As for Me and My House Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free As for Me and My House Sunday school lesson teaches kids to choose to serve God. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, reminded them of everything God had done, and said, "choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Pick the one that fits your class. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, a follow-the-leader game, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD") with motions, and a drawing of each child's own house.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Stepping Stones verse game with four cards, and a My House Will Serve the LORD drawing.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (Shechem, what God had done, "in sincerity and in truth," the people as witnesses, the covenant and the great stone), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Joshua 24 out loud themselves, then discuss what competes with God for first place, why Joshua said "this day," and saying versus doing. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Joshua 24:15 and Matthew 6:24).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Joshua 24:14–28
• Main point: Choose to serve God.
• Memory verse: Joshua 24:15 (KJV), with Matthew 6:24 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about following a leader or making choices.
2. Bible story: Joshua gathers the tribes at Shechem, reminds them of what God has done, tells them to choose, and says "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The people promise to serve the LORD and obey His voice, and Joshua sets up a great stone under an oak as a witness. Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motions to help kids learn Joshua 24:15.
5. What this means for us: choosing to serve God, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the As for Me and My House word search, a drawing of each child's house, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching As for Me and My House

• Practice saying Shechem before class: SHEK-em.
• Joshua 24:15 is a long verse. Read all of it from your Bible, then let younger kids learn the familiar end: "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
• Some children's families don't go to church. Joshua said "as for me" first: every child can choose to serve God and pray for their family. Never shame a child's family.
• Joshua's warning in 24:19–20 is left out of the younger stories and explained in a teacher note for older kids.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.