Week 771 · about 45 minutes
Isaiah 56
Isaiah 56 · Memory verse Isaiah 56:8
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Isaiah 56), the matching word search and answer key (Isaiah 56 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Isaiah 56 in about four minutes, stopping at Isaiah 56:8: “The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Isaiah 56?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Isaiah 56 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh says, “Maintain justice, and do what is right; for my salvation is near, and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” 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, “I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”” Isaiah 56 opens with these words: “Yahweh says, “Maintain justice, and do what is right; for my salvation is near, and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” The line to keep is Isaiah 56:8: “The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.”” Carry the word “gathers” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Isaiah 56:8: “The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Isaiah 56? Then try this: Read “The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own…” 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 Isaiah 56. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Isaiah 56:8. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Isaiah 56 and write Isaiah 56:8 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Isaiah 56:8
“The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Isaiah 56. Help us remember Isaiah 56:8 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.