Shout for the Lord Has Given You the City Sunday Service Children s Story. Materials: Pictures of the story of Jericho

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Bertram Watts
5 years ago
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1 Shout for the Lord Has Given You the City Sunday Service Children s Story Materials: Pictures of the story of Jericho Preparations: Prepare any necessary materials. Invite children up to steps of altar. Reader of story sits in a chair with children sitting on floor in front of her. Include children s story, even if there are no children in your congregation, to welcome families who may come to the service. You can add your own creativity to the stories. You may feel comfortable using props or presenting them just as they are written. Feel free to adjust the content to fit your time frame. However, for the spiritual development of the child, we encourage keeping as much of the Ascended Master s Teachings as possible. Time: 9 10 minutes depending on storyteller delivery and children s responses. Good morning and welcome to our children s story. Today we re celebrating the spoken word or how we use words to speak to God and the Ascended Masters. Spoken prayer is at the heart of all true religions - Christians, Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists and others offer devotions in the form of daily prayers and mantras to God. What kind of spoken word do we use in our Church? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, a prayer, decrees, mantras, fiats, chants, etc. There is power in the spoken word and when we speak in love, we are using God s power. The spoken word is our sword, our sacred word. There are many stories in the Bible about the power of the spoken word. One interesting story is about the battle of Jericho. God gave 1

2 Joshua specific instructions on how the army of the Israelites was to defeat the city of Jericho. It wasn t by the way he expected, as they were used to fighting. God told Joshua that he and the people were to march around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, they would march around Jericho seven times and then when instructed to do so, the soldiers were to shout. The reason that they were to march around the city seven times was that they had to gather the energy of God s qualities of the seven rays in their chakras. They were using the alchemy of the Holy Spirit of the seven rays. In our decree books, we have pages and pages of joyous decrees, and they re divided into seven sections, representing the seven rays. Let s hear the story now of how Joshua and the Israelites won the battle of Jericho, without using swords, but rather the sword of the sacred word. Shout, For the Lord Has Given You the City After wandering in the desert for forty years, the Israelites had finally arrived at the land God promised to provide for them to establish their nation. But Moses had just died. Joshua, who had been faithful and obedient to Moses, was chosen to lead God's people. God said to Joshua, "Prepare my people to cross the River Jordan. It is time to give them the land that I promised. I will give you every place you set your foot. I will be with you the same way I was with Moses. I will not fail thee. Be strong and of good courage. So Joshua addressed the Israelites and told them what God had 2

3 said. The people responded, "We will follow you as we followed Moses. However, before crossing the River Jordan, Joshua sent two spies to survey the land. He gave them instructions to pay close attention to everything about Jericho, such as the location of the guards, the weaponry, height and width of the walls so as to determine how to overcome the city. Here is a picture of the wall around Jericho. (Show the picture.) As soon as the spies entered the city, they began their task of learning as much about Jericho as they could. By evening they decided to rent a room to spend the night. They found a place to stay with a woman named Rahab. However, someone must have seen them going into the house. For a messenger ran to the king and said, There are two spies from the children of Israel here. Now the King was afraid of the children of Israel and their God, for he had heard of Moses parting the Red Sea. So, the King sent soldiers to Rahab s house to arrest the spies. In the meantime the spies and Rahab had been sharing stories. The spies felt safe. But then they heard the clank of arms below and a strong loud knock, Open in the name of the King. The soldiers! Rahab cried. Go to the roof! The two spies fled to the roof as quickly as they could, with Rahab following. On the roof were stalks of flax, which Rahab quickly piled upon them. When Rahab finally answered the door, the soldiers asked about the two men. Rahab said, Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. Now they have gone. If you hurry, you can 3

