Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
This is an icebreaker designed to get people focused as you begin.
You might have seen a carnival stand before where participants knock over metal milk bottles by throwing a softball. You might have those same supplies handy. If not, you can purchase a plastic version on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/MIDWAY-MONSTERS-Bottle-Carnival-Balls/dp/B00QT7HRPO. Be sure to obtain a safe backdrop as well, such as gymnastic mats or deadening burlap.
Add a twist o the activity by providing different types of balls to throw at the objects, such as a softball, whiffle ball, volleyball, ping pong ball, foam ball, and a child’s plastic ball. Have the participants roll a die (singular of dice) and make the number they get correspond to one of six options designated ahead of time. For example:
Participants who arrive early to Youth Sabbath School will get more chances. You can provide prizes if you want, or just have the joy of knocking over the bottles be its own reward. Let people know that today’s topic has to do with knocking down the walls of Jericho.
One key reason people build walls in the first place is to hide something behind them. Tap into the imagination and artistic side of the youth by asking them to guess what is behind each of the different walls in this video:
You will need to start and stop this 6 ½-minute video multiple times. It’s actually a promotional video about futuristic furniture that folds into walls or come out from behind walls. The Murphy bed (a type of bed that folds down from the wall to save space during the day) has been around for quite a while. But this goes beyond a simple bed to include tables, desks, chairs, and even bunk beds. Watch the video on your own beforehand and be prepared to stop it at key points so you can ask the participants to guess what the next piece of furniture will be and where it come out of (or go back into) in the walls. It’s often hard to guess what might be behind a wall!
As we consider our lesson for today, keep in mind that the purpose of Jericho’s walls was to keep the people living inside safe from the Israelites, who had just entered Canaan. If you were living in Jericho at the time, would you have felt safer inside the walls or outside the walls?
This is a short video clip you can show your Youth Sabbath School to illustrate this week’s topic, plus a few follow-up questions to spark discussion afterwards.
Create a video clip that relates to walls. Some people use walls to keep things in, and others use walls to keep things out. In addition to physical walls, people can also surround themselves with social or emotional walls that others may not be able to see, but can feel or experience in some way. Remember to create a list of follow-up questions based on the video as well.
Compare the two walls in these short video clips based on a part of history the parents of the youth in your class probably observed earlier in their lives. The first is about the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany on November 9, 1989, which signaled the unification of Germany after 28 years of being divided.
The second, taken on June 5, 1989, is about a man who acted as a human wall during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China by continuing to place himself in the path of a tank.
These are more approaches to the same topic featured in the Teacher’s Guide, but just a different way of looking at it. Expect activities to illustrate the topic followed by some questions.
BASED ON JOSHUA 2:1-24; 6:22-25; MATTHEW 1:5
Our Bible study this week covers several chapters from the book of Joshua, in which God triumphs in preparing a place for his people. Canaan was the land where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had originally lived. Then Jacob’s family moved to Egypt while he was prime minister there. Eventually they grew so numerous that the Pharaoh who was ruling at the time—and who had no regard for Joseph’s memory or any of the children of Israel—enslaved them for what came to be hundreds of years. Finally God sent Moses to take his people back to Canaan, the place originally promised to Abraham and his descendants.
The people who were already living in Canaan when they returned had a pantheon of gods. They accumulated more and more of them over time, but the more they had, the more they had to worry about pleasing. All gods separate from Yahweh, and all worship of such gods, result in people being denigrated, abused, and destroyed. The book of Revelation tells us that God will destroy those who destroy the earth (see Revelation 11:15-18). You can see why he wanted to put a stop to these religious beliefs and practices!
The Canaanites had heard about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They also knew of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they got a wakeup call when, after his people had been in slavery for 400 years, news reached them that Yahweh had demonstrated his power in Egypt by unleashing the ten plagues and proving he was God over all the Egyptians’ gods. And when the Pharaoh tried to challenge that a little later by following the Israelites across the Red Sea, word of his ensuing demise also traveled all the way to Canaan.
They also knew about the obliteration of the giant King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan (see Numbers 21:21-35), and that the Midianite King Balak’s attempts to get Balaam to curse God’s people resulted in him blessing them instead. Yet the Canaanites continued their pagan practices, which included idolatry, sexual immorality, and even child sacrifice.
