Week 887 · about 45 minutes
Daniel 1
Daniel 1 · Memory verse Daniel 1:9
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Daniel 1), the matching word search and answer key (Daniel 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Daniel 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Daniel 1:9: “Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Daniel 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Daniel 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.” 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 Daniel said to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:” Daniel 1 opens with these words: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.” The line to keep is Daniel 1:9: “Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.” Carry the word “daniel” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Daniel 1:9: “Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Daniel 1? Then try this: Read “Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.” 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 Daniel 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Daniel 1:9. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Daniel 1 and write Daniel 1:9 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Daniel 1:9
“Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Daniel 1. Help us remember Daniel 1:9 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.