Can you believe we’re on the back end of our summer study already? Summer has flown by. Although it’s been hit and miss with the girls because of vacations, I think we could have easily met every week instead of every other. Maybe next summer!!
If you’re following along, here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Here’s what you’ll need for this week’s lesson:
Supplies:
- Bible
- SOAP worksheet (provided)
- Bible verse note cards (made at our first meeting)
- Two different sized envelopes and an index card
- nesting dolls (optional)
Here’s the verse we covered this week:
To discuss the verse, we worked through The SOAP Bible study method. This method is great for digging into a single verse of scripture. (You can read more about the SOAP method here.)
Below is the worksheet we used and how we talked through Joshua 1:9 using the SOAP method.
For a downloadable verse to print, CLICK HERE.
SCRIPTURE
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
OBSERVATION
To start us off, we talked about the commands of God given in this verse: be strong, be courageous, don’t be afraid, and don’t be discouraged. And, we talked about the why: the LORD will be with you wherever you go.
I told the girls that this was the charge given to Joshua when God appointed him as the new leader of the Israelite people. Joshua served as Moses’ faithful assistant for 40 years as they wandered in the desert. He not only witnessed the powerful relationship between Moses and God, but he also showed great faith in God upon entering the promised land. Now in the wake of Moses’ death, it would be Joshua who would lead this new generation of Israelites into Canaan. To do this, it would take great courage, strength and faith.
APPLICATION
In the application section, I told the girls to apply the command to their own lives. Like Joshua, we face many new challenges and opportunities. It’s important for us to remember that we can be brave and fearless because God is with us wherever we go.
To illustrate God’s presence in our lives and our security in Jesus, I showed the girls my nesting dolls. You can watch of video of me explaining the nesting dolls HERE.
Since I didn’t have nesting dolls for everyone, we used envelopes to demonstrate the same point.
… your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
On the largest envelope, write “God”. On the smaller envelope, write “Jesus”. And on the index card, the girls can write their name or “me”. (Or in this cause “meh”. What can I say? Teenager-speak. Meh = me)
Now slide the “me” note card into the “Jesus” envelope, and the “Jesus” envelope into the “God” envelope.
Tell the girls to think about where they are in that stack – tucked perfectly in Jesus, in God. No matter where we go, as believers, this is our reality. We are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). This truth should give us great confidence and security.
PRAYER
Then they took their application response and wrote it into a prayer of commitment to God.
For the homework last time, I switched things up a little bit. Instead of sending the girls a verse and asking for their responses, I asked them to send me a verse. The verse was to correlate to the topic/theme of the verse we just discussed. It was inspiring to read their verses and hear what the verse means to them. I plan to do the same this week.
Now, ladies, it’s time for us to go live out this verse.
Be strong and courageous, my friends!
Leave a Reply