When we read about the way the Israelites destroyed the Canaanites upon arriving in the Promised Land, it can seem like genocide. But if you read the background leading up to this part of the Bible, you can see that everyone is given mercy and time to turn to God, though eventually there comes a time when that mercy ends. Consider the stories found earlier in the Bible, such as that of the flood or Sodom and Gomorrah. God is merciful, but eventually he will send people who are sinning a warning followed by a time of judgment. For more information on the Canaanite religions, visit the following websites: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Canaanite_Religion and http://www.susancanthony.com/res/dennis/canaan.html.
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at the story of Rahab—a woman from Jericho who helped the Israelite spies infiltrating the city. She, along with her family, were later saved from the utter destruction of Jericho. Check out the Cornerstone Connections lessons for this week for an even bigger view of Rahab. Today, our key question as we go through this story will be: Why did Rahab choose the Israelite God over her many pagan gods?
Set out a variety of options for the Youth Sabbath School participants to choose from. These could be fruits or vegetables, salty foods like chips, or some kind of candy or sweets. If you want, you could have a little from each food group. If you’d rather do non-food options, some good ideas include trinkets or photos.
Ask the participants to help themselves to the very best option they see available to them. Don’t influence their choices, but make sure to keep track of how each person responds. Were they eager to choose something or unengaged with the activity?
If you chose to offer food options, let the participants enjoy their choices and then debrief.
As Christians today, it might not seem easy to relate to Rahab’s story at first. But what we have in common with her is that we have a lot of options available to us as well—options for the kind of person we’re going to be, what goals we’re going to accomplish, what kinds of pastimes we devote our time to, and so on. The most important one of those is our relationship with God. With so many other options available, it can often seem a little risky to make him our highest priority. Our tendency today is to keep our options as open as possible!
Check out the “How Important to You?” sheet to see a list of possible options you may be interested in right now. Number each item (with 1 being low and 10 being high) based on how important you think it is. This isn’t a ranking, so feel free to have more than one item that scores a 10, or more than one item that scores a 7 or 3 or 1, etc.
God, also known as Yahweh, claims to be a jealous God, not willing to share the number one position in someone’s life with anyone or anything else. Take a look at your sheet. Is God number one for you? Where do other important things rank in comparison to him? With this in mind, let’s return to our initial question: “Why did Rahab choose the Israelite God over her many pagan gods?” We can make this personal by rephrasing it this way: “Why would I choose to put God above all the many other good things in my life?”
The Bible doesn’t clearly state the reason why Rahab chose Yahweh, the God of the Israelites. What we do know is that it caused a big change in her life, however, which included becoming part of the royal line of David and even the Messiah (see Matthew 1:5).
We have many different things competing for our attention today. Often those are good, and maybe even excellent things! But prioritizing our relationship with God is most important. In our lesson today, we considered some possible reasons why Rahab decided to harbor the Israelite spies and choose their God instead of the many gods she’d had before. Then we made it personal by asking ourselves whether each of us does or does not make God first in our lives.
Take your “How Important to You?” sheet and pray over it this week. Ask God to help you make a decision to place him in the undisputed number one position in your head, heart, and actions. Ask for him to empower you to do that. Then share this with a trusted friend or family member and ask them to pray for you about it and to touch base with you periodically as well.
Battle Plan
BASED ON JOSHUA 5:13-6:27
Before we look at our Scripture passage for today, let’s take a moment to review the context. Now that God’s people had left Egypt and Moses—their former leader—was gone, the Israelites were following Joshua. He had received several direct messages from Yahweh telling him to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 9), and had just led the Israelites across the Jordan River (Joshua 3-4).
Now let’s get back to our Bible passage for today. Joshua was walking near the city of Jericho when he came face-to-face with a warrior holding a sword in his hand. You can read about in Joshua 5:13-15 (NLT):
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
In the next chapter, God told Joshua that Jericho was going to be given into his hands and gave him a battle plan (see Joshua 6:1-5). Few people would have come up with a plan like this one! But this isn’t the only example of a plan in the Bible that seems a little unbelievable.
Have the participants reenact the story of the Israelites walking around the city of Jericho by leading the participants in a walk around the outside of your church building. Give instructions beforehand that nobody is supposed to say a word (Joshua 6:10), even though other church members are sure to notice them and maybe even ask questions. Like in the Bible story, some can sound trumpets throughout the walk (provided you have something to sound and are in a location where it is appropriate).
You may need to make an assessment about whether or not to do this six separate times and return to the Youth Sabbath School room each time, followed by seven times without stopping (and then letting out the SHOUT!). This might take your entire Youth Sabbath School time. If that’s the case, reserve this activity for a Sabbath afternoon gathering when you’ll have more time, or a Friday evening vespers, or some other event. But if it works for Youth Sabbath School, go for it!
