During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
What promise of God do you hold most tightly? What would it be like to live fully in the reality that God is keeping that promise? Paul described Abraham in Romans 4:20–21, “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” The more we know our Father, the more natural it becomes to trust Him with every detail of what He has promised.
Before teaching this week, read the second half of the Noah story in Genesis 8:1—9:17. Pay attention to how Noah responded to God. He did not try to figure out how God would take care of him and his family. He did not try to figure out how God would keep the promise He had sealed with a rainbow. Noah simply walked with God. He listened and obeyed. He gave God thanks. As you teach this week, follow Noah’s example. Seek God. Pray. Give thanks. And keep your focus on the One who answers your prayers—not the answer itself.
God made a promise to Noah and placed a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of the promise. Encourage the families to ask their child what promise God made to Noah. Then ask them to tell their child about a time they saw God keep a promise to them.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your children warmly. Let them know that today they will learn more of Noah’s story. Explain that they will play a quick review game to see how much they remember from last week’s lesson. Tell them that you will ask a question and give 4 possible answers. For each answer you will point to a different part of your meeting space. The children will run to the side that represents what they think the answer is. The correct answer is underlined for you.
Why did God tell Noah to build an ark?
What is an ark?
This question has 2 correct answers. An ark is a boat that is a shelter.
Why might Noah’s neighbors have thought it was silly for him to build an ark?
This question does not have a definite correct answer, as the Bible does not tell us what they thought. So any of these 4 answers could be right.
Why did God want to protect Noah and his family?
After the animals and Noah and his family were in the ark, who shut the door?
How long did it rain?
The Bible says it rained for 40 days and nights (Genesis 7:12, 17), but it says that the waters flooded the earth for 150 days (Genesis 7:24).
Have the children sit down for the last question. Allow 3–4 children to respond.
Optional: If you are using The Action Bible, have the children read the story on pages 35–37.
Now we come to today’s story. Remember, this is a true story because it comes from the Bible. As we heard last time, because everyone was full of sin, God sent a flood to wipe the earth clean. God told Noah and his family to build an ark and take every kind of animal on board. When today’s story starts, Noah’s family had been in the ark for almost a year. For 40 days and nights it had rained, and the waters had flooded the earth for 150 days. The earth was so flooded that there was no dry land for many months. Finally the water began to slowly go down. Let’s read the Bible to see what Noah did to find out if it was safe to leave the ark yet.
If possible, read Genesis 8:8–12 directly from your Bible. Show the Action Bible image of Noah sending out the dove if possible.
Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.
He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
Genesis 8:8–12
When the dove did not return, Noah knew it had found a place to nest. Then God told Noah and his family to come out of the ark. God had saved them. They left the ark 1 year and 10 days after they had boarded. That is a long time to be inside a boat, but they were safe.
The first thing Noah did was to build an altar to thank God. This was a special way to thank God for saving them. This was also a way for Noah and his family to promise to love and obey God.
After Noah and his family left the ark, God made a special promise to them and to all living things. God promised that He would never again send a flood to destroy the whole world. God gave them a sign that He would keep His promise: a rainbow in the clouds. Every time we see a rainbow, we can be sure that God will never again send a flood to destroy the whole world. God keeps His promises.
Divide the children into groups of 7. Explain that rainbows always have the same color pattern. From top to bottom, the pattern is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Ask each group to form a rainbow with their group by standing close together, shoulder to shoulder. Each group should try to arrange the rainbow in color order if possible. For example, if someone is wearing red, she may stand at the front of the line to represent the top of the rainbow. Most groups will not have all the colors of the rainbow represented. That is okay. Each group’s rainbow will be unique. (If the children are not wearing colorful clothing, they can arrange themselves in the shape of a rainbow.)
When every group is arranged in a rainbow pattern, ask 1 child in each group what the rainbow means. The child should answer something such as, “A rainbow means God will never again send a flood to destroy the whole world. God keeps His promises.”
Optional Supplies:
Instead of creating rainbows in the groups, each child can make a colorful paper rainbow. Set out the colored paper and glue. Give each child a plain piece of paper. Tell the children to tear pieces of colored paper and glue them onto the plain paper to make a colorful rainbow. Tell them to work quietly so they can hear and respond to the questions you ask. Give the children about 10 minutes to complete their rainbows.
End of Option
The children can use their imaginations, since the Bible does not give details. It does tell us that it was big. It was about 137 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13 meters high.
They may have thought that all God had said would happen, did happen. They may have thought He was trustworthy. They may have thought He was powerful.
He kept them safe in the ark. He told Noah how to build the ark. He shut the door to protect them.
He was thankful for God’s care.
He promised to never destroy the earth by a flood again.
The Bible is full of other promises that God has made. God is faithful. He always keeps all of His promises. Let’s read about God and His promises.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
Our hope is in God, who loves you. He kept His promise to Noah, and He will keep His promises to you. He is faithful and loving in all He does!
Let’s share times when God took care of us. We might not have realized that He was taking care of us at the time, but looking back, we can say, “God took care of me just like He took care of Noah.”
Have an illustration from your own life ready to share. Encourage all the children to participate. Here are some ideas you can share to help the children understand the activity:
God took care of me when I was born. He gave me life.
God took care of me when my father left and my mother took me to my aunt’s home, now I am safe and have food to eat.
God took care of me when I was sick with malaria.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, allow the children to fill in how they think Noah may have felt at different points in the story and to respond to the question about their own lives.
Set out the bucket of pebbles you prepared before class. Explain that the altar Noah built was probably made with large stones. Tell the children they will make a pile using the pebbles to thank God for always keeping His promises. They can thank Him for loving them and taking care of them.
Demonstrate how to do this worship activity: Take a pebble from the bucket and walk to the centre of your meeting space. Hold the pebble high above your head and pray something like this, “Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me good health so I can come here to teach these children every week.” Then set your pebble on the ground. The children will add to the pile you started.
Tell your children to think of something they would like to thank God for. One by one, they will pick a pebble, hold it up, and thank God for that thing. Encourage them to speak in sentences and loud enough for everyone to hear. Once all of the children have had a turn, let them do it again several times until all the pebbles in the bucket are gone. (The children do not always have to say new things. The younger ones may want to repeat the prayers of the older ones.) If you have a very large group or are short on time, more than 1 child can go at the same time.
When everyone is finished, have everyone hold hands in a circle around the pile of pebbles. Have the children repeat the words of Psalm 146:2 after you as a prayer of praise:
I will praise the Lord all my life.
Pause for children to repeat.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Pause for children to repeat.
Children can remain in a circle as you close class by praying this blessing based on Psalm 145:13:
Blessing: God cares for you! He is faithful in all He promises. He is loving in all He does. May you know and trust in Him.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.