Most
people have heard the story of Noah's Ark *. Our lesson today
will be based on this story, but its focus will be on Noah's trust
in God, his obedience to God and a reminder of God's
promise to us.
*
Emphasize that the ark is a boat (for the younger children.) Pass out pictures of the ark for younger children to color.
Let's read Genesis 6 verses 9-14 (Allow children to take turns
reading)
"Noah was a godly man. He was without blame among the
people of his time. He walked with God. Noah had three sons.
Their names were Shem, Ham and Japheth. The earth was very sinful in
God's eyes. It was full of mean and harmful acts. God saw
how sinful the earth had become. All of the people on earth were
leading very sinful lives. So God said to Noah, 'I am going to
put an end to all people. They have filled the earth with their
harmful acts. So make yourself an ark from cypress wood.
Make rooms in it. Cover it with tar inside and out.'" (New
International Readers Bible)
The ark that Noah built was not your average-sized boat. It was
one and a half times the length of a football field, and four stories
high. It was as large as some of the ships that sail the oceans
today. It was built exactly the way God told Noah to build it.
But greater than the ark (or boat) was Noah's obedience to God.
Think of what it must have been like for Noah and his family.
They were building a huge boat in an area that was not near a lake or
the ocean. It was too large for anyone to move it to a lake or the
ocean. The bible does not say this, but if there were other
people in Noah's neighborhood, they were probably wondering why Noah
was building an ark.
Did Noah care what people thought? I'm sure he probably felt just like
you or I would if people were laughing at us and trying to make us
feel foolish He must have had many days when he asked God if it was
really necessary for him
to build this boat.
Gen. 6 verse 22.
But Noah loved God, so he remained obedient. Noah did exactly what God
had commanded Him to do."
At this point stop the lesson. We are going to draw a big
picture of the ark with a ramp, and a rainbow. (Make a very large ark
and rainbow. Have the children help. The one we did was almost 4 feet
long and 3 feet high. Rainbow was drawn on a separate piece of paper
and cut out after coloring.
Write down “Ark facts” to hang next to the ark:
It was designed by God.
Built by Noah and possibly his sons.
He built it exactly as God instructed.
It was made of Gopher wood.
Coated with pitch (tar) inside and out.
Length was 450 feet. 1 1/2 times the size of a football field.
Width was 75 feet.
Height was 45 feet.
Approx. 4 stories high.
It was shaped like a rectangular box.
It had one door.
It had one window.
The sides were open a foot and a half from the top.
It had lower middle and upper decks.
There was no way to steer it.
Noah, his family and a pair of every animal stayed in the ark for more
than a year, just floating around.
