Week 460 · about 45 minutes
Nehemiah 11
Nehemiah 11 · Memory verse Nehemiah 11:16
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Nehemiah 11), the matching word search and answer key (Nehemiah 11 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a ribbon
Hold a ribbon. Read Nehemiah 11 in about four minutes, stopping at Nehemiah 11:16: “and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of God’s house;” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Nehemiah 11?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Nehemiah 11 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The princes of the people lived in Jerusalem. The rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities.” 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, “Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred seventy-two.” Nehemiah 11 opens with these words: “The princes of the people lived in Jerusalem. The rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy…” The line to keep is Nehemiah 11:16: “and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of God’s house;” Carry the word “shabbethai” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Nehemiah 11:16: “and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of God’s house;” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Nehemiah 11? Then try this: Read “and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of…” 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 Nehemiah 11. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Nehemiah 11:16. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Nehemiah 11 and write Nehemiah 11:16 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Nehemiah 11:16
“and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of God’s house;”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Nehemiah 11. Help us remember Nehemiah 11:16 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.