Week 97 · about 45 minutes
Genesis 49
Genesis 49 · Memory verse Genesis 49:24
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 (Genesis 49), the matching word search and answer key (Genesis 49 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Genesis 49 in about four minutes, stopping at Genesis 49:24: “But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Genesis 49?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Genesis 49 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.” 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, “Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.” Genesis 49 opens with these words: “Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.” The line to keep is Genesis 49:24: “But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),” Carry the word “remained” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Genesis 49:24: “But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Genesis 49? Then try this: Read “But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of…” 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 Genesis 49. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Genesis 49:24. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Genesis 49 and write Genesis 49:24 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Genesis 49:24
“But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Genesis 49. Help us remember Genesis 49:24 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.