Read your version of the instructions to the youth before reenacting it. The story can be found in Joshua 6, with several explanations coming from God, then Joshua to the priests, and then at the start of the march around the city, and the seventh day.
In addition to the strange battle plan God gave the Israelites to use in attacking Jericho, he also gave some instructions for what to do once they won that might seem equally strange to us. You can read about it in Joshua 6:16-19 (NCV):
16 The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, shout! The Lord has given you this city! 17 The city and everything in it are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house should remain alive. They must not be killed, because Rahab hid the two spies we sent out. 18 Don’t take any of the things that are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. If you take them and bring them into our camp, you yourselves will be destroyed, and you will bring trouble to all of Israel. 19 All the silver and gold and things made from bronze and iron belong to the Lord and must be saved for him.”
Some people find the fall of Jericho a thrilling story. Others react to it negatively, viewing some of the things God asked the Israelites to do as atrocious by today’s standards. For example, God instructed the Israelites to kill everyone in the city—including innocent people like women and children. We usually expect women and children to be protected, not killed. But obviously that wasn’t true of the culture back then.
You can find another example of this in Numbers 16, especially verses 28-33. When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against the leadership of Moses, they as well as their families were swallowed by the earth.
Similarly, the idea of punishment lasting for generations in a family because of the first generation’s sin is mentioned in earlier parts of the Bible (see Exodus 20:4, 5 and Deuteronomy 5:8, 9). The contrast is that God shows mercy to a thousand generations (see Exodus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 5:10).
More than 800 years later, God showed that same mercy when he sent a message through Ezekiel saying that children should not be punished for their parents’ sins (see Ezekiel 18:19-22). Ezekiel concluded that God has no desire for anyone wicked to die. What he does want is for them to turn from their wicked ways and live (see Ezekiel 18:23).
Another key aspect of the culture at that time was the idea of giving the “first fruits” to God, which was what God’s people did when they offered the first part of their harvest to Yahweh. Other farmers would set aside the first part of their harvest to use as seed for their crops next year. Second in line would be their family, and third would be any friends who might need food. Only the food left over after all that would be given as offerings or donations to the poor.
In contrast, Yahweh told his people to bring the first fruits of their harvest to him. This act of worship demonstrated their faith that God would provide seed for the next year as well as food for their family, their friends, and others. This biblical principle of giving to God first continues to be relevant today, regardless of culture. Hundreds of years later Jesus would say it this way: “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NCV) If you want to check out more about the idea of first fruits, visit https://get.tithe.ly/blog/first-fruit.
Getting back to the battle of Jericho, the Israelites had just entered the Promised Land. Jericho was their first battle in Canaan, and God treated it the same way he would a harvest—by asking them to give all their first fruits to him. If you don’t trust God, you’re left to face life on your own (and that doesn’t work, as we’ll see in next week’s lesson).
The battle of Jericho was the first battle the Israelites fought in the Promised Land, and it represented a big win for them. They obeyed what may have seemed like an outlandish battle plan at first, and God did something amazing! Today God’s people aren’t physically invading a country because God identified it as “theirs,” but we are seeking to live by God’s kingdom wherever we are. The enemies we’re facing may no longer by physical cities with walls, but they can be harmful ways of thinking and acting or distractions from God. What this calls for is for God’s people to respond by seeking him first and obeying his messages—wherever we are.
Before the battle of Jericho, Joshua received a battle plan from Jesus himself. As soon as the soldier with a drawn sword identified himself as the commander of Yahweh’s army, Joshua fell prostrate in worship and respect. The application for this lesson is to physically kneel before God at some point this week and submit your heart to him. You can do this by yourself and or with someone else. You can also do it in the privacy of your room, in a public spot (where appropriate), or anywhere you sense God’s presence. After kneeling before God, be still so you can receive his plans for ways to live by his kingdom in your life (see Matthew 5-7).
No Big Deal
BASED ON JOSHUA 6:17-19; 7:1-26
Some people have wondered why such a small thing like Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit could have such gigantic results—the entrance of sin into this world (see Genesis 3 and Romans 5:12-21). Couldn’t God have just looked the other way, like a tired parent who doesn’t want to discipline a disobedient child this particular time? It couldn’t have been that big a deal, right? Obviously it was a big deal.
What about when Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant when David asked for it to be transported to Jerusalem? That shouldn’t have been that big a deal either, right? All he did was touch the Ark once and he died (see 2 Samuel 6:6-7). David did much more than just touch Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3-5) and he wasn’t killed for that (although Uriah and the baby they conceived did—2 Samuel 11:14-17; 12:15, 18). Shouldn’t that have been a big deal too?
