Big Idea: God uses broken people to bring about His plan to save the world.

Bible Passage: Judges 1-3

This week the kids learned about a book of the Bible called 'The Judges'. The Judges were the leaders of the people of Israel after Joshua died. It spans about 250 years, and documents the many failures and unfaithfulness of the people of Israel, as well as the faithfulness of God. God gave the people of Israel a Covenant, and a mission.

 In this covenant, God promises to make the Israelites his treasured possession among all people and "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation", if they follow God's commandments. Unfortunately, the people of Israel did not follow God's commandments. Nor did they complete their mission. They were instructed by God to drive out the enemies from the promised land He gave them, but they did not. Soon they were serving, following and worshipping the false gods of the people living in the land. This brought about a 'cycle' we read over and over again in the stories of the judges. 

Check out this video about the 'Cycle of Apostasy' for kids.

The Judges were leaders that God raised up to deliver the people from their trouble. God raised up His Son, Jesus, as our deliverer for our sin and unfaithfulness. We now live under a New Covenant, that means now, we can turn back to God or repent when we are in trouble, and know that because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are accepted, loved, forgiven and rescued from our trouble. We likewise have a new mission – to go into all the world and tell people the good news of the gospel and help them to follow Jesus, too. 

Family Activity

Watch the video on the link above and talk about what kinds of things make us 'forget' about God. Ask children what makes it hard to remember God's love for them? What distracts them? What's one way they can remember God when they forget? (Deuteronomy talks about writing God's commands on our foreheads- maybe not a great idea for our kids, but a great example of somewhere you would see it everyday!)