Week 654 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 140
Psalms 140 · Memory verse Psalms 140:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 140), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 140 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Psalms 140 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 140:2: “those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 140?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 140 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Deliver me, Yahweh, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man;” 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, “Yahweh, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.” Psalms 140 opens with these words: “Deliver me, Yahweh, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man;” The line to keep is Psalms 140:2: “those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.” Carry the word “devise” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 140:2: “those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 140? Then try this: Read “those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.” 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 140. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 140:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 140 and write Psalms 140:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 140:2
“those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 140. Help us remember Psalms 140:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.