You probably some examples of things in your own life that you feel this same way about. Our story for today—found in Joshua 6-7—might be another example. Let’s begin by reading the clear instructions God gave the Israelites right before the destruction of Jericho.
16 The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, shout! The Lord has given you this city! 17 The city and everything in it are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house should remain alive. They must not be killed, because Rahab hid the two spies we sent out. 18 Don’t take any of the things that are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. If you take them and bring them into our camp, you yourselves will be destroyed, and you will bring trouble to all of Israel. 19 All the silver and gold and things made from bronze and iron belong to the Lord and must be saved for him.”
A common practice for Adventists is paying tithe, or giving 10% of one’s income to God. Some people see this as a tax they have to pay to the church, but the purpose behind tithe isn’t that at all. It’s supposed to be an act of worship and a renewal of a person’s awareness and commitment that all they have, and have earned, belongs to God.
For a farmer, giving all of your produce to God might be an act of worship, but it won’t feed your family. However, giving God the first part of your harvest (the “first fruits”) places him in the number one position in your life. It also demonstrates your faith that God will provide for you beyond the first fruits.
For a teen with a part-time job, taking 10% out of one’s paycheck and giving it as tithe is an act of worship that also acknowledges that their ability to earn that paycheck in the first place depends on God. If you’re a teen, you’re old enough to start practicing this spiritual discipline of worship and placing God first in your life. It requires faith in him and that he will provide for you. God invites us to test him on this (see Malachi 3:10).
But what happened during the Jericho wasn’t about tithe. The Hebrew word used in Joshua 6:17 is herem. We don’t have an exact equivalent for it in English, but a good illustration might be the idea of fireworks—things many of us buy just to set off and destroy on holidays like the Fourth of July. A herem is a gift we devote to God out of worship.
At the time the Israelites were living in Canaan, it wasn’t unusual to consecrate something to God. (Later this year, on October 12, we’ll study the story of Samuel, who was consecrated to God early in life.) In the same way, the herem God asked of the Israelites with the destruction of Jericho was to be an act of worship on their part and an acknowledgement that Canaan was God’s gift to them. Because the various metals wouldn’t burn in the fire, they were taken to the sanctuary.
This experiment can be found online at https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/color-change-chemistry/ and you can watch a video of it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=kDY9Mk5r3is |
Here’s what you need for each set of 5 people:
Here’s what you do:
Now you’re ready for the fun to begin.
Now let’s see how the Bible story we’re reading ends. Although the instructions God gave them were to give all of the city’s plunder to him, one of the Israelites took what was supposed to be consecrated completely to him for themselves.
Give the participants time to read the passage and then invite someone to tell their version of the story without simply reading it aloud. Stop them after a few sentences and invite another person to continue the story. Stop them after a few more sentences, pick someone else to speak next, and repeat the process until the story is finished. If you only have two participants in your class, switch back and forth between them. If you have a large group (10+ people), invite five volunteers to come to the front of the room and have them tell the story in spurts to the rest of the group. When the story is finished, open things up to everyone so they can add any details those retelling the story may have missed or gotten wrong while speaking from memory. Feel free to refer back to Joshua 7 as needed.
God told his people to dedicate through sacrifice all the plunder from the defeat of Jericho, the first city to fall when God’s people entered Canaan. But one person, Achan, disobeyed. And all Israel suffered and a number of people died because of his disobedience. It may have seemed like no big deal to Achan at the time. After all, it was just a few things among so many. And he was the only one who disobeyed in all of Israel. Yet all Israel suffered because of this one small thing he’d done. Obedience is a big thing to God, and therefore to us as well.
This week, take God at his word, and obey! Identify two examples of things from his word that might be difficult for you to do this with, and pray for him to live through you.
This is a bonus just for the youth leader—a quick tip and an illustration to enhance your youth leadership. You may already know this idea, have learned it through trial and error, or just need a quick reminder.
Because adults have influence in the church, they sometimes try to exert that influence on the youth or youth leaders based on what they think young people should (or shouldn’t) be doing. If you shape the youth ministry to please those influencers, it could easily fracture your focus on the target group—the young people themselves. When people, even well-meaning people, take your focus off the target, they become hindrances rather than helpers. As the youth leader, you should listen to input from others, but make sure never to shift your focus from your target group—the youth—to those with strong opinions about them.
