Week 386 · about 45 minutes
1 Chronicles 12
1 Chronicles 12 · Memory verse 1 Chronicles 12:16
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (1 Chronicles 12), the matching word search and answer key (1 Chronicles 12 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read 1 Chronicles 12 in about four minutes, stopping at 1 Chronicles 12:16: “Some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with 1 Chronicles 12?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
1 Chronicles 12 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now these are those who came to David to Ziklag, while he was a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish. They were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.” 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, “They helped David against the band of rovers; for they were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the army.” 1 Chronicles 12 opens with these words: “Now these are those who came to David to Ziklag, while he was a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish. They were among the mighty men, his…” The line to keep is 1 Chronicles 12:16: “Some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.” Carry the word “children” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is 1 Chronicles 12:16: “Some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in 1 Chronicles 12? Then try this: Read “Some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.” 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 Chronicles 12. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from 1 Chronicles 12:16. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from 1 Chronicles 12 and write 1 Chronicles 12:16 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
1 Chronicles 12:16
“Some of the children of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for 1 Chronicles 12. Help us remember 1 Chronicles 12:16 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.