Reading the Rainbow KEY VERSE Genesis 9:13 STICKY STATEMENT Rely on God, He doesn t lie. LESSON OBJECTIVE Children will learn to rely on God's promises from His Word. CHECKLIST 1. A PowerPoint is available for this lesson 2. Flashlight 3. A Generic Compact Disc (CD) 4. God s Story: Noah https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/4-1/ (3:19-3:51) (Introduction.) 5. A small bag of Skittles for each child. 6. A note to be taped on each bag that says Save the wrapper. Use it as bookmark. Remember God s Promises. LESSON OVERVIEW I promise! If everyone followed through on just those two words, there would never be any reason to doubt a person s word again. Unfortunately, the word promise does not carry much weight in today s society. Your Olympians have probably experienced this with promises given to them or maybe even made by them, and yet they were not kept. Fortunately, just like Noah, your Olympians will learn what it means to rely on God s promises. They will learn that God always follows through with what He says and will never let them down. The next time your Olympians see a rainbow, they will be reminded not only of the promise God made to Noah, but to them as well! Younger Adaptation Let s watch this short video clip which shows us a review of the story of Noah. Teacher s Note: Show the Quick Version of the God s Story: Noah video, https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/4-1/ (3:19-3:51). 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 23
Teacher s Note: Before teaching the lesson watch the How to Make an Indoor Rainbow video, https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/4-2/ (1:07). The video is for your instruction only. INTRODUCTION Before we open our Bibles, I would like you to listen to Sarah s story. Sarah was walking home from school one day and the rain began to pour down. It rained harder, and harder, and harder so Sarah began running home as fast as she could. By the time she got home, she was soaked. Sarah entered the door and was greeted by her mother inside. What s the matter sweetie? You look like you ve had a bad day. Sarah replied in an upset voice, I have had a bad day! I can t rely on anyone! Okay, tell me what happened, her mother replied. Sarah sat down on the couch and started to get angry, Well first, Jenna promised that she would walk with me to school, but she didn t. Then at lunch I had no one to sit with even though Brittany promised she would save me a seat. Finally, Lucas promised he would give me an extra umbrella that he had, but gave it to another girl instead! I m sorry to hear that and I know how upset you must feel right now. Her mother walked over to the window as the rain began to stop, Hey Sarah, why don t you come over here for a second, I want to show you something that I think will cheer you up. We will see how the rest of the story unfolds later on. Let s first review the life of Noah. Have you ever felt let down by the people who you relied on? Well, then you will be happy to know that today we are going to talk about someone you can rely on 100% of the time. Teacher s Note: If you choose to use the Younger Adaptation, show the God s Story: Noah (Quick Version) video https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/4-1/ (3:19-3:51) instead of the written summary below. Let s just review a little bit about what we have learned so far about the story of Noah. First, we learned that everyone on the earth was doing evil except for Noah. God told Noah that He would destroy every living thing by sending a worldwide flood. Second, Noah built the Ark using the instructions God gave him. After about a year of building, Noah, his family, and the animals went into the Ark as God instructed them. After about a year or so of waiting on the Ark, the waters finally dried up and everyone left the Ark. BODY Teacher s Note: If you used the Younger Adaptation, begin teaching with the information below. First, let me assure you that there will never again be a worldwide flood to destroy everything; and here is the reason why. Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 9:11. We are going to read something very important! [Read Genesis 9:11.] This is great news! Not only was this promise made to Noah, but to you as well. Never again will God destroy the earth through a flood. 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 24
Raise your hand if you have ever made a promise to someone else. You may put your hands down. Promises are easy to make, but sometimes hard to keep. I won t ask you to raise your hands if you have ever made a promise, but didn t keep it. We may not always keep our promises, but fortunately, God always keeps His promises. Rely on God, He doesn t lie. Let s all say that together: Rely on God, He doesn t lie. Genesis 9:11 is a covenant (or promise) that God made with Noah and all mankind. A covenant is an agreement made by God with man that may or may not have conditions to follow. The type of covenant or promise God made with Noah was unconditional. This meant that God would keep His promise and God did not require anything of Noah. A covenant that is conditional means that you have to do something in order for the agreement to be kept. Here is an example of a conditional agreement. Pretend your parents said, If you complete your chores, then we will take you to see a movie. What is the job that you must do in order for your parents to keep their promise to take you to a movie? [Allow children to respond.] That s right. You must complete your chores. However, an unconditional covenant means that you do not have to do anything. An example of an unconditional promise from God is when He tells us, I will never leave you nor forsake you. It is a promise that God fulfills without you having to do anything. I am going to name a few promises and if you think it is a conditional promise, point to yourself, but if you think it is unconditional, point to God. Ready, here we go! Teacher s Note: Give an opportunity after each listed promise for the children to respond. Remind them that they will either point to themselves or to God. 1. Your teacher promises to give you extra recess time if you behave. [Conditional Point to yourself.] 