Week 651 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 137
Psalms 137 · Memory verse Psalms 137:3
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 137), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 137 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Psalms 137 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 137:3: “For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 137?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 137 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” 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, “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.” Psalms 137 opens with these words: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” The line to keep is Psalms 137:3: “For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”” Carry the word “captive” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 137:3: “For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 137? Then try this: Read “For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing…” 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 137. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 137:3. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 137 and write Psalms 137:3 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 137:3
“For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 137. Help us remember Psalms 137:3 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.