Week 554 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 40
Psalms 40 · Memory verse Psalms 40:3
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 40), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 40 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Psalms 40 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 40:3: “He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 40?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 40 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.” 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, “I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.” Psalms 40 opens with these words: “I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.” The line to keep is Psalms 40:3: “He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.” Carry the word “song” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 40:3: “He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 40? Then try this: Read “He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in…” 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 Psalms 40. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 40:3. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 40 and write Psalms 40:3 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 40:3
“He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 40. Help us remember Psalms 40:3 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.