Week 839 · about 45 minutes
Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel 1 · Memory verse Ezekiel 1:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Ezekiel 1), the matching word search and answer key (Ezekiel 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a key
Hold a key. Read Ezekiel 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Ezekiel 1:1: “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Ezekiel 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Ezekiel 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” 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, “Now as I saw the living creatures, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it.” Ezekiel 1 opens with these words: “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens…” The line to keep is Ezekiel 1:1: “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw…” Carry the word “thirtieth” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Ezekiel 1:1: “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Ezekiel 1? Then try this: Read “Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by…” 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 Ezekiel 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Ezekiel 1:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Ezekiel 1 and write Ezekiel 1:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Ezekiel 1:1
“Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Ezekiel 1. Help us remember Ezekiel 1:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.