Week 567 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 53
Psalms 53 · Memory verse Psalms 53:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 53), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 53 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Psalms 53 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 53:1: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 53?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 53 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.” 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, “Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on God?” Psalms 53 opens with these words: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.” The line to keep is Psalms 53:1: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.” Carry the word “fool” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 53:1: “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 53? Then try this: Read “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity.…” 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 53. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 53:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 53 and write Psalms 53:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 53:1
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 53. Help us remember Psalms 53:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.