4 probably catch up with them. Without searching the house, the king s officers hurriedly left. Rahab hurried back to the roof. She said to the two men, I know that your God is going to give my country to you. We have heard how your God has worked miracles. I believe that your God is the true God of Heaven and of all the world. And now Rahab had something to ask the men. I beg you for this one thing, she said. Because of my kindness toward you, promise me that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live along with my family. They told her that she must follow their instructions exactly and she would be protected. She must keep their visit a secret. She must hang a scarlet cord out her window, and she would have to bring every member of her family into her house for safety during the attack. If she did all these things, their lives would be spared. Rahab agreed, and then she helped the spies escape over the wall and placed a scarlet cord on her window. After three more days of hiding in the mountains, the spies returned safely to Joshua, and told him about all that had happened to them. Now, the time had come for Joshua and his people to cross the River Jordan. Of course no one knew how a million people would be able to do such a thing, for they had no boats or a bridge. But the Lord instructed them, Have one representative from each clan of Israel lead the way carrying the Ark in front of you." The Ark of 4

5 the Covenant was a chest that had been built to house the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. It looked like a chest made of gold- plated wood, and topped with two large, golden angels. Here is a picture of what it looked like. (Show picture.) As the priests carried Ark of the Covenant to the edge of the River Jordan, God caused the water to stop flowing so his people could cross on dry land. As soon as everybody was across, the water began flowing again. After crossing the Jordan, Joshua went off by himself to pray for God s wisdom on how he could lead his army over those huge walls. There were two walls around Jericho. They were about fifteen feet apart and thirty feet high. The inner wall was six feet thick and the outer wall about twelve feet thick. While praying Joshua suddenly looked up and he saw someone standing before him, with his sword drawn. "Friend or foe? Are you for us or against us?" asked Joshua. "Neither," came the reply. "I am commander of the Lord's army, and have come to instruct you how to attack the city." So, we see that Archangel Michael came to lead Joshua and his army. Joshua fell face down to the man and did worship. He then inquired, "What message does the Lord have for his servant?" The messenger first reminded Joshua to be reverent in the Presence of God. Remove your shoes because the place where you are standing is holy ground. And Joshua did so. Then the Captain of the hosts of the Lord said, "You are to take your entire army and march around the city of Jericho, carrying the Ark 5

6 of the Covenant of the Lord, once a day for six days. Then on the seventh day, you will march seven times. Seven priests carrying trumpets and horns will lead the march. On the seventh day, when the priests give the trumpets a long and loud blast, have the people shout loudly with the trumpets. So Joshua commanded the priests and his army to do as instructed. He told them not to say a word while they marched. For six days, the people marched around Jericho led by the priests blowing the ram s horns in front of the Ark. Here is a picture of what this might have looked like. (Show picture.) On the seventh day, Joshua said, "People of Israel, today we are to march around the city seven times. The priests of God will blow their horns and trumpets and lead with the Ark. Do not shout or give a battle cry until I instruct you to do so." Being obedient, the Israelites marched around seven times, and the priests blew their horns. The King and his army inside the walls were stunned. For these Israelites had not attacked them. What were they doing just marching each day? They were soon to find out. At the end of the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns very long and hard. Joshua shouted to his people, "Shout, for the Lord has given us this city." The people did shout and the walls did crumble. Joshua and the army were able to advance right into the city. They had captured Jericho without using their swords. From that day on, the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. 6

7 CONCLUSION: Just as the Israelites were told to do, how can we use the spoken word in our life? (Pause and let children respond) When we give that shout and make a joyful noise unto the Lord with our decrees, mantras and fiats, we find that our own human walls of personal and planetary karma come crumbling down. We can use the alchemy of the Holy Spirit, the seven rays of God.. Through the use of the violet flame, our karma gets transmuted and the spiritual energy goes into the causal body. And then we have our God- victory just like Joshua did. Thank you for sharing in our story. Have a wonderful day. 7

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Bible for Children. presents JOSHUA TAKES CHARGE

Bible for Children. presents JOSHUA TAKES CHARGE Bible for Children presents JOSHUA TAKES CHARGE Written by: Edward Hughes Illustrated by: Janie Forest Adapted by: Ruth Klassen Produced by: Bible for Children www.m1914.org BFC PO Box 3 Winnipeg, MB R3C