Week 913 · about 45 minutes
Joel 3
Joel 3 · Memory verse Joel 3:6
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Joel 3), the matching word search and answer key (Joel 3 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Joel 3 in about four minutes, stopping at Joel 3:6: “and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Joel 3?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Joel 3 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, ““For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,” 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, “Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.” Joel 3 opens with these words: ““For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,” The line to keep is Joel 3:6: “and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.” Carry the word “sold” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Joel 3:6: “and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Joel 3? Then try this: Read “and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may…” 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 Joel 3. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Joel 3:6. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Joel 3 and write Joel 3:6 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Joel 3:6
“and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Joel 3. Help us remember Joel 3:6 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.