Week 914 · about 45 minutes
Amos 1
Amos 1 · Memory verse Amos 1:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Amos 1), the matching word search and answer key (Amos 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Amos 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Amos 1:2: “He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Amos 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Amos 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” 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, “I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.” Amos 1 opens with these words: “The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the…” The line to keep is Amos 1:2: “He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.”” Carry the word “roar” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Amos 1:2: “He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Amos 1? Then try this: Read “He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds…” 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 Amos 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Amos 1:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Amos 1 and write Amos 1:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Amos 1:2
“He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Amos 1. Help us remember Amos 1:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.