Week 978 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 17
Matthew 17 · Memory verse Matthew 17:4
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 17), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 17 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a seed
Hold a seed. Read Matthew 17 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 17:4: “Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 17?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 17 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.” 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, “When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him, and saying,” Matthew 17 opens with these words: “After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.” The line to keep is Matthew 17:4: “Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for…” Carry the word “peter” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 17:4: “Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 17? Then try this: Read “Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents…” 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 17. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 17:4. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 17 and write Matthew 17:4 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 17:4
“Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 17. Help us remember Matthew 17:4 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.