Are We There Yet? - Week 5
Can you imagine needing to walk through the desert? You’d be surrounded by cacti, sand, snakes, and more sand. With the heat of the sun, we’d wind up so thirsty and wondering “Are we there yet?” That’s probably how the Israelites felt as they wandered around the desert, waiting to enter the Promised Land. But no matter how tired our feet get, we can focus on what’s happening in our lives right now rather than just on where we’re going. In this five-week series based on stories from Exodus, our families will explore how we can choose to be thankful, love God and others, turn to God when we’re lost, go to God when we need rest, and remember God’s promises.
BIG IDEA: We can remember God’s promises.
BIBLE: Numbers 20:1–13; Deuteronomy 34:1–12; Psalm 90
MEMORY VERSE
Elementary: "I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19B (NIV)
Toddler Twist: "Jesus makes a way for me!" Isaiah 43:19
WATCH:
Preschool- teaching video
Elementary- teaching video
DISCIPLE: Read or summarize Numbers 20:1-13
Show your family an image of the Antarctic desert. Then give a copy of the printable and some drawing supplies to each family member.
When you think of a "desert," what are the things you think of? Right — sand, sun, camels, cacti, tumbleweed, scorpions.
But did you know that this is also a desert? (Show image of Antarctic desert)
Antarctica is also considered a desert because it gets even less rain than the Sahara Desert. Even though it looks nothing like a typical desert, it's still a desert!
God's promises sometimes don't look the way we imagine they would.
I'm sure when they started the journey, the Israelites thought they would get to the Promised Land right away with very little difficulty. But the Israelites traveled a long time in the desert to get to the land God had promised to them . . . forty years, in fact.
And not everyone made it all the way to the Promised Land. As we read in our Bible story today, Moses and Aaron didn't end up in the Promised Land, but God's promise didn't change. Even though mistakes were made along the way, the Israelites eventually still arrived in the Promised Land.
Even when things don't work out exactly the way we had hoped, we can remember God’s promises. In our memory verse for this month, God says in Isaiah 43:19b, "I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
Look at the empty desert drawing in front of you.
How can you turn it into something different and unexpected?
Maybe it's a desert with a playground. Or a freezing one with penguins and whales. Or maybe it's not even a desert . . . it's a beautiful beach!
God can do anything beyond what we think is possible . . . like making an Antarctic Desert!