Week 804 · about 45 minutes
Jeremiah 23
Jeremiah 23 · Memory verse Jeremiah 23:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Jeremiah 23), the matching word search and answer key (Jeremiah 23 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Jeremiah 23 in about four minutes, stopping at Jeremiah 23:1: ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Jeremiah 23?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Jeremiah 23 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” 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 didn’t send these prophets, yet they ran. I didn’t speak to them, yet they prophesied.” Jeremiah 23 opens with these words: ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” The line to keep is Jeremiah 23:1: ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” Carry the word “shepherds” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Jeremiah 23:1: ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Jeremiah 23? Then try this: Read ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.” 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 23. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Jeremiah 23:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Jeremiah 23 and write Jeremiah 23:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Jeremiah 23:1
““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Jeremiah 23. Help us remember Jeremiah 23:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.