Week 342 · about 45 minutes
1 Kings 13
1 Kings 13 · Memory verse 1 Kings 13:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (1 Kings 13), the matching word search and answer key (1 Kings 13 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold a paper crown. Read 1 Kings 13 in about four minutes, stopping at 1 Kings 13:1: “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with 1 Kings 13?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
1 Kings 13 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.” 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, “He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.” 1 Kings 13 opens with these words: “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.” The line to keep is 1 Kings 13:1: “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.” Carry the word “behold” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is 1 Kings 13:1: “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in 1 Kings 13? Then try this: Read “Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar…” 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 1 Kings 13. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from 1 Kings 13:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from 1 Kings 13 and write 1 Kings 13:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
1 Kings 13:1
“Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for 1 Kings 13. Help us remember 1 Kings 13:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.