Week 985 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 24
Matthew 24 · Memory verse Matthew 24:48
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 24), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 24 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a piece of bread
Hold a piece of bread. Read Matthew 24 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 24:48: “But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 24?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 24 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.” 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 therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.” Matthew 24 opens with these words: “Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.” The line to keep is Matthew 24:48: “But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’” Carry the word “evil” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 24:48: “But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 24? Then try this: Read “But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’” 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 24. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 24:48. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 24 and write Matthew 24:48 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 24:48
“But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 24. Help us remember Matthew 24:48 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.