Here’s a collection of trends related to the world of young people as well as the sources of that information. This is meant to help the youth leader understand the general world of young people today. Although this is the general trend, keep in mind that your specific youth may differ.
This month’s “Trending for Teens” focuses on Gen Z’s positions on social issues.
Generational Shifts
According to multiple research studies, Generation Z is on track to be the most well-educated generation in American history, as well as the most ethnically diverse and socially progressive. Given this record, these young people present views that are often in dramatic contrast with those of older generations. Let’s see how and why this matters for their churches.
Racial Relationships
Young people who are part of Gen Z have a different perspective than older generations on the treatment of black people in the United States. Two thirds (66%) say that blacks are treated less fairly than whites in the USA. This marks a significant difference from previous generations such as the Boomers (49%) and the Silents before them (44%). About half of their Boomer and Silent grandparents believed that both races were treated equally. Today, only 28% of those in Gen Z believe the same. Consequently, a majority of them supports public expressions of protest in support of civil rights, such as the NFL players kneeling during the national anthem (62%). By comparison, only 37% of the Boomers and 29% of the Silents approve these protests.
When it comes to racial and ethnic change in the country, roughly six in ten Gen Zers believe that moving toward greater racial and ethnic diversity is good for society. This position again represents an almost reversal of their grandparents’ position (Boomers and Silents).
Gender and Family
Just like their Millennial predecessors, Gen Zers generally favor the idea that LGBTQ+ people should be allowed to marry legally (67%); 48% also believe that allowing same-sex marriage has been a good thing for society. This last percentage drops dramatically in comparison to Boomers and Silents (27% and 18% respectively).
Gen Zers’ openness to change emerges also in their views of marriage in general. About 53% believe that inter-racial marriages are good for society, while only 30% of the Boomers and 20% of the Silents believe the same.
Furthermore, about two thirds of Gen Zers (67%) believe that couples living together unmarried “do not make much of a difference for society.” On the contrary, fully 41% of Silents believe that cohabitation is bad for society.
Gen Zers have a more adverse view of the impact of single women raising children compared to previous generations, with more than one in three saying this is negative for society. This may be related to the fact that Gen Zers strongly believe that fathers and mothers should be equally responsible for the financial support of their children (79%). This egalitarian emphasis becomes even stronger when it comes to parenting duties, as 84% say that responsibility for childcare should be shared equally by both parents. In this sense, Gen Zers may be considered as the most egalitarian generation in USA history.
Finally, when it comes to the treatment of people who do not identify as a man or a woman, Gen Zers’ views are very different from those of older generations. About half of them believe that society is not accepting enough (against roughly one third of Boomers and Silents, who generally emphasize that society is too accepting of people who do not identify in binary terms).
Climate Change
For Gen Z young people, climate change has become a very personal issue. The overwhelming majority (81%) believe that global warming is happening, and six in ten view this phenomenon as linked to human activity. These percentages represent a substantial increase compared to their grandparents’ positions. While 63% of Silents and 69% of Boomers believe global warming is happening, only 40% of Silents and 47% of Boomers connect this issue to human activity. Furthermore, roughly one third of both older generations think that there is no solid evidence of climate change, while this percentage drops to only one in five among Gen Zers.
At a time marked by strident polarization and the virtual absence of intergenerational dialogue on important social and ethical issues, can our churches model a more constructive approach? Should issues such as racial justice, gender and family changes, and global warming even be part of Christians’ faith life and church conversations?
For many Gen Zers, the answer to this question is “definitely yes.” For them, the essence of true religion is the Golden Rule of caring for others. And this view is very much associated with a broad spectrum of social issues. However, different generational groups hold very different views on these issues, and that also applies to our churches. How can we create opportunities for generations to entertain a respectful dialogue, challenge, and understand each other on these important matters? Here a few guiding principles:
“Generation Z Looks a Lot Like Millennials on Key Social and Political Issues | Pew Research Center.” 2019. January 17, 2019. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/.
“The Generation Gap in American Politics | Pew Research Center,” March 1, 2018. https://www.people-press.org/2018/03/01/the-generation-gap-in-american-politics/.
“Gen Z and Morality: What Teens Believe (So Far).” Barna Group. Accessed August 5, 2019. https://www.barna.com/research/gen-z-morality/.
“Generation Change | RELEVANT Magazine.” Accessed August 5, 2019. https://relevantmagazine.com/issues/issue-97/generation/.
“10 Traits of Generation Z | Facts & Trends.” Accessed August 5, 2019. https://factsandtrends.net/2017/09/29/10-traits-of-generation-z/.