Week 697 · about 45 minutes
Ecclesiastes 2
Ecclesiastes 2 · Memory verse Ecclesiastes 2:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Ecclesiastes 2), the matching word search and answer key (Ecclesiastes 2 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Ecclesiastes 2 in about four minutes, stopping at Ecclesiastes 2:1: “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Ecclesiastes 2?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Ecclesiastes 2 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.” 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 wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness—and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all.” Ecclesiastes 2 opens with these words: “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.” The line to keep is Ecclesiastes 2:1: “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.” Carry the word “heart” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Ecclesiastes 2:1: “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Ecclesiastes 2? Then try this: Read “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also…” 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 Ecclesiastes 2. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Ecclesiastes 2:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Ecclesiastes 2 and write Ecclesiastes 2:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Ecclesiastes 2:1
“I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure”; and behold, this also was vanity.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Ecclesiastes 2. Help us remember Ecclesiastes 2:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.