Week 74 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 23
Genesis 23 · Memory verse Genesis 23:6
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Genesis 23), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 23 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Genesis 23 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 23:6: ““Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 23?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 23 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah’s life.” 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, ““No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”” Genesis 23 opens with these words: “Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah’s life.” The line to keep is Genesis 23:6: ““Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”” Carry the word “hear” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 23:6: ““Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 23? Then try this: Read ““Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us…” 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 Genesis 23. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 23:6. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 23 and write Genesis 23:6 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 23:6
““Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 23. Help us remember Genesis 23:6 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.