Week 130 · about 45 minutes
Exodus 38
Exodus 38 · Memory verse Exodus 38:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Exodus 38), the matching word search and answer key (Exodus 38 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a ribbon
Hold a ribbon. Read Exodus 38 in about four minutes, stopping at Exodus 38:1: “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Exodus 38?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Exodus 38 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen.” Exodus 38 opens with these words: “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height…” The line to keep is Exodus 38:1: “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.” Carry the word “altar” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Exodus 38:1: “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Exodus 38? Then try this: Read “He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Exodus 38. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Exodus 38:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Exodus 38 and write Exodus 38:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Exodus 38:1
“He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Exodus 38. Help us remember Exodus 38:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.