Men are called to be prophets, priests, providers, servant-kings, and protectors.
That’s not small. That’s a calling.
This isn’t a spectator sport. It’s a battle—and we don’t fight alone.
Real Men: Joshua
5 weeks. Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. Starting October 7.
Everybody knows Moses. Fewer men know the guy who finished what Moses started.
Joshua spent decades as the number two: a faithful servant, a spy who told the truth when the crowd wanted fear, a soldier who stayed in the tent when others wandered off. When his moment came, he led a nation across the Jordan and into the promise.
Over five weeks we'll walk through his life together. Each session opens with a short video from Rick Burgess, followed by honest discussion and Bible study around the table.
THE FIVE WEEKS
Oct 7 – Every Man Needs a Mentor (Exodus 17, 24, 33)
Oct 14 – Trusting God's Promises When Others Won't (Numbers 13–14)
Oct 21 – Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:1–9)
Oct 28 – Stones of Remembrance (Joshua 4)
Nov 4 – As for Me and My House (Joshua 24:14–15)
Bring a friend. Bring your Bible.
Missed a Week? Catch Up Here
Each recap covers the big idea, the passages, and the challenge from that night. Grab your workbook, read through, and you'll be ready for Wednesday.
Tap a session below to open it.
Exodus 17:8–16 · 24:12–14 · 33:7–11
THE BIG IDEA
Mentoring has become rare in a busy, self-focused culture, but Scripture still calls us to it. Before Joshua ever led Israel into the Promised Land, he spent years being shaped by the man who went before him.
TRUSTED WITH THE BATTLE (Exodus 17)
Moses put young Joshua in charge of Israel's first battle, then made sure he heard the record of God's victory. A mentor gives a younger man real responsibility and helps him remember God's faithfulness.
BROUGHT UP THE MOUNTAIN (Exodus 24)
God called Moses up Sinai, and Moses brought Joshua with him. A mentor brings a man close enough to see a life fully surrendered to God.
HE DID NOT LEAVE THE TENT (Exodus 33)
When Moses went back to camp, Joshua stayed in the tent of meeting. A mentor helps a man draw near to God for himself.
GOD USES MEN TO SHAPE MEN
Jethro and Moses. Elijah and Elisha. Paul and Timothy. Jesus and the Twelve. A real friend loves you enough to name what needs correcting, to restore you, not to judge you (Proverbs 27).
THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
Who could I ask to mentor me? Who should I be pouring into? Do I have a friend who knows me well enough to call me out when I need it?
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
Numbers 13:17–31 · 14:1–9 · 14:28–35 · 2 Timothy 3:12
THE BIG IDEA: TEN SAW GIANTS. TWO SAW GOD'S PROMISE.
If God says He is with you, you can trust that He is with you. We can stand with Him like Joshua and Caleb, or fall short like the other ten spies. Either way, God will accomplish His purposes.
TWO REPORTS (Numbers 13)
The spies covered more than 220 miles and brought back fruit from a land that truly flowed with milk and honey. Every fact was true. Then fear took over, and ten of them exaggerated the danger. When fear drives our decisions, our focus moves off God and onto ourselves (2 Timothy 1:7).
TWO RESPONSES TO FEAR (Numbers 14:1–9)
The people wanted to go back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and pleaded: “The LORD is with us; do not fear them.” Both groups wanted to live. The faithful men only wanted to live under God's authority.
THE REST OF THE STORY (Numbers 14:28–35)
The people listened to the ten. Joshua and Caleb did everything right and still waited 40 years in the wilderness. Standing with God doesn't always spare you hardship, but God never forgets the faithful.
PERSECUTION AND THE PRIZE (2 Timothy 3:12; 4:7–8)
Paul promised that a godly life will meet persecution. He knew both sides, and his verdict was that it's worth it: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
Have I ever trusted God's grandest promise, salvation through Jesus? Do I respond to my circumstances with fear, like the ten, or with power, because I believe God's promises? Am I someone's Caleb? Find your Caleb. Be someone's Caleb.
“...the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” — Numbers 14:9
Joshua 1:1–9
THE BIG IDEA
When God is with you, you can lead with strength and courage. People naturally follow strength. For the men and families under your leadership, at home or at work, to see you as strong and courageous in the ways that truly matter, God must be with you.
FROM ASSISTANT TO LEADER (Joshua 1:1–2)
Moses was dead, and Joshua had to follow a legend. God's answer to that pressure wasn't “try harder.” It was “I am with you.”
THE PROMISE AND THE PRESENCE (Joshua 1:3–6)
“Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). Joshua had seen what God's presence did for Moses, and now that same presence was promised to him. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). When we embrace God's presence, fear starts to lose its grip.
ANCHORED IN THE WORD (Joshua 1:7–9)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). God's promises came with a condition: obedience to His Word, without turning “to the right hand or to the left.” Real courage is anchored in what God has said. Practical ways to get there: a set time and place each day, an accountability partner, memorizing Scripture, praying with your family, taking notes on Sunday's sermon.
THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
What kind of leader am I, and what kind do I want to be? How could deeper trust in God move me closer? Where am I living outside of God's commands, and what would change at home and at work if I didn't turn to the right or the left? Make Mark 9:24 your prayer this week: “I believe; help my unbelief!”
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
Joshua 4 · Philippians 2:4–11
THE BIG IDEA
Remember what God has done in you as you move into what He has for you. Joshua set up literal stones. We're called to see the stones of God's faithfulness in our own lives.
TWELVE STONES (Joshua 4:1–13)
After Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground, twelve men, one from each tribe, carried stones from the riverbed and stacked them as a memorial. Forty years earlier, twelve spies had come back afraid (Numbers 13). This time, twelve men carried proof of God's faithfulness. God builds reminders into our lives so we don't repeat the past.
“When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.” (Joshua 4:6–7)
GOD EXALTS JOSHUA (Joshua 4:14–18)
“On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel.” Joshua didn't earn that place; God lifted him because God was with him. We lead well only when God's presence is with us and our leadership lines up with His will.
THE GREATER JOSHUA (Philippians 2:4–11)
Joshua was exalted for his obedience. Jesus was exalted for His greater obedience, humbling Himself to the point of death on a cross. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).
WHAT GOD STARTS, HE FINISHES (Joshua 4:19)
Israel came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, the same day, forty years earlier, that they set apart the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:3). God started their deliverance then, and He finished it here. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
How is Jesus clearer to you from Joshua 4? Who in your life needs to hear how faithful God has been to you, and if you're not in the habit of sharing it, why not? What stones of remembrance are you setting up right now, in a way others can see? If your kids asked, “Dad, tell me what I need to know about God,” what stones would you point to?
“...so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” — Joshua 4:24
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
— Joshua 1:9
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15
You’re Not Meant to Do This Alone
What if you had a band of brothers you could count on?
Men who actually know you—beyond the handshake and the nametag.
Men you can call when life hits hard.
Men who will challenge you, sharpen you, and have your back.
This is about walking shoulder to shoulder in real community
as we learn what it means to live as godly men.