Week 953 · about 45 minutes
Zechariah 8
Zechariah 8 · Memory verse Zechariah 8:17
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Zechariah 8), the matching word search and answer key (Zechariah 8 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Zechariah 8 in about four minutes, stopping at Zechariah 8:17: “and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Zechariah 8?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Zechariah 8 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “The word of Yahweh of Armies came to me.” 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 the seed of peace and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.” Zechariah 8 opens with these words: “The word of Yahweh of Armies came to me.” The line to keep is Zechariah 8:17: “and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.” Carry the word “none” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Zechariah 8:17: “and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Zechariah 8? Then try this: Read “and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these…” 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 Zechariah 8. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Zechariah 8:17. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Zechariah 8 and write Zechariah 8:17 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Zechariah 8:17
“and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Zechariah 8. Help us remember Zechariah 8:17 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.