Week 892 · about 45 minutes
Daniel 8
Daniel 8 · Memory verse Daniel 8:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Daniel 8), the matching word search and answer key (Daniel 8 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold a paper crown. Read Daniel 8 in about four minutes, stopping at Daniel 8:1: “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Daniel 8?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Daniel 8 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.” 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, “He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”” Daniel 8 opens with these words: “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.” The line to keep is Daniel 8:1: “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.” Carry the word “third” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Daniel 8:1: “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Daniel 8? Then try this: Read “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that…” 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 8. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Daniel 8:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Daniel 8 and write Daniel 8:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Daniel 8:1
“In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Daniel 8. Help us remember Daniel 8:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.