2. Jesus promises that His words will never pass away. [Unconditional Point to God.] 3. Your friend promises to let you borrow his bike, but only if you let him borrow your scooter. [Conditional Point to yourself.] 4. God will never flood the earth again. [Unconditional Point to God.] God s promises are the best, because He always fulfills His promises. Here is something for you to think about, How would the generations after Noah s know that God would never flood the earth again? I would like to not only read the promise but also demonstrate it in our room. Teacher s Note: Before you show the class, watch the How to make an Indoor Rainbow video, https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/4-2/ (1:07) to give you instructions on how to make the rainbow. Before reading, turn off the lights and make the room as dark as you can. Read the Bible passage with your flashlight on so you can see. Read slowly and when you get to verse 13 do not say the word rainbow until you shine the flashlight on the CD to make a rainbow appear on the wall. Then continue reading the rest of verse 13. After reading, turn the lights back on. [Read Genesis 9:12-13.] The rainbow is an awesome symbol of God s promise to you and me that He will never again flood the earth. Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky, it should remind you of this very same promise that God made to Noah. Without a doubt we can rely on God, He doesn t lie. Let s all say that together. Ready, begin! Rely on God, He doesn t lie. Let s take a look at a few promises from God that affect your life today. Remember, we can rely on God, He doesn t lie. 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 25
One of God s promises that we can rely on is the fact that He will forgive. Raise your hand if you get angry when someone cuts in front of you while waiting in line. It is hard to forgive that person right away isn t it? When we do wrong against God, He has every right to not forgive us, yet the Bible says that He will forgive us. [Read 1 John 1:9.] This verse reminds us to confess our sins to God and when we do, He graciously forgives us. Another promise, if not the greatest promise from God today, is that He promises assurance of eternal life. [Read John 10:28-29.] If you believe in Jesus, He will give you everlasting life, and He promises to never take that away from you. Rely on God, He doesn t lie. Now, back to our story with Sarah. Sarah s mother walked over to the window as the rain began to stop. Hey Sarah, why don t you come over here for a second, I want to show you something that I think will cheer you up. Sarah slowly walked over, still upset about the unfulfilled promises her friends made with her. She lifted her head and looked outside. Who cares, it's just a rainbow. Her mother encouraged her and said, Well it s not just a rainbow. It is a promise from God! I know you are upset because your friends broke their promises with you at school today, but God will never break His promises with you. Sarah went to her room still a little upset from what happened at school. But now, every time she saw a rainbow she knew that she could always rely on God. APPLICATION What promise of God do you need to rely on? Do you need forgiveness? When you sin against God, confess that sin to Him! Pray immediately and trust that God truly will forgive you. If you ever doubt your salvation, trust on what you already know to be true. You know that God will never allow you to lose your salvation, so pray and thank God that He is holding you in His hand. Rely on God, He doesn t lie. Teacher s Note: Give each child one small bag of Skittles. Make sure each bag has a note that says the following: Save wrapper. Use as bookmark. Remember God s Promises. Since we couldn t bring a real rainbow for you to carry around, we brought these Skittles. These Skittles, just like the rainbow, can remind you of God s promises. Do not open the Skittles until you get home and your parents say you can eat them. When you are allow to eat them, here is what we would like for you to do. After you eat the Skittles, save the wrapper and keep it as a bookmark for your Bible. Every time you open your Bible you will be reminded of the promises God has made to you. Let s pray right now and ask God to make these promises true in your own life. Teacher s Note: Pray specifically for forgiveness, assurance for salvation, or however else the Lord directs you. 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 26
PERSONAL TRAINING TIME Goal of this Personal Training Time Your goal is to help the children explore the idea of God s promises to them. They must grasp the fact that God does not lie and that they can rely on Him and His promises. Discussion Questions 1. What promise did God make to Noah and to the rest of us? Was God s covenant conditional or unconditional? (God would never destroy the world with a flood. It was an unconditional covenant. Man was not required to do anything, God would do everything.) 2. What did God create as a special sign that He would keep His promise? Why was it special? (God created a beautiful rainbow as a symbol of His promise. It has been seen by every generation and in every part of the world.) 3. What can you share with others about God? (Rely on God, He doesn t lie; God s promises are always true, God loves them, God promises eternal life.) PARENT CONNECTION Promises to your children are easy to make, but sometimes harder to keep. You are able to keep most, but you can t always fulfill them all. Today your children learned that God will always keep His promises. We see this through the promise God made to Noah about never flooding the earth again. That is the true meaning behind the beautiful rainbow we see in the sky. Your child received a bag of Skittles with a note that says Save the wrapper. Use as a bookmark. Remember God s Promises. Ask your child why God will never break His promises, and how they know that to be true. 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 27
Visual 1 4. Reading the Rainbow (Module 1 Beginnings) - 28