Crossing The River

Bobby: Thank you! Thank you! Hello TIMBUKTU! YEAAAAAAH!!!

Leader: Hey everybody it’s Bobby Rockit, the lead singer of – (Bobby interrupts)

Bobby: EX-SCREAAAAAAM! And…..SUCKERPUNCH! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!

Leader: Wait a minute; you’re the lead singer of BOTH bands?

Bobby: That’s right, BAYYYYY-BUH!! Last time boys and girls I had to decide whether I should continue with my band EXCREAM or quit and become the new lead singer of my favorite band of all time, SUCKERPUNCH!

Leader: That’s right kids. He was having a really hard day.

Bobby: I sure was, bayyyyyy-buh! I prayed and prayed and prayed, asking God what I should do, which band should I sing for, and God told me “Why not both?”

Leader: That’s crazy!

Bobby: Nah, what’s crazy is now instead of just having EXSCREAM on a world tour, It’ll be a double-headliner! For the first time ever! EXSCREAM AND SUCKERPUNCH!! The two greatest EXTREEEEEME bands of all time, joining forces to take the world by storm!

Leader: Bobby that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of! You’ll be the lead singer for BOTH bands? You must be feeling great!

Bobby: (still grinning as usual) Not really! Kinda feel like I wanna throw up!

Leader: Wait, what?

Bobby: (grin vanishes, goes straight into panic mode) What have I gotten myself into?! Have I lost my fragile little mind?! I must be CRAAAAAZAY BAAAAYYYY-BUH!!!

Leader: Bobby, I’m sure you’ll do great…

Bobby: Great?! It’ll be a disaster!

Leader: What do you mean, a disaster?

Bobby: What if I fall offstage? What if my hair catches on fire! WHAT IF I GET A FROG IN MY THROAT! (Croaks like a frog) Oh no…..ribbit…OH NO!! ribbits IS THERE A VETERINERIAN IN THE HOUSE?! Ribbits Why would God do this to me?

Leader: That’s ridiculous! God doesn’t do that! Think about all the times He’s helped you!

Bobby: Well…he did give me an awesome voice, and He helped me learn air guitar, and He once saved me from a terrible pogo stick accident…

Leader: AND He’s given you this awesome opportunity to be the lead singer of TWO of the greatest extreme bands of all time! The point is, that even though you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, you don’t have to be afraid! Just remember that God has a plan for you. Focus on all of the great things He’s done for you in the past! That’s proof that even though we don’t know what the future may bring, we don’t have to worry because God knows!

Bobby: Wow! I guess you’re right! God’s been amazing to me my whole life, even when I was scared and didn’t know what to do! Thank you, bayyy-buh! I got no reason to be afraid now!

Leader: I’m glad you’re feeling better.

Bobby: Me too! Well I better go practice hard! WE GOT A WORLD TOUR TO GO ON! YEAAAAAAAH!!! I’M Bobby ROCKIT! THANK YOU, GOODNIGHT!!!!

Choose two boys and two girls to compete in this game. Choose a worker to be the “counter” for each team. Choose one child on each team to be the “shooter” and one child to be the “catcher.” Place the “shooters” approximately five feet away from the “catchers.”

When you say “GO!”, the “shooters” have sixty seconds to toss as many grapes through the air and into the “catchers” mouth. The “catchers” can either chew the grapes or let them accumulate. At the end of the sixty seconds, the team that “caught” the most grapes wins!

Last week, we left Joshua just as he was taking over for Moses as the leader of the Israelites. Now, it is time for Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. There’s just one slight problem. There was a river in front of them called the Jordan River. What’s even worse—the river was in the middle of a flood stage. Joshua had to be wondering what in the world he was supposed to do. How was he supposed to lead a group of people across a flooded river? It’s not like they had a ferry boat to take turns going across. But, as usual, God had a plan that was going to amaze everyone. You see, boys and girls...

Many times, we get worried about things because we don’t know “what’s going to happen.” We get worried when someone gets sick because “we don’t know whether or not they will be OK.” We get worried when our parents lose their job because “we don’t know if they will find another job or not.” That is true—WE don’t know what is going to happen. But GOD does. He knows EXACTLY what He has planned, and we have to trust Him to come through in HIS time.

Joshua understood that. So, he ordered the priests to wade out into the flood waters of the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant in their hands. When the priests got out into the water, God caused the river to stop flowing and pile up in a heap in a town several miles upstream. Right in front of their eyes, the Israelites watched the river go from a flood to completely dried up. The entire nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River on dry land. While they crossed, Joshua ordered one man from all twelve tribes in Israel to pick up a large rock from the river bed and take it to the other side with them. The moment they got on the other side, they turned around to see the river start flowing again, right back into flood stage. This teaches us something important, kids...

Sometimes we forget just how powerful God is. We face a BIG problem, and we start to get worried. But, it doesn't matter how “hard” or “difficult” our situation seems, God can bring us through ANYTHING. There is NOTHING that is impossible with God. If He can bring the Israelites through a flooded river on dry land, then He can certainly bring us through ANY problem we face at school, at home, or anywhere!

What happened next was very important. Joshua told the twelve men who had picked up the twelve stones to stack them on top of each other. (begin to stack the twelve stones) They built a giant altar in honor to God. Joshua told them that this altar/memorial would remain there for years and years. Why?

Joshua said, “These stones will be something that will always remind you of what God did for you today. Many years down the road, when your sons and daughters ask what these stones mean— you will be able to tell them about how God allowed you to cross the river on dry land!” The children of Israel made an altar with the twelve stones and made a decision to always remember what God did for them that day. Boys and girls, when God does something amazing for us, we need to do the same thing. Today, let’s make this decision:

When you are going through a hard time, remember what God has done for you in the past. When you are sick, remember how God has healed you in the past. When you are sad, remember how God has given you joy in the past.

It’s easy to forget these things unless we remind ourselves. Perhaps each of us needs to do just like the Israelites and “build” a memorial to help remind us of what God has done for us in the past. Then, every time we face something that seems impossible we can remember exactly what God has done for us in the past. Then, we will have faith for Him to bring us through the situation we are facing now.

1. What was today’s Big Idea? Answer: “I Will Remember What God Has Done For Me!”

2. What was Ban Daid afraid of in today’s video? Answer: heights

3. What was the name of the river that Joshua had to cross? Answer: Jordan River

4. Why was the Jordan so hard to cross? Answer: it was at flood stage

5. Who did Joshua tell to go into the water first along with the Ark of the Covenant? Answer: priests

6. The moment the priests got their feet into the water, what happened? Answer: the river stopped flowing

7. Joshua told twelve men to pick up ______________ and carry it to the other side of the river. Answer: a large rock

8. Today we learned that “We don’t know the future, but ________ does.” Answer: God

9. We also learned that “God can bring us through __________________.” Answer: anything

10. Where was our Power Verse found? Answer: 2 Timothy 1:7