Week 902 · about 45 minutes
Hosea 6
Hosea 6 · Memory verse Hosea 6:6
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Hosea 6), the matching word search and answer key (Hosea 6 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold a paper crown. Read Hosea 6 in about four minutes, stopping at Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Hosea 6?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Hosea 6 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, ““Come, and let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.” 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, “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6 opens with these words: ““Come, and let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.” The line to keep is Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Carry the word “desire” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Hosea 6? Then try this: Read “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” 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 Hosea 6. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Hosea 6:6. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Hosea 6 and write Hosea 6:6 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Hosea 6:6
“For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Hosea 6. Help us remember Hosea 6:6 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.