#381: Brave in New Places- Back to school part 1

📖 Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:1–8 & Joshua 1:1–11

School is starting! And whether your child is excited, nervous, or somewhere in between — this episode offers encouragement straight from the Bible.

Join us as we step into the sandals of Joshua — a man about to take on a big new job in a brand-new place. Moses, his wise and aged mentor, passes on the baton, and God reminds Joshua (and us!) of one powerful truth: You don’t have to be brave by yourself — God goes with you.

We’ll explore what it means to trust God when facing something new, whether that’s a classroom, a new friend group, or the start of a school year.

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Thanks to today's voice guest, Clayton Greene. Clayton is one of the co-founders of GoodKind, the maker of Advent Blocks. You can learn more about GoodKind and the ways they are helping families practice their faith at home at www.GoodKind.shop.

 

🛠 Bonus Tools for Families:
Check out our downloadable activity sheet and coloring page that goes along with this episode — a simple way for kids to track acts of bravery and how God helped them in their week! Get it when you join the community supporting this podcast at kbspodcast.com click bonus support. 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello again and welcome back to Kid's Bible Stories. Today's
story is called Brave in New Places. This is part
of our back to School special and comes from Deuteronomy
chapter thirty one, verses one through eight and Joshua chapter one,
verses one through eleven. All right, listeners. For many of you,

(00:25):
school or preschool is just about to start, and for
some of us we might be super excited. Others might
feel a little nervous, or maybe you feel a mixture
of both. Raise your hand if you are starting to school. Okay,

(00:47):
put them back down. Maybe you're about to meet a
new teacher, walk into a new classroom, or try making
new friends. Sometimes new things they feel big, even too big.

(01:08):
But today we're going to hear about someone in the
Bible who had a lot of new things happening and
what God told him that made him strong and brave.
Are you ready, Let's get started with today's story. A

(01:34):
long long time ago, God's chosen people, the Israelites, had
been on a really big adventure. They had once been
stuck in Egypt as slaves under Pharaoh, but God rescued them.
Some of you will remember this from earlier episodes. Remember

(01:57):
the baby in the basket who grew up to lead
God's people out of Egypt to the promised land. Shout
out his name if you remember him, Moses. Yes. With

(02:18):
God's help, Moses led the people through the Red Sea
and into the wilderness, a huge desert where they traveled
for many, many years. They were going somewhere special, a
land God had promised to give them, a land with

(02:39):
good food and rivers, a place they could call home. Finally,
the day came when it was time to go in.
But something big had happened. Moses, their brave leader, was

(03:02):
very old. Guess out loud, how old do you think
he is?

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Three hundred sixty three.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Three hundred Thanks for guessing, well, drum roll please, he
was one hundred and twenty years old. That's older than
your grandparents. At one hundred twenty years old, Moses's wrinkles

(03:37):
creased on his forehead lines like stories written by time.
His white beard flowed down like a waterfall as he
stepped out before the people to share what God had
told him. The crowd watched him, waiting to hear his news.

(03:58):
I no one hundred and twenty years old. I cannot
lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not
cross the Jordan River. The Lord, your God, will lead
you across himself. He will destroy the nations for you.
You will take over their land. Joshua will also lead

(04:21):
you across. This is what the Lord has said. The
Lord will do to the nations what he did to
Sihon and Og. They were the kings of the Emirites,
and he destroyed them in their land. The Lord will
give you those nations to you. Do to them everything
I told you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be

(04:46):
afraid or terrified because of them. For the Lord you
are God, He goes with you. He will never leave
you nor forsake you. Then Moses called Joshua. Joshua, come

(05:07):
come here, and he spoke to him in front of
the people. Be strong and courageous, for you shall go
with these people into the land that the Lord has
sworned their fathers to give them, and you shall put
them in possession of it. He said, his eyes steady

(05:28):
on Joshua's. His hand worn and lined like a map
of many journeys, rested firmly on Joshua's shoulder. It is
the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you.
He will not leave you or forsake. You do not

