Mercy
WELCOME TO WEEK 2
Have you ever made a promise you could not keep? Did you have to ask them to forgive you for not keeping your promise? When God makes a promise He does not break it. God made a promise to Noah and showed how God has mercy for His people. This week we will see how God showed mercy during Noah’s time, and that He still shows mercy to us today.
BIBLE STORY
Let’s do an animals march. Think of an animal you would like to act out and we will guess what animal you are. Each person walks in front pretending to be a specific animal. Let your child decide what animal they will be and then everyone else will guess who they are. They can use various motions and sounds as they walk in front of the group until their animal is guessed. Give everyone a turn to act out their animal and repeat if desired.
We can only imagine all the animals God sent on the ark to be saved from the flood. This week we are learning about the covenant, or promise, God made to Noah. Before the flood, the earth was wicked and people were doing really bad things and they did not love God. Only Noah and his family loved God and wanted to live for Him. God needed to cleanse the earth from the wickedness and start over. So He sent a flood to cleanse the earth but saved Noah’s family so they could continue the human race. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah that he would never again send a flood as he had to wipe the entire earth clean. Even though people were making really bad choices, God gave mercy and a second chance.
Read or listen to the Bible verse for this week: Genesis 8:15-22, 9:8-17
What did Noah build after exiting the ark? (An altar to God)
What did God say in response to the offering that Noah gave? (Never again will I curse the ground because of humans)
What was the covenant God made with Noah? (Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth)
What sign did God use to show his covenant? (A rainbow)
When the clouds are in the sky and a rainbow appears, what did God say He would do? (I will remember the covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life)
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
God’s mercy towards us means he does not give us the punishment we deserve. The wicked people during Noah’s day did not keep God’s commands and they deserved consequences for their actions, but God showed mercy. God preserved Noah’s family and promised never to send a flood like that again. We all make mistakes today too, and yet God shows us mercy by not giving us what we truly deserve. Instead, God has made a promise that all who believe on Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Activity
Have a sorting race. Use reusable animal stickers, plastic animals, or print and cut out the following pages with animals. Use your animals to sort them into different groups. Have everyone start with their animals in one pile, then call out a category for everyone to sort their animals into. First one to sort all their animals into the correct groups wins. Categories: sort by color, number of legs, clean/unclean, tall/short, herbivore/carnivore, grounded/air/water. God saved the animals we see today on the ark and so many more. Although God needed to cleanse the earth he made a way to give a second chance and show mercy for all the wrongs people did.
Materials: reusable animal stickers, plastic animals or cut-out animals
Alternate
Make your own rainbow! Watch this video and then try to make your own rainbow using a glass half filled with water, a white sheet of paper, and sunlight. Watch the rest of the video to learn how you are able to see a rainbow after a rain. God gave Noah a rainbow as a sign to show that He would never again send a flood. We can learn about how much God loves us and is able to create something so beautiful for us to see by studying His creation. The rainbow was not made by accident but by God’s design.
Materials: White sheet of paper, glass cup, water, sunlight
Independent activity:
Make your own rainbow play dough and then allow your child time to play and create different shapes and objects. Use the play dough to create things from the story of Noah and then have them retell the story using their play dough props they just created. Use the following recipe from this website for an easy to make play dough recipe. Mix different food colors together to create a rainbow of play dough.
Materials: printed activity sheet
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
Make a rainbow promise mobile. Cut a white paper plate in half and color it in rows of colors to make it look like a rainbow. Hole punch 4 holes across the bottom of the paper plate rainbow. On cut-out raindrops, have your child write some promises God has made to use that He will always keep. Help your child as necessary. Tie a string to each hole and then cut and tie the other end of the string to the raindrop.
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayon
Craft 2
Coloring page
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons
FOLLOW-UP
Why did God send a flood to cover the entire earth?
What covenant did God make with Noah?
How did God show the covenant he made with Noah?
What is the difference between God’s promises and our promises?
How did God show mercy to Noah?
How does God still show mercy to us today?
Practical Application at Home
When we are shown mercy God wants us to show that mercy to others as well. Showing mercy is more than just forgiving someone for the wrongs they did against us, but not giving them the punishment we believe they deserve for those wrong actions. Listen to the following scenarios and decide which action shows mercy and which action show punishment.
Your friend stole you pencil at school and you caught them. They ask for forgiveness and you forgive them. Which shows mercy: 1-you tell them to keep the pencil 2-you ask for your pencil back
Your sister destroys the new Lego build that took hours to complete. Which shows mercy: 1-you tell her she has to rebuild it exactly how its supposed to look. 2- you rebuild it with her help
Your classmate invites the entire class to their birthday party, except you. After the party they tell you your invitation must have gotten lost. Which shows mercy: 1-forgive them and then go play together 2-forgive them but don’t speak to them for a week so they know what it feels like to be left out.
Your puppy poops in the middle of the floor on the carpet and your mom makes you clean it up. Which shows mercy: 1- you spank your dog for being a bad puppy. 2- You tell your dog no pooping on the carpet and then take them for a walk more often.
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Donate to a local food shelter or toy drive this Christmas season. As a family, volunteer together or pick out toys you think another child your age might enjoy.