Week 248 · about 45 minutes
Joshua 20
Joshua 20 · Memory verse Joshua 20:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Joshua 20), the matching word search and answer key (Joshua 20 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a seed
Hold a seed. Read Joshua 20 in about four minutes, stopping at Joshua 20:2: ““Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Joshua 20?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Joshua 20 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before.” Joshua 20 opens with these words: “Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,” The line to keep is Joshua 20:2: ““Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,” Carry the word “speak” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Joshua 20:2: ““Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Joshua 20? Then try this: Read ““Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Joshua 20. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Joshua 20:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Joshua 20 and write Joshua 20:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Joshua 20:2
““Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Joshua 20. Help us remember Joshua 20:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.