Week 819 · about 45 minutes
Jeremiah 38
Jeremiah 38 · Memory verse Jeremiah 38:3
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Jeremiah 38), the matching word search and answer key (Jeremiah 38 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a key
Hold a key. Read Jeremiah 38 in about four minutes, stopping at Jeremiah 38:3: “Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Jeremiah 38?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Jeremiah 38 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,” 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, “Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”” Jeremiah 38 opens with these words: “Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the…” The line to keep is Jeremiah 38:3: “Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”” Carry the word “city” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Jeremiah 38:3: “Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Jeremiah 38? Then try this: Read “Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he 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 38. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Jeremiah 38:3. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Jeremiah 38 and write Jeremiah 38:3 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Jeremiah 38:3
“Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Jeremiah 38. Help us remember Jeremiah 38:3 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.