Crossing the Jordan – Bible lessons for kids

In this lesson, we will explore Joshua 3:1⁠–⁠ 4:24 and see God’s power and faithfulness as shown in the crossing of the Jordan River.

Lesson Guide – Crossing the Jordan

Begin by asking your child, “Have you ever waited a long time for something really important?” Let them share their experiences. Explain that in today’s story, the Israelites had waited 40 years to enter the Promised Land. They faced many challenges, but God was with them and helped them in miraculous ways.

Spend some time reflecting on the Israelites journey from slavery in Egypt to this point. Reflect and reinforce key events.

Read Joshua 3:1-17 together. Summarise that after 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. Now, they faced another barrier: the Jordan River at flood stage.

Explain that the Jordan River was at flood stage, meaning it was much wider and more dangerous to cross than usual. Show images of floods and fast flowing rivers. This made the situation seem impossible to the Israelites.

Talk about how sometimes, we encounter big challenges that seem impossible to overcome. Just like the Israelites, we might feel scared or unsure about what to do.

Here are three important teaching points to help them navigate these challenges:

Remember God’s Past Faithfulness: Encourage your child to recall how God parted the Red Sea and guided the Israelites faithfully through the wilderness. Share stories from your own life or from the Bible where God has shown His faithfulness. Remind them that remembering how God has helped us and others in the past can give us confidence that He will help us again.

Trusting God and His Perfect Timing: Teach your child to trust that God knows the right time to help us. Explain that even though the Jordan River was at its most dangerous, God chose that moment to show His power. Help them understand that God’s help comes at the right time and in the best way.

Obey God’s Instructions: Highlight the importance of obedience by explaining how the Israelites had to step into the river in faith. Teach your child the importance following God’s guidance, over circumstances.

Talk about how the waters did not part until the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant touched the water. This teaches us that sometimes we need to take the first step in faith, even when we cannot see how things will work out.

Play a game of Follow the Leader. Everyone else must follow the leader exactly, just like the Israelites followed the priests carrying the Ark. After the game, explain that just like they followed the leader in the game, the Israelites had to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant. They had to trust and follow even when they didn’t know what would happen next.

Talk about how The Ark symbolised the presence of the Lord. Having the priests carry the Ark in front of the people showed that God was leading them into the new land. Teach your child that just as the Israelites followed the Ark, we should follow God’s presence in our lives. It’s a reminder that God goes before us, leading us and preparing the way, even in challenging times.

Remembering God’s Works: Talk about how after the crossing, Joshua continued to obey God’s commands. He used twelve stones—gathered by one man from each tribe—from the dry riverbed to build a memorial. The memorial was to remind Israel of what God had done for them.

Gather twelve small stones or use paper cutouts. On each stone write something God has done that we should remember. Explain that just as Joshua built a memorial with twelve stones to remember what God had done for the Israelites, we are creating our own memorial to remember God’s blessings.

Talk about ways we can remember God’s faithfulness such as starting a prayer journal. You can also mention how they celebrated the Passover together (Joshua 5:10), connect to how we celebrate the Lord’s supper together obeying Jesus’ command to ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ (Luke 22:19).

Crossing the Jordan – Bible story for kids

Games and Activities

Stone Stacking/Balancing

Gather a variety of small to medium-sized stones. Ensure they are different shapes and sizes.

Have the children take turns stacking the stones to create a tall tower without it falling over. Challenge them to see how high they can stack the stones.

Explain that just as the Israelites stacked stones to create a memorial, we can remember important things that God has done for us.

Crossing the River Relay

Create two lines on the ground (using tape or chalk) to represent the banks of the Jordan River. Place a series of paper “stepping stones” between the lines.

Divide the children into two teams. Each team member must step only on the paper stones to cross the river and come back. If they step off the stones, they must start over. The first team to have all members cross and return wins.

Talk about how the Israelites had to carefully follow God’s instructions to cross the river. Relate this to how we should follow God’s guidance in our lives.

Stone Memory Game

Create a set of paper stones. On each stone, draw or paste an image of a different Bible stories. Make pairs for each story.

Lay the paper stones face down in a grid. Each child takes turns flipping over two stones, trying to find matching Bible story pairs. If a match is found, they keep the pair and take another turn. If not, they flip the stones back over. Continue until all pairs are matched.

Explain how the Israelites used stones to remember God’s faithfulness.g to guidance helps us navigate challenges, just like the apostles listened to each other and to God.

Example pages

Sliding Crossing the Jordan

What you need:

• Template pages
• Colouring equipment
• Scissors

What to do:

• Colour the template pages.
• Cut out the pieces.
• Create a slit along the marked lines and insert sliding strip.

Stone Memorial Craft

What you need:

• Template page with stone shapes and Bible verse
• Colouring equipment
• Scissors
• Glue
• Sheet of paper
• Pen or pencil

What to do:

1. Colour and cut the stones and Bible verse.
2. Write something that you are thankful for or a blessing from God on each stone.
3. Glue the Bible verse and stones onto paper to create a memorial.

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