Week 84 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 35
Genesis 35 · Memory verse Genesis 35:1
Get the free weekly Sunday school and bedtime printable pack
For a parent or teacher. Children do not make accounts here. The pack is a week of printables, not a child profile.
Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Genesis 35), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 35 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Genesis 35 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 35:1: “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 35?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 35 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”” 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, “Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him “Bethel”.” Genesis 35 opens with these words: “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of…” The line to keep is Genesis 35:1: “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”” Carry the word “jacob” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 35:1: “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 35? Then try this: Read “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you…” 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 Genesis 35. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 35:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 35 and write Genesis 35:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 35:1
“God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 35. Help us remember Genesis 35:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.