Week 984 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 23
Matthew 23 · Memory verse Matthew 23:6
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 23), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 23 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a smooth stone
Hold a smooth stone. Read Matthew 23 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 23:6: “and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 23?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 23 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples,” 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, “He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it.” Matthew 23 opens with these words: “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples,” The line to keep is Matthew 23:6: “and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,” Carry the word “love” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 23:6: “and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 23? Then try this: Read “and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,” 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 23. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 23:6. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 23 and write Matthew 23:6 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 23:6
“and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 23. Help us remember Matthew 23:6 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.