Main Point: We Must Each Have a Relationship with God

Israel’s Downfall (Joshua 23 – Judges 3)

Main Point: We must each have a relationship with God.

Key Verse: After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things Hhe had done for Israel. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. – Judges 2:10

Materials: A life jacket (or one made out of paper)

Hands on Application:  Say: I’m going to need some help today. Would anybody like to volunteer to help me? Choose a volunteer. Great! Today we’re going to do a little pretending. Let’s pretend that you and I are stranded out in the middle of the ocean and neither of us knows how to swim. Not a very good situation, is it? Now, let’s say that I have something that you don’t: a life jacket! Put on your life jacket. Looks like I’m set! I could float here all day, no problem! But you’re still in a tight spot. If you don’t do something soon, you could drown! What in the world could you do to keep from sinking?  Say: Well, I’ve got a life jacket, and we’re really good friends, so you should be okay, right? Or maybe your parents or even your whole family all have life jackets. Let’s even say that all your friends that you hang out with wear life jackets, but you don’t actually have one yourself. Surely, since you spend so much time with people who wear life jackets, you shouldn’t need to worry about sinking, right? Of course not! That’s just silly. Even if every person you knew was out there floating with you and they all had life jackets on, you would still need your own to stay afloat.

Group Discussion:  Say: It seems obvious that you can’t count on somebody else to save you just because they are not in danger, but this was essentially the situation of the unfaithful Israelite generation we heard about in the lesson today. Their parents had all known God and worshipped only Him. They had “life jackets.” But what does the Bible tell us about the next generation, the one born after Joshua died? Ask a volunteer to read Judges 2:10. Say: They did not know God or any of the amazing things He had done for the Israelite people. This generation was unfaithful. They ignored the one true God who brought their parents out of Egypt and decided to worship the fake gods of the surrounding tribes. This generation had no “life jackets.” They were sinking fast. They could not count on the faithfulness of their parents to save them. What they needed was their own “life jackets,” their own relationship with the one true God.  Say: Our situation today is very much the same. None of us can count on our parents’ or our friends’ relationship with God to save us. Let’s all open our Bibles to John 3:16. Ask: While we are turning there, would anyone like say this verse from memory? If no one volunteers, ask a student to read it. Say: If you write in your Bible, underline the word “whoever.” This verse says, “Whoever believes in Jesus...” It does not say, “Whoever has parents who believe…” or, “Whoever hangs out with believers…” Each of us must have our own relationship with God in order to enter God’s kingdom and have the new life that Jesus gives.

Conversation with God (Prayer): Pray that your children will stay faithful to the one true God and not count on the faith of others to save them. Fill in the prayer journal and close in prayer.

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