring sheet that goes with the lesson.

    One idea for today’s lesson:  (See picture below).  For today’s lesson we made a banner with the verse Joshua 1:9 on it.  We took brown craft paper cut to size to fit 2 dowel rods 12” long.  After gluing the paper to the dowel rods, you could tie brown yarn to each end of the rods to allow the verse to be hung. Write as much of the verse as your class is able.  Remind them that God will be with them when they follow Him, just like God was with Joshua!

     

    Mural idea:

    Refer to the wall in your classroom that has become a mural.

    By now your class should be in a groove as to the direction and areas in which they need to focus and work on to improve their Christian lives.  Use this knowledge to help you address specific areas in each lesson that your class can discuss and share as you add new things to your mural.  Continue to watch as your class grows in their knowledge of not only God’s Word, but areas in their lives that can be corrected, drawing them closer to the Lord.

    Have them each add anything else they may have brought to add to the wall.  Encourage everyone to participate.