02/21/2021 The Promise of a Rainbow

Scripture of the week: Genesis 9:8-17

Lesson:

This week we are talking about the story of Noah and the Ark. Noah was a good man who lived a very long time ago. In Noah's lifetime the people had become wicked. They were not following God's rules, were not nice to each other, and most of them were not worshiping God. They were sinners and it angered God. The world he had created was falling apart and it was so bad that God decided to destroy it and start over. He made a plan to cause a flood and this would cause every living thing to drown.

God knew that Noah was good and God loved him. He told Noah to build a really large boat called an ark and told him exactly how to make it. This took Noah a very long time but God waited for him. He also told Noah to gather one male and one female of each of the animals on earth and put each pair into this ark. Noah also took his wife and their three sons and their wives with him into the ark. When Noah had completed everything God had asked of him, he closed the doors to the ark and it started to rain. Soon the ark began to float and the water became higher and higher around them. The rain didn't stop for 40 days and even the mountains disappeared under the water.

When everything had been destroyed except the people and animals floating in the ark, God made the rain stop and the water dried up over the land. The sun appeared and a rainbow came out of the clouds. It was very beautiful. Then God made a covenant with Noah. The word "covenant" is used often in the Bible. A covenant is a very important agreement. It is a promise that must never be broken. God told Noah that he would never again cause a flood to destroy all living things. After every rain, a rainbow appears to remind God, Noah, and each of us of God's covenant (promise) to never again let a flood destroy us. Rainbows are always the same. Each of its colors always appear in the same order and this is another way to remind us that a promise or covenant from God never changes.

Noah and his family began a new life and his family grew and grew. The animals were set free to roam the earth and they had babies and soon the world was full of life and became pleasing to God once again.

Before we finish, I would like to say a few words about promises. Every day we make promises, lots of them. Some are really important and some not so much. We should always try to keep our promises, BUT no one should ever ask you to make a promise to keep a secret about something that makes you uncomfortable or might hurt you or someone else. If this ever happens to you, it is absolutely ok to say no or to break that promise. Tell someone you trust right away. You will never get into trouble for it and, in fact, you might even be a hero. God will smile down on you and be pleased.

Each time you see a rainbow, let it remind you of the promise God made to us and how much he deeply loves you. Have a great week and remember that the season of lent has begun which leads up to Easter. Spring will be here soon!