Week 954 · about 45 minutes
Zechariah 9
Zechariah 9 · Memory verse Zechariah 9:14
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Zechariah 9), the matching word search and answer key (Zechariah 9 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Zechariah 9 in about four minutes, stopping at Zechariah 9:14: “Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Zechariah 9?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Zechariah 9 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “A revelation. Yahweh’s word is against the land of Hadrach, and will rest upon Damascus; for the eye of man and of all the tribes of Israel is toward Yahweh;” 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, “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9 opens with these words: “A revelation. Yahweh’s word is against the land of Hadrach, and will rest upon Damascus; for the eye of man and of all the tribes of…” The line to keep is Zechariah 9:14: “Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.” Carry the word “seen” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Zechariah 9:14: “Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Zechariah 9? Then try this: Read “Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the…” 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 9. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Zechariah 9:14. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Zechariah 9 and write Zechariah 9:14 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Zechariah 9:14
“Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Zechariah 9. Help us remember Zechariah 9:14 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.