Week 926 · about 45 minutes
Jonah 3
Jonah 3 · Memory verse Jonah 3:5
Get the free weekly Sunday school and bedtime printable pack
For a parent or teacher. Children do not make accounts here. The pack is a week of printables, not a child profile.
Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Jonah 3), the matching word search and answer key (Jonah 3 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read Jonah 3 in about four minutes, stopping at Jonah 3:5: “The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Jonah 3?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Jonah 3 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the second time, saying,” 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, “The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” Jonah 3 opens with these words: “Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the second time, saying,” The line to keep is Jonah 3:5: “The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.” Carry the word “people” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Jonah 3:5: “The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Jonah 3? Then try this: Read “The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest…” 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 Jonah 3. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Jonah 3:5. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Jonah 3 and write Jonah 3:5 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Jonah 3:5
“The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Jonah 3. Help us remember Jonah 3:5 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.