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2.3 Large Group Lesson | Elementary

SnapshotTwelve Spies Explore Canaan

Scripture marked “NIV” is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica. Scripture marked “NIrV” is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version ™, Copyright ©1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. All scripture references are taken from NIrV unless otherwise stated.

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BIG IDEA: God gives us a spirit of power, so we can have the courage to follow Him anywhere.

BIBLE BASIS: Numbers 13:1-14:10

KEY VERSE: “God gave us his Spirit. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love. He helps us control ourselves.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIrV)

15–25 minutes

7–15 minutes

30–40 minutes

7–15 minutes

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LEADER DEVOTIONALA few years back, I had an opportunity to go paragliding in Interlaken, Switzerland. This is one of

those things that most of my friends would call “stupid.” I prefer “adventurous.” Basically, the way it works is you get strapped to a parachute, go running off the side of a mountain, hope the wind catches you, and glide down to the bottom.

Now, the whole idea of paragliding would be absolutely terrifying… if I was alone. But I wasn’t. I had a guide strapped to the parachute with me. This guy had taken hundreds of people down this mountain. He knew the terrain. He knew how to pilot the parachute. He was with me. Sometimes the ride was slow and steady. Other times, he’d dip the parachute suddenly and my stomach would drop. A few times he spiraled us downward so fast I was certain the cables would snap and I’d go plummeting to my death. But the truth is that I was safe with him. Life with God is kind of like that. It would be absolutely terrifying if you were alone. But you’re not alone. You can follow God wherever He leads because He knows the terrain. He made the terrain! He knows how to pilot your life in order to get you safely to the ground. He is with you and you are safe.

With a God like that, courageous is the only way to live.

Casey JordanGO! Contributor



LARGE GROUP SKILL BUILDING

Understanding a Kid’s World

One of the best ways to connect with kids is to understand the world they live in. Unfortunately, relying on our memories of being a kid won’t cut it. Newsflash: kids don’t know who “Captain Caveman” is and your “Speak and Spell” is a technological dinosaur to them. Even if you were a kid just a short while ago, the culture has already shifted considerably. Communicating with kids effectively, whether as a small group leader or a large group teacher, requires you to engage them at their level and in their world. Don’t let the task sound daunting, though—you’re surrounded by experts who would be happy to teach you!

Ask the experts: Who’s the best person to ask about today’s kid culture? (Warning: obvious answer approaching) Kids! Ask the kids in your ministry what their favorites are—movies, TV shows, music, board games, video games, apps, toys, etc. Be ready, though. Just like experts in any area, when you get them talking, they might not be able to stop!

Do some research: Who said research has to be boring? Once you know what your kids are watching, playing, and hearing, you should watch it, play it, and listen to it yourself! You'll be surprised how much you learn about kids when you visit their world.

Report your findings immediately: The next time you see the kids, tell them what you listened to, watched, or played. Their faces will most likely light up. You’ll be able to reference things that are relevant and interesting to them. Best of all, you’ll have an instant connection with them and they’ll see you in a whole new light.



UNIT DESCRIPTIONWhat kid doesn’t love hamming it up in front of a camera from time to time? During the “Snapshot” series, kids will be encouraged to do just that. By striking different fun and creative poses throughout the lessons, kids will help tell the stories of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. More than that, kids will get an unforgettable snapshot of God’s enduring love and faithfulness through the deserts of life.

SET-UP INSTRUCTIONS Place a digital camera in the teaching area or make arrangements for the large group teacher to

bring a smartphone with photo-taking abilities. Upload the “snapshot” from last week of kids looking angry. Import it into your media presentation

software and show it during the beginning of the “The Big Bible Story.” (Optional: instead of showing the picture digitally, you might opt to print it out large enough for kids to see.)

Place a Bible in the teaching area for the large group teacher to flip through and to look up verses.

Choose which of the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond stations you would like to make available. Set out the appropriate materials for each of those stations.

Note: Kids love seeing themselves on the screen. Each week, quickly take snapshots each time the kids strike a pose. As kids arrive the following week, consider showing a slideshow of the snapshots from the previous week.



CG: “Snapshot” title graphicSound: Play upbeat music as kids move to large group area

SNAPSHOT INTROLarge Group Leader: Hello everybody—it’s so great to see you here today! One of my favorite things in the world is learning how to follow our awesome God with you—it’s such an adventure. Hey—speaking of adventures, have any of you been on a really cool adventure before? (Take a few responses.) That’s incredible! Today we’re going to hear about an amazing adventure God wanted to take the Israelites on, but before we get started, I think we should take a snapshot! On the count of three, I want you all to strike a pose like you’re on the biggest adventure of your life! (Count to 3. Use a camera or smartphone to take a picture. Tell kids to take a seat.)

