You Can’t Take the City until God Takes the Center

THE TEXT: Joshua 6:1-27.(MULTILINE)

1. Put God in the center of your , and you’ll from His .

| Joshua 6:1–2 | Hebrews 11:1 | 2 Kings 6:17 | Numbers 13:30–33 | (MULTILINE)

2. Put God in the center of your , and you can when you don’t .

| Joshua 6:3–5 | Isaiah 55:8–9 | Proverbs 3:5–6 | (MULTILINE)

3. Put God in the center of your , and you’ll keep while God .

| Joshua 6:6–14 | Galatians 6:9 | Psalm 1:2–3 | Deuteronomy 6:6–9 | Hebrews 10:24–25 | (MULTILINE)

4. Put God in the center of your , and let the .

| Joshua 6:15–20 | Exodus 20:3 | Habakkuk 3:17-18 | Proverbs 3:9–10 | (MULTILINE)

5. Put God in the center of your , and the will become your .

| Joshua 6:20–27 | Genesis 50:20 | Romans 8:28 | (MULTILINE)

Small Group Questions

What do you think?

Have a member of the group quickly recap Sunday’s message and read through the fill-ins. What particular point stood out to you, challenged you, or raised a question for you?(MULTILINE)

The story of your life.

1. For six days, the Israelites circled Jericho without seeing even one brick budge. Sometimes our “Jericho walk” looks like showing up to the same job, praying for the same person, or trusting God through a slow process. But staying faithful to the routine led them to victory. What “routines” in your life have personally benefited you?(MULTILINE)
2. The plan to march around the city and stay silent made zero sense, but Joshua trusted and obeyed anyway. Can you think of a time when God asked you to take a step that didn’t make sense, maybe forgiving someone who hurt you, giving generously when money was tight, or waiting when you wanted to act.(MULTILINE)

Digging Deeper in God’s Word.

1. One of the main themes from Joshua 6 was trusting when you don’t understand. The Israelites were told to march, stay silent, and shout, none of it made sense militarily. In the New Testament, Peter experienced a similar moment. He had been fishing all night and caught nothing, yet Jesus told him to try again. Read Luke 5:1-11 together and respond to the following prompts/questions.
   1. Have a few members of the group recap the story using their own words.(MULTILINE)
   2. What does this story tell us about God? Bold faith? People and ourselves?(MULTILINE)
2. At Jericho, the people shouted before the walls fell. Their worship came before the victory; it was an act of faith, not celebration. We see this same principle in the New Testament when Paul and Silas are imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Instead of complaining or giving up, they worshiped, and their worship literally shook the walls around them. Read Acts 16:16-34 together and respond to the following prompts/questions.
   1. Have a few members of the group recap the story using their own words.(MULTILINE)
   2. What does this story tell us about God? People and ourselves?(MULTILINE)
3. When we look at Joshua 6, the story isn’t just about walls falling, but what it took to get them there. It required them to place God in the center of different aspects of their lives. 
   1. Hebrews 11:1.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   2. Proverbs 3:5–6.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   3. Isaiah 55:8–9.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   4. Galatians 6:9.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   5. John 4:23–24.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   6. 2 Corinthians 12:9–10.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   7. Romans 8:28.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)

Personal reflection and application.

1. Have everyone share one thing that someone else mentioned in this discussion that struck a chord with you.(MULTILINE)
2. Break up into smaller groups and pray for one another ( preferably men with men and women with women).(MULTILINE)