Week 461 · about 45 minutes
Nehemiah 12
Nehemiah 12 · Memory verse Nehemiah 12:43
Get the free weekly Sunday school and bedtime printable pack
For a parent or teacher. Children do not make accounts here. The pack is a week of printables, not a child profile.
Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Nehemiah 12), the matching word search and answer key (Nehemiah 12 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Nehemiah 12 in about four minutes, stopping at Nehemiah 12:43: “They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Nehemiah 12?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Nehemiah 12 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,” 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, “The chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers close to them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch next to watch.” Nehemiah 12 opens with these words: “Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,” The line to keep is Nehemiah 12:43: “They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced; so that the…” Carry the word “offered” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Nehemiah 12:43: “They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Nehemiah 12? Then try this: Read “They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the…” 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 12. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Nehemiah 12:43. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Nehemiah 12 and write Nehemiah 12:43 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Nehemiah 12:43
“They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Nehemiah 12. Help us remember Nehemiah 12:43 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.