Week 673 · about 45 minutes
Proverbs 9
Proverbs 9 · Memory verse Proverbs 9:8
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Proverbs 9), the matching word search and answer key (Proverbs 9 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Proverbs 9 in about four minutes, stopping at Proverbs 9:8: “Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Proverbs 9?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Proverbs 9 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.” 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, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9 opens with these words: “Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.” The line to keep is Proverbs 9:8: “Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” Carry the word “reprove” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Proverbs 9:8: “Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Proverbs 9? Then try this: Read “Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” 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 Proverbs 9. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Proverbs 9:8. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Proverbs 9 and write Proverbs 9:8 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Proverbs 9:8
“Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Proverbs 9. Help us remember Proverbs 9:8 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.