Week 611 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 97
Psalms 97 · Memory verse Psalms 97:11
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 97), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 97 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Psalms 97 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 97:11: “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 97?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 97 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!” 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, “Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!” Psalms 97 opens with these words: “Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!” The line to keep is Psalms 97:11: “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” Carry the word “light” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 97:11: “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 97? Then try this: Read “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” 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 97. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 97:11. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 97 and write Psalms 97:11 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 97:11
“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 97. Help us remember Psalms 97:11 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.