Week 785 · about 45 minutes
Jeremiah 4
Jeremiah 4 · Memory verse Jeremiah 4:10
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Jeremiah 4), the matching word search and answer key (Jeremiah 4 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a piece of bread
Hold a piece of bread. Read Jeremiah 4 in about four minutes, stopping at Jeremiah 4:10: “Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Jeremiah 4?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Jeremiah 4 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, ““If you will return, Israel,” says Yahweh, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you will not be removed;” 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, ““Tell the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, ‘Watchers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah.” Jeremiah 4 opens with these words: ““If you will return, Israel,” says Yahweh, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you…” The line to keep is Jeremiah 4:10: “Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the…” Carry the word “surely” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Jeremiah 4:10: “Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Jeremiah 4? Then try this: Read “Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will…” 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 Jeremiah 4. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Jeremiah 4:10. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Jeremiah 4 and write Jeremiah 4:10 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Jeremiah 4:10
“Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Jeremiah 4. Help us remember Jeremiah 4:10 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.