Week 941 · about 45 minutes
Zephaniah 1
Zephaniah 1 · Memory verse Zephaniah 1:7
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Zephaniah 1), the matching word search and answer key (Zephaniah 1 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a wooden spoon
Hold a wooden spoon. Read Zephaniah 1 in about four minutes, stopping at Zephaniah 1:7: “Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Zephaniah 1?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Zephaniah 1 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Yahweh’s word which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.” 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, “In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.” Zephaniah 1 opens with these words: “Yahweh’s word which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of…” The line to keep is Zephaniah 1:7: “Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.” Carry the word “silent” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Zephaniah 1:7: “Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Zephaniah 1? Then try this: Read “Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a…” 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 Zephaniah 1. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Zephaniah 1:7. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Zephaniah 1 and write Zephaniah 1:7 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Zephaniah 1:7
“Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Zephaniah 1. Help us remember Zephaniah 1:7 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.