(Look at the screenshot on your camera or phone.) Taking a snapshot is great because it helps you remember. Like this picture I just took—when I look at it in a year from now, I’ll remember all of you and the awesome time we had learning about God. And you know what, it’s kind of like that with the Bible. (Pick up Bible and flip through it.) The stories in the Bible are a lot like snapshots—they give us a picture of who God is. They help us remember how loving, how powerful, or how trustworthy He is.

So that’s what we’re going to do today! We’re going to get a picture of who God is by looking at another snapshot of God’s Word in the Book of Numbers. Oh yeah—and here’s the best part! We get to strike some pretty awesome poses to help tell the story. Let’s get started!

CG: show “snapshot” from previous week of kids looking angry

THE BIG BIBLE STORY—TWELVE SPIES EXPLORE CANAANDo you remember this picture from last week? (Refer to screen.) In our story from last week, what was it that made Moses so mad? (Take answer.) That’s right—after receiving the 10 Commandments, Moses found the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. But Moses prayed for the Israelites and God agreed to forgive them. CG: “The Big Bible Story” graphic. Strike a pose like you’re packing a suitcase! (Let kids pose.) Nice—hold that pose until I say stop. (Take a snapshot.) After God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, God told the Israelites to pack up and head out for the land He had promised to give them—a land called Canaan. (Tell kids to release pose.) There was only one problem with Canaan. There was already a bunch of people living there, and they weren’t going to give the land up without a fight. So Moses came up with a plan.

Strike a pose like you’re part of a super-secret spy agency. (Give kids a moment to pose. Take a snapshot.) Moses chose twelve spies to explore Canaan and report back what they found. The spies were told to look at how good the crops were, how many people were living there already, and what the cities looked like. The Israelites needed this information to know what they were up against. So the twelves spies began sneaking around Canaan and taking notes on all the stuff they saw.

When the spies saw the crops in Canaan, they were amazed at how big they were. They didn’t think the Israelites would believe them, so they cut down a bunch of grapes to take back and show them. Strike a pose like you’re carrying something really heavy. (Take a snapshot.) The grapes were so heavy that it took two men to carry them!



Unfortunately, the grapes weren’t the only huge thing in Canaan. Show me your best muscleman or musclewoman pose. (Take a snapshot.) The people living in Canaan were also huge—much taller and stronger than the Israelites. And there were huge walls surrounding their cities—walls that would have been really hard to get through.

After 40 days, the spies reported back to Moses. Strike a pose like you’re super confident. (Take a snapshot.) Two of the spies named Joshua and Caleb were super confident that God would help them take the land. Caleb said they could take it for sure! Now strike a pose like you’re a total scaredy-pants. (Take a snapshot.) But the other 10 spies were shaking in their boots! They told Moses and the Israelites that they’d have to be crazy to attack Canaan. They said the people were too powerful and the walls were too big. They said that they would get crushed if they tried to take the land.

The two brave spies, Joshua and Caleb, couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Listen to what they said to the Israelites!

Open your Bible and read Numbers 14:7-9 aloud. It says, “They spoke to the whole community of Israel. They said, ‘We passed through the land and checked it out. It’s very good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he’ll lead us into that land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. He’ll give it to us. But don’t refuse to obey him. And don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will swallow them up. The LORD is with us. So nothing can save them. Don’t be afraid of them.’”

Do you think this little pep talk helped give the Israelites some courage? (Kids respond.) Unfortunately not! Even though God had promised to be with them and to help them take the land, the Israelites refused to obey God. They were too scared to do what God had told them. Suddenly, the glory of God appeared to all of the Israelites. God told Moses and all of the Israelites that because of their disobedience, none of them would ever see the Promised Land. Only the Israelites’ children and the two spies who trusted God would be able to see the Promised Land.

CG: “Big Bible Story Questions” graphic

BIG BIBLE STORY QUESTIONSAt the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What was your favorite part of this story? If you were one of the spies, would you have been afraid too? Why or why not? For Older Kids: What do you think this story teaches us about God? Why do you think the 10 cowardly spies had trouble trusting that God would help them? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area.

