Week 970 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 9
Matthew 9 · Memory verse Matthew 9:4
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 9), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 9 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a ribbon
Hold a ribbon. Read Matthew 9 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 9:4: “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 9?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 9 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city.” 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, “Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;” Matthew 9 opens with these words: “He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city.” The line to keep is Matthew 9:4: “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” Carry the word “jesus” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 9:4: “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 9? Then try this: Read “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” 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 Matthew 9. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 9:4. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 9 and write Matthew 9:4 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 9:4
“Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 9. Help us remember Matthew 9:4 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.