FILM SCHOOL: THE VILLAGE Session 1 START: 0:00 END: 27:35 READING: Numbers 13:1-3, 25-28, 30-33 1 The

Lord now said to Moses, 2 Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes. 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27This was their report to Moses: We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful countrya land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. Lets go at once to take the land, he said. We can certainly conquer it! 31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. We cant go up against them! They are stronger than we are! 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants[b] there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and thats what they thought, too! MIXER: Share with a friend one place from your childhood that you knew you were absolutely not supposed to go. Did you ever go there? CONVERSATION: 1) What kind of boundaries are established in The Village? What purpose do these boundaries serve? Are you in any way grateful for boundaries that you have had growing up? Have you ever rebelled against these boundaries? How did that feel, and what were the consequences? 2) In the passage from Numbers, Moses is sending spies into the land that has been promised to the Israelites. What was their reaction? Think back to Gods call to Abraham. Gen 12:1-3, 6-7 1 The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your native country, your relatives, and your fathers family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your descendants.[a] And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Now think back to the spies that Moses sent into Canaan. The land that was promised to Abraham is the same land that the spies were sent to check out. Do you see a problem with the reaction of the spies?

3) What general emotion seems to be pervading this community? Is the Village a healthy community or an unhealthy community? Why? 4) Lucius is coming before the elders to receive their permission to go on a mission. Of what kind?

Lucius to his mother: I am not the one with secrets...There are secrets in every corner of this village. Do you not feel it? Do you not see it? Did Israel have any dark secrets from their past that contributed to the fear of crossing into Canaan? worshipping the golden calf, rebelling against God constant complaining about manna, doubts of Gods ability to provide opposition to Moses, Gods prophet 5) Have you ever kept any secrets or hidden any darkness that has held you back from going where God has called you to go? Close with a prayer asking God to give us courage to confront our own darkness, our own things we dont speak of, and our own fears, so that we can truly experience the life God wants us to live.