CG: “That’s Impossible” graphic

THE IMPOSSIBLE INSTRUCTIONSSometimes God calls us to do some pretty scary things—things that might seem impossible for us to do. But we have to trust that God will be there to help us do it. Let me show you what I mean.

Ask for a volunteer who will follow your instructions, even if they’re hard. (You may want to choose a kid who is a bit smaller and lighter.) Tell the volunteer that you want him to walk around the whole room on his hands. His feet can’t touch the ground. Remind the kid that he said he would follow your instructions earlier. Ask the kid how he is feeling about your instructions now. Does he think he can do it? Why or why not? Ask the kid if



he will at least try. If not, choose another kid who will. Right before the kid starts to try, stop him. (Depending on the size of your teaching space, you may want to modify the instructions to be walking across the stage or to a wall and back.)

Stop! Isn’t that amazing?! _____ (use kids name) was going to follow my instructions even though it looks so hard. Well, I’ve got good news for him. I’m here to help!

Pick up the legs of the volunteer and tell him that he’s going to walk around the room on his hands wheelbarrow-style. Be kind, supportive, and encouraging to the kid. If the kid needs to take breaks, hold his feet off the ground so he can complete the task you gave him. When finished, lead the kids in giving him a round of applause and let him sit down.

I asked our volunteer to do something really hard. In fact, it seemed downright impossible! But, he was willing to trust me and gave it a shot. And, with my help, what seemed impossible wasn’t so impossible after all. I never left him alone. How do you think that’s like our story for today? (Take answers.)

God told the Israelites to do something that seemed really hard—way harder than walking on your hands. He asked them to move into a land that was already filled with big and powerful people. But they didn’t have to do it alone. In the same way that I helped _____ (use kids name) walk around the room on his hands, God was going to help the Israelites take Canaan. They just needed to trust Him. But did they? (Kids respond.) No way! And because of that, they missed out on an incredible blessing from God. Only the two brave spies, Joshua and Caleb, would ever get to see the Promised Land.

GOD GIVES US POWERDid you know that God asks us to do some pretty hard things too? It’s true! But here’s the great news—just like God was with the Israelites, God is with us. He gives us a Spirit of power so that we can follow Him even when it looks impossibly hard or scary. In fact, that’s what our Bible verse for today says. Let’s look at it together. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to 2 Timothy 1:7. Be prepared to give younger kids more time and assistance in finding the verse. When ready, choose a kid to read it aloud or read it aloud yourself while the kids follow along.)

CG: “God gave us his Spirit. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love. He helps us control ourselves.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Do you see that? God’s Spirit doesn’t make us weak or fearful. So let’s do this—when I point to you, I want you to throw your fist up in the air and yell, “POWER!” Got it? (Kids respond.) When God calls us to do something, He gives us a Spirit of…(point to kids). POWER! When God calls you to tell others about Him, He will give you…(point to the kids) POWER! When God calls you to put other people first, He will give you…(point to the kids) POWER! When God calls you to stand up for someone who’s getting picked on or to tell the truth when it’s hard, He will give you…(point to the kids) POWER! God gives us a spirit of…(point to the kids) POWER, so we can have the courage to follow Him anywhere. Let’s pray and thank God for giving us His power when we need it the most.

Close the GO! TELL IT Large group time by praying for the kids in whatever way the Holy Spirit prompts you. Following the prayer, explain to the kids which of the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond Stations will be available. Remind them to move about the stations very quietly. Tell them they are free to respond to God in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads them, but if they need suggestions, some of the stations will give them ideas for how to pray, write, or draw. Give each child one “GO! Home” sheet and instruct them to take it with them to the stations. Place small group leaders at the different stations to



quietly help the kids. The stations listed below are just the ones that have prompts that are specific to today’s lesson. For more instructions on how the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond Stations work as well as a full list of possible stations, see the “GO! Guide.”

CG: “Snapshot” title graphicMusic: (Optional) Play quiet instrumental music

Prayer Station prompt: Write a prayer to God asking Him to give you His Spirit of power so that you can follow Him even when it’s hard.

Journal Station prompt: Is there anything that God wants you to do that you have trouble doing? Maybe you struggle with telling the truth or standing up for other kids. Tell God about it and ask Him to give you His Spirit of power to help.

Bible Station prompt: Read it for yourself: Numbers 13:17-14:10. Write to God your favorite part of the story. Tell Him why you liked it.

Art Station prompt: Is God calling you to do something hard or scary? Draw a picture of God helping you to do that thing.


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