(05:49):
fear or be dismayed. Joshua stood tall, the weight of
leadership pressing on him, but so did the warmth of
Moses's words and the promise of God's presence. Well, time passes,

(06:11):
and eventually Moses dies. The Lord speaks to Joshua, reminding.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Him, Moses, my servant is dead. Now, then you and
all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River
into the land I am about to give to them,
to the Israelites. I will give you every place where
you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory

(06:41):
will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the
Great River the Euphrates, all the Hittite country to the
Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able
to stand against you all the days of your life.
As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

(07:03):
I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong
and courageous.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Because you will lead these.

Speaker 3 (07:10):
People to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors
to give to them.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
I cannot imagine how Joshua must be feeling right now.
Imagine such a big job. Imagine God speaking these words
to you, the Lord told him.

Speaker 3 (07:38):
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all
the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn
from it to the right or to the left, that
you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this book
of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it

(08:01):
day and night, so that you may be careful to
do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous
and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. So the

(08:23):
Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Listeners, do you think Joshua obeyed? Do you think he
was courageous? Well, let's find out. Joshua ordered the officers of.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
The people go to the count and tell the people
go things ready. In three days, go across the river.
God is giving us this new land.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
The people packed up their tents, rolled up their blankets,
gathered their animals, and got ready. And just like God said,
they stepped into the land he had promised, not alone,
and any fears they had left seemed smaller because they

(09:28):
were brave with God at their side. Well, that is
it for our story today. But before we go, let's
think about what we just heard. Imagine what it was

(09:51):
like to be Joshua, to peer out across that land
and to think that he had to lead all of
those people there. How do you think he might have
felt with a new job and a new place. He
never been.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
A little nervous and like shocked and doesn't know what
to think?

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Thanks for sharing. Does Joshua obey God and lead them
into the Promised Land? Yes? Yes, But I want you
to notice that over and over God reminded him of
something very important. God reminded him to be what.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Not afraid?

Speaker 1 (10:44):
Correct? Very good? But why could Joshua not be afraid?
Why could he be brave and courageous?

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Because God was with him?

Speaker 1 (10:59):
Bingo, you got it. God was the reason Joshua could
be brave, not because Joshua had it all figured out,
but because the strongest helper in the whole universe was
walking right beside him. Maybe you feel a little like Joshua.

(11:20):
Sometimes you might be walking into a new classroom soon.
Maybe you'll sit next to new kids at lunch and
wonder will they like me? Will I do? Okay? What
if I feel scared? Listen? To what God said to Joshua.

Speaker 3 (11:42):
Be strong and courageous, Do not be afraid, do not
be discouraged. For the Lord, your God will be with
you wherever you go.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
Do you hear that God goes with you When you
step into your classroom, He goes with you. When you
sit down at your desk, he sits with you when
you try to make a new friend. He stands right
beside you, giving you courage and strength. Just like Joshua.

(12:22):
You don't have to be brave all by yourself. Believe me,
if it was all up to me and what I
could do, I wouldn't feel very brave. The reason we
can feel courageous and brave is because we have the
strongest helper in the whole universe, just like Joshua did

(12:47):
you you have your heavenly Father. Well, that is it
for today's story. Thank you so much for listening, and
I'd like to say thank you to Clayton Green, who
was today's voice guest. Clayton is one of the co
founders of Goodkind, the maker of Advent blocks. You can

(13:07):
learn more about Goodkind and the ways that they're helping
families practice their faith right at home. You can go
to www. Dot Goodkind dot shop. I'll put that link
in a day's show notes for you. And remember you
also have Kids Bible Stories Espanol, which you can listen
to completely free wherever you get your podcasts, as well
as Kids Bible Stories Bedtime. There are free ones available

(13:31):
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of the Bedtime episodes, simply join our community on our
Patroon page as a supporting member and you'll have access
to all of those. Thanks again, everybody, and as always,
BUYE for now.