Week 973 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 12
Matthew 12 · Memory verse Matthew 12:1
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 12), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 12 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a small lamp
Hold a small lamp. Read Matthew 12 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 12:1: “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 12?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 12 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” 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, “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” Matthew 12 opens with these words: “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to…” The line to keep is Matthew 12:1: “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” Carry the word “time” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 12:1: “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 12? Then try this: Read “At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to…” 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 12. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 12:1. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 12 and write Matthew 12:1 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 12:1
“At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 12. Help us remember Matthew 12:1 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.