If your Bible was taken from you, how quickly would you notice? How would you feel? The God who created us and loves us gave us His very words, and we have the amazing opportunity to read them each time we open our Bibles! Seek to hear God’s voice as you learn together with your children this week. Week of June 28, 2020 2 Chronicles 34 Know Right: King Josiah finds God’s Word. Think Right: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18a (DL Top 12) Do Right: I will seek the truth from God’s Word. Feel Right: I can feel wise when I seek the truth from God’s Word. Parent Preparation 1. Pray: Pray that your child(ren) will not be confused about God’s existence. Pray that they will seek truth and that God will speak powerfully to them. 2. Read the Lesson Summary: King Josiah finds God’s Word Israel’s unfaithful kings and disobedient people neglected God’s temple, His worship, and His Word. The northern kingdom of Israel had already been exiled to Assyria, and Judah’s punishment was not far behind. Although Josiah became the king of Judah at only eight years of age, he did what was right in God’s eyes. Every good thing he did led to another. When Josiah ordered the repair of the temple, the Book of the Law was found. When Josiah heard the truth of God’s Word in that book, he believed and followed it. He read it to his people and led them back to obedience. Because Josiah yielded to the truth, God spared Judah from its punishment until after Josiah’s death. May we, as God’s people, follow in Josiah’s footsteps by seeking the truth from God’s Word. 3. Prepare for the Discover Time Hands-On Activity: To follow along with the video, prepare for the first option. If teaching the lesson yourself, choose the activity that best fits your family. 4. Creative Idea: • As you teach the Bible lesson, have different scrolls hidden around the room with pictures, main events/ideas, or verses. While you are talking, walk to a scroll (remember the order and where they’re hidden), and unroll it to reveal what is on it. By the end of your lesson, you will have several scrolls laid out, which you can use to review. Discover Time Hands-on Activities Option 1 (featured on the video): Backyard Dunk Tank 1. You will need: supplies to build your own backyard dunk tank (check out Pinterest for some cool ideas or for a simple version use a bucket full of water), a target (ideas include an empty can on top of a bucket or a frisbee/hula hoop hanging from a tree), and a ball to throw at the target. 2. Pick one family member to get “dunked.” When the ball hits the one true target, this family member will be the one to get soaked! Tip for older kids: Blindfold the person who will get dunked for an added element of surprise! 3. In order to throw a ball at the “one true target,” the person throwing needs to recite a DL Top 12 Bible verse or give a fact from a previous DL at Home lesson. Another option is to say part of a DL Top 12 verse and have your child guess a missing word in the verse. 4. Take turns throwing the ball at the “one true target.” After someone gets dunked, rotate a new family member into the “dunk” position. Note: Send your videos and pictures to [email protected] to get featured in an upcoming DL at Home video! Option 2: Bible Hunt! 1. You will need: Bibles and Bible study books (scatter around your home in advance) (If you don’t have enough Bibles and books to make this challenging, use pieces of paper to make “little Bible cards,” and hide them around your house for a scavenger hunt! Or, instead of “little Bible cards,” write Scripture verses out on index cards and hide them throughout your house. After the DT activity, post these index cards in areas where you will see them (bathroom mirrors, kitchen cupboards, etc.) to remind your family to review God’s Word.) 2. As a family (or in teams), search through your house to find all of your Bibles and Bible study books (or “little Bible cards” or Scripture cards). Which person or team will find the most? 3. If you searched for Bibles and Bible study books, once you’ve gathered all of them, stack them! How high can they go? Option 3: Preschool-friendly: Bookmark fun! 1. You will need: a Bible, construction paper cut into bookmarks with “I can feel happy when I learn God’s Word” written on them (multiple copies for each child), and decorating supplies (markers, colored pencils, rubber stamps, stickers, etc.) Optional: Add a fun string or ribbon to the end of each bookmark to make it special. 2. Have children gather around the Bible and all the supplies. Your excitement is critical to making this DT great! 3. Encourage children to design a special bookmark for each member of their family or their friends. Help children write their name on the bookmark. Make sure children understand that these bookmarks are super special and only for Bibles. 4. Remind children of the importance of reading and studying the Word of God. Everyone should study the Bible: moms, dads, grandparents, sisters, brothers, etc. Bible Lesson This lesson will be taught on the video. The basic lesson plan is included below if you’d like to review it with your child or want to teach it yourself. Pray: Challenge one of your children to open in prayer. This will help them learn to pray in a public setting. Coach them in what to pray for and to stand up and pray so all can hear. Find It: Is 2 Chronicles in the New Testament or Old Testament? (OT) Have everyone say the books of the Old Testament up to 2 Chronicles, then have everyone open their Bibles to 2 Chronicles 34. Introduction to the Bible Lesson: When we learn about the kings of Israel, it’s like going on a roller coaster ride: up and down and all around! There were some good kings who did their best to help the Israelites love and obey God. But there were also many bad kings who disobeyed God and led the Israelite people to disobey God, too. Who was the first King of Israel? (King Saul). Who was the second king? (King David) God said that every king should write a copy of God’s Word for himself and read it every day of his life (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). If the king did this, he could learn to obey God and be a good king. Do you think every king read God’s Word every day of his life like God had commanded? We’re about to find out. Open the Bible Josiah becomes the king of Israel at age eight Read 2 Chronicles 34:1-3 Recap: Who was Josiah? Remember, God had divided the country of Israel into two kingdoms - the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. Josiah became the King of Judah when he was eight years old! It sounds like he was a good king from what we just read, doesn’t it? It said that Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. When he was sixteen, he began to seek God. Was it a good thing that King Josiah was seeking God? (Yes!) Let’s see what else King Josiah did. Josiah destroys the altars and idols of the make-believe gods Paraphrase of 2 Chronicles 34:4-7: The people of Judah and Israel had been worshiping false gods instead of just worshiping the only true God. When Josiah was about twenty years old, he decided to get rid of all the stuff the people used to worship make-believe gods. He destroyed altars and idols and other things the people were using. Do you think it was good that King Josiah was getting rid of the idols? (Yes!) Do you think it was easy for him to do? Probably not; it probably made many people very mad. What did King Josiah do next? Josiah repairs God’s temple Paraphrase of 2 Chronicles 34:8-13: When King Josiah was twenty-six years old, he decided to repair God’s temple. Do you remember the king who built God’s temple? (King Solomon, the son of King David) The temple was the place where all the Jewish people were supposed to come worship God and make sacrifices for their sins. It’s sad that some of the kings had not taken care of God’s temple. That’s like not taking care of our church, but even worse! Do you think it was good that King Josiah wanted to fix the temple back up again? (Yes!) Because it was going to cost a lot of money, they collected money from the people and stored it in the temple. Listen to what happened next. The Book of the Law is found Read 2 Chronicles 34:14-19 Recap: When the priest went into the temple to get the money, he found the Book of God’s Law! What??? King Josiah didn’t even know about the Book of God’s Law.