Week 684 · about 45 minutes
Proverbs 20
Proverbs 20 · Memory verse Proverbs 20:5
Get the free weekly Sunday school and bedtime printable pack
For a parent or teacher. Children do not make accounts here. The pack is a week of printables, not a child profile.
Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Proverbs 20), the matching word search and answer key (Proverbs 20 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Proverbs 20 in about four minutes, stopping at Proverbs 20:5: “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Proverbs 20?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Proverbs 20 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” 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, “Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.” Proverbs 20 opens with these words: “Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” The line to keep is Proverbs 20:5: “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.” Carry the word “counsel” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Proverbs 20:5: “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Proverbs 20? Then try this: Read “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.” 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 20. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Proverbs 20:5. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Proverbs 20 and write Proverbs 20:5 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Proverbs 20:5
“Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Proverbs 20. Help us remember Proverbs 20:5 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.