Joshua and the Spies

 Hello Christchurch Kids. We hope you've had a great week back at school with your friends. Happy Mothers Day! We hope you have a lovely day celebrating with your family.

Today, we are continuing to follow the Israelites and they are getting very close to the land God promised them. Moses has had some incredible adventures with God but he is now coming towards the end of his life. He passed the leadership of the Israelites over to Joshua and we are going to find out more about it.

We have another part of the story to watch as well. Joshua needed to find out what was happening across the river so he sent spies to find out. Do you think they used secret codes and fascinating gadgets or were they just really good at hide and seek? 

Let's watch the video to find out more.

Rahab helped the spies when they were in Jericho and we are going to hear more about her next week. Her story doesn't end there though. The book of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus, which means his family tree, and Rahab is on the list. 

This is amazing as we heard in the beginning of the video that she was someone who made bad choices in her life and she was also a Canaanite - who were fierce enemies of Israel. It is even more amazing as, at the time that Jesus' family tree was written, it was usually only men who were on the list. She is one of the few women who were included. She heard the stories of God and the amazing things He had done and she believed in him. God made Rahab part of his plan. 

Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go

Joshua 1:9

God spoke these words to Joshua when he began leading the Israelites. Rahab was also brave when she hid the spies in her house. She must have been worried about what the king's guards would do if they found them.

We can remember these words as well when we are feeling worried and scared. 

We are going to pretend to be spies today and we have a secret code to crack.

You can download it here or click on the picture to enlarge it to complete it on screen.

If you have had fun with our secret code, there are lots more spy activities over at Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

Prayer

Today we are going to use a game to help us pray and it's a game I expect you might have played before. We're going to play I Spy! It's a great way to say Thank You prayers to God.

You can play with colours or letters and after everyone has guessed your object, you can  thank God for what you spotted (maybe with a big AMEN from everyone).

We've got a song today which is always popular when we sing it at church. This song is based on our Bible verse from Joshua.  

Have you got strong arms ready for this one? 

Thank you for joining us today and come back next week for the last installment of our adventures with the Israelites as they make their way to the Promised Land.

Christchurch Kids - We need you!

Thank you to everyone who made wonderful Valentines cards for the residents in our local care homes. We have had messages to say how much they enjoyed receiving them and it was such a great way to reach out into our community and show people God's love. 

We are going to be sending cards and chocolate eggs to the residents to help them celebrate Easter and we would love your help.

Grab your pens, pencils, paper, card, glue, scissors (and maybe even feathers, stickers or wobbly eyes!) and get creating! We have over 100 cards to make together so any you can make would be brilliant.

Please can you drop your cards to Emy's house by Monday 22nd March (email her at childrenandfamilies@ christchurch-clevedon.org.uk for her address). 

Magnifying glass picture from Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash