YEA Lesson Library
Rainbow of Promises
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that God gave the rainbow as a sign that He would not destroy all life on earth again by flood.
Scriptures
Genesis 8:14-22
Genesis 9:8-17
Genesis 9:17
Isaiah 54:9
Ezekiel 1:28
2 Corinthians 1:20
Titus 1:2
2 Peter 1:3-4
2 Peter 3:9
Words to Know
NECTAR- the sweet liquid in many flowers
ALTAR - a place to worship God
The Lesson
Signs are everywhere. They tell us things. Street signs tell drivers to slow down or to stop. They tell fi there is a curve ahead or a steep hill. The school crossing guard holds up a stop sign. Drivers have to stop so you can cross the street safely. There are danger signs and "poison" signs on cans to warn you. There are warning signs along the highway. There are signs that you must obey. Some signs have the name of your favorite restaurant or store. We see many signs every day.
God gave Noah a very special sign. It was not on a pole along the side of the road. It wasn't in front of a store. This sign was up in the sky. It was the beautiful rainbow.
Noah and his family were in the ark for almost a whole year. The animals were there with them. Now the rain had stopped. The flood waters were drying up. When Noah looked out the window, he could see the sunshine. It looked beautiful after so much rain. Everyone was excited to walk on the ground again.
God told Noah, "Go out of the ark. Take all your family and the animals with you.I want you to have babies. Spread animals and people all over the earth." So the animals left the ark in pairs. Birds flew happily into the trees to build nests. Horses could run again. Bees and butterflies went from flower to flower. They sipped the sweet nectar. It was so good to be free!
What would you do first if you had been cooped up for a year? Would you run and climb trees? Would you wade in the cool water? Would you just lie down in the green grass and look up at the sky?
The very first thing Noah did was build an altar. He was very thankful that God saved them from the flood. Noah was thankful to be out of the ark. He made a pile of stones. He laid wood on top of the altar. Then Noah did what God commanded. He offered one of the animals as a gift to God.
God smelled the smoke from Noah's offering. It smelled sweet to God. Noah was thankful and obedient. And God was happy. God was so happy, he made Noah a promise. This promise had a sign. It would always remind Noah of the promise.
God said, “This promise is for you, your children, and all who will be born after.This promise is for all the animals, too. Waters of a flood will never destroy all life again. A flood will never destroy the earth again." Isn't that a wonderful promise? And God left the rainbow as a sign.
Noah remembered what God said every time he looked at the Rainbow of Promise. This sign was from God Himself. It reminds us, too. When you see a rainbow, remember God's promise.
God has given you and me another special promise. It's even more important than the rainbow. God promised that we could live with Him forever in His Kingdom. Jesus came to die for all the bad things people do. But Jesus didn’t stay dead. He came alive again. Jesus went back to His Father. Now He is making a place for you and me in His Kingdom. Jesus is our Sign from God. He shows us how we can live again. We can be in the Heavenly Father's Kingdom. What a wonderful promise! And God always keeps His promises.
Now is a good time to do what Noah did- thank God. We don't have to build an altar out of stones. We can talk to Him anytime in prayer. We can thank Him for all He does for us.
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all the good things you do for me. Every time I see a rainbow, help me remember that you always keep your promises!
In Jesus' name l pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Isaiah 54:9
Monday - Ezekiel 1:28
Tuesday - 2 Peter 3:9
Wednesday - 2 Corinthians 1:20
Thursday - Titus 1:2
Friday - 2 Peter 1:3-4
Saturday - Genesis 9:11-12
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, children will be able to: .
1. State what God told Noah's family and the animals to do when they left the ark.
2. Explain what Noah did as soon as he left the ark.
3.Tell why Noah's offering smelled sweet to God.
4. List those to whom God made His rainbow promise.
5. Recite their memory verse.
Topics & Themes
Altar
Flood
God’s Promises
Gratitude
Jesus, Savior
Noah
Obedience
Offerings
Rainbow
Sign
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students' and Teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, CD, music player, construction paper, marker pen, colored yarn, glue, scissors
Preparation
David wrote many Psalms of thanksgiving to God. In Psalm 62:1-2 he wrote specifically about our salvation. "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Noah's prayer of thanksgiving must have been similar as he thanked God for saving them from the waters of the flood.
Early elementary-age children are literal thinkers. They have difficulty understanding the use of symbols. Yet, today's lesson uses the symbol of a rainbow as a sign that God will keep his promise to Noah. Begin by discussing signs children can easily recognize, such as a stop sign, McDonald's sign, etc. Before class, copy the following signs onto construction paper, as indicated. Target store on white paper (color the outside and inside circles red), McDonald's on gold or yellow paper, stop sign (octagon) on red paper, yield sign (inverted triangle) on yellow
paper, a one way sign (rectangle) on white (see patterns).
These children are developing ideas about God. They are full of questions, so be ready with biblical answers. Help them understand that God loves and cares for them, just as He did Noah. Teach them to express thanks to God for how He takes care of them. Use specific examples, such as: God made the sun and rain to help grow the vegetables they eat: He gives their daddy strength and wisdom to do his job and earn money to provide a home for them to live in, etc. Teaching children to be thankful is teaching them to be obedient (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
How to Teach This Lesson
Signs - Explain that signs can be used to warn people, to give directions, as a reminder, to identify and sometimes to represent something. Hold up your signs, one at a time, and see if the children can identify them, explaining the meaning of each sign. Turn signs over and ask the children to think of other meanings: i.e., STOP sinning, YIELD to God, ONE WAY to the Kingdom, on TARGET for God, M - memorize Scripture.
God keeps His promises. God sent the rainbow as a reminder to Noah of His promise; He would never again destroy the world with a flood. Our memory verse says, “The rainbow is the sign of my covenant [promise] . . . (Genesis 9:17). Whenever it rained after that, people didn’t have to be afraid there would be another flood. Oh, we have smaller floods, but there will never, ever be another flood that will cover the whole earth. God promised!
Multiply. After they left the ark, God commanded Noah’s family and the animals to “Be fruitful, and multiply [have children], and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1). The flood had killed all the people as well as the animals. God was starting over again. He wanted once again to fill the earth with people and animals. God was giving everything a fresh new start.
Being thankful - God had protected Noah and his family because He loved them, and because they obeyed and loved Him. Noah was so thankful for God's protection, the first thing he did when he left the ark was to build an altar. He wanted to make a sacrifice to God and to offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Teach children the importance of being thankful. There are many things they should be thankful for, and many to whom they should be thankful. It is important that the children learn to say "thank you"to God and to others. Being unthankful is a step toward being unholy (2 Timothy 3:2).
God’s promises to us - God has given us many promises in His Word. He promised to give us everything we need to live a life that is pleasing to Him (2 Peter 1:3-4). He promised to give us eternal life, and He will keep His promises (Titus 1:2). We can trust God's promises, and should thank Him and praise Him for what He has given us (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Review Questions
1. What was the sign that God sent to Noah?
2. When we see a rainbow, what should we remember?
3. What was the very first thing Noah did when he came out of the ark?
4. Why do you think God was happy when He smelled the smoke from Noah's offering?
5. List everyone you can think of to whom God made His rainbow promise.
6. How do you think God feels when we remember to thank Him for what He has given us?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Give each child a rainbow pattern (see pattern page). Cut out the arch shape and have them color the picture, then glue strands of colored yarn along the arches of the rainbow on both sides of
the paper. Punch a hole in the top center of the rainbow and tie a length of yarn to hang. Punch a second hole in the bottom of the rainbow and in the center of the "God Keeps His Promises" strip. Tie the strip to the rainbow so that it hangs below.
REACH Activity
Special Materials Needed:
Plastic lid, hole punch, string or yarn, poster board
Activities:
1. Do a sword drill. Use the Daily Devotional Scriptures in the YEA book, Color My World. Read out the Scripture reference. Then start the timer. When the child has found the verse, stop the timer. Read the verse and talk about how it relates to the lesson. Challenge the child to see how quickly he/she can find each of the verses in the Bible. The sword drill works well as a competition game if you have more than one child.
2. Write an acrostic poem for P-R-O-M-I-S-E. Tell what God has promised you.
3. Sing: “Rise and Shine” on page 28 of Kids Classics Collection.
4. Sing: “Who Built the Ark” on page 107 of Kids Classics Collection.
5. Journal: Pretend you are Noah or Noah’s wife. Now that God has opened the door after the flood was over, how do you feel?
6. The first thing Noah did when he came off the ark was to build an altar. What was the last thing you thanked God for? Ask your parents if you can say a prayer of thanks after supper tonight, not just a blessing before supper.
7. Cut boulder shapes out of gray construction paper. Write one thing you are thankful for on each of these “rocks.” Glue them onto an 11 x 17 paper to make your own altar of thanks.
8. For the next week, write one thing you are thankful for each day in your Bible notebook. Remember to tell God, “Thank you,” each night before you go to bed.
9. Have you ever made a promise? Were you able to keep it? We try to keep our promises, but sometimes we can’t keep them. God always keeps His promises to us. The sign of His promise is the rainbow. Find out how a rainbow is made and what colors make up the rainbow.
10. A promise is also called a covenant. Look this word up in a Bible dictionary and concordance. Who did God make a covenant with besides Noah?
11. Use a plastic lid to draw a circle on a piece of white construction paper or poster board. Draw a rainbow along the top and edges of the circle. In the middle of the circle write: Rainbow of Promise. Punch two holes near the top of the circle. Thread string or yarn of any color through the holes, tie a knot, and then wear it around your neck. Tell everyone about God’s promise to Noah and to us.
12. One kind of poetry is called American Lune. The poem has only three lines. It does not have to rhyme. Line one has three words; line two has five words, and line three has three words. Read through the YEA lesson and write an American Lune poem about what happened to Noah and God’s promise. Read your poem to your family.
13. The rainbow sometimes looks like a banner. Sing: “His Banner Over Me is Love,” on page 36 of Kids Classics Collection, but substitute “rainbow” for banner. Sing it with a happy smile. God always keeps His promises!
14. Write and perform a skit from the YEA lesson. Include someone whose only line will be: God Keeps His Promises.
15. God gave us another promise when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Read about Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1- 20. Write a prayer thanking God for sending Jesus to teach us more about how to obey and trust Him.
16. On a piece of poster board, paint a mural showing all of the animals coming off the ark. Where are they all going? Write the following along the bottom of the picture: Genesis 8:18-19. Share your picture with family and friends.
17. Choose six words from the YEA lesson and make a crossword puzzle. Give it to a friend to solve.
Song
"Every Promise In The Book Is Mine" is on page 15 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Ask one child to lead in prayer, thanking God for specific things He has given to them.
Printable Pages
