Everyday Life

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 8:15-22

Noah and his family leave the ark - Artist unknown

TO CHEW ON: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22)

The flood was over. At last the animals and people could leave the ark!

Here they came, tumbling out of the doorway, taking deep breaths of fresh air, skipping, jumping, running, then galloping. They loved the feel of the sun on their backs and the breeze on legs and faces.

Best of all, God had told them there would be no more floods. Now life could get back to normal.

Though we’ll never have to go through a worldwide flood like Noah and his family did, we also live through things which disturb our everyday routine. These can be as frightening as having our house burn down or as fun as going on a vacation. But whether good or bad, there comes a time when we’re ready to get back to ordinary everyday life

Before you complain that that’s too boring, think of all the variety God has built into the repeats of nature. Match the opposites of everyday living on the lists below:


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for day and night, and the seasons which make up my life on earth. Amen.
 

SECOND HELPING: Covenant
God gave Noah a special sign that He would keep His promise never again to destroy the earth in a flood.


- Read about it in Genesis 9:13-15
- Can you name the order of the colors in a rainbow?
- Using books or the internet, find out how rainbows form in nature.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Water Water Everywhere

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 7:24-8:12

Noah welcoming the bird back to the ark - Artist unknown

TO CHEW ON: "But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." (Genesis 8:1)

Have you ever been stuck in the house for a week because of a snow-storm? You were probably kept at home for weeks to months during the Covid-19 pandemic. Or perhaps you’ve been forced to leave home and stay in a school gym or church basement for a long time because your house was in the way of a forest fire, flood, or tornado. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to stay cooped up in a small space for a long time, isn’t it?

Imagine how Noah and his family felt after the ark’s door was shut and it began to rain. If rain had ever fallen on earth before, it had never come down like this! First the ground was covered. Then the ark began to float. If the ark would have had windows, Noah and his family would have seen first the treetops disappear under water, then the hilltops, then the mountaintops. Can’t you imagine them asking, “Will this never end?”

But it did. After 40 days and nights the rain stopped. After 150 days the water began to go down After 224 days the mountaintops showed again.

In the same way your problems have an end too. Your hard year of school finishes. You make friends in your new home. Your dad gets another job. You recover from a long illness. Just like God remembered Noah, He remembers you.

PRAYER: Dear God thank You for remembering me when I feel like something hard will never end. Thank You for sending Your help just in time. Amen.
 

SECOND HELPING: Weather Calamity

1. What sorts of weather or natural disasters happen where you live?
Floods | Fires | Drought | Insect plagues | Earthquakes | Tsunamis | Tornados | Other _____

2. Have you lived through one of these?

3. What happened?

4. How did it end?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Noah Faith

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 6:14-22

This Noah's Ark mural was once in the children's entrance of my church.

TO CHEW ON: "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." (Genesis 6:22)

Imagine this: you and your family are the only people who love God on the whole earth!

People talk about you. They say things like “Have you heard about that Noah family? They’re no fun. All they care about is pleasing God!”

Then one day God tells you to build a big boat (the Bible calls it an ark). Then people talk even more: “Get a load of this. That crazy Noah is building a boat – a BIG boat. And there’s not even any water nearby.”

And then God tells you to bring pairs of all the birds, animals and ground creatures – insects and reptiles – into the boat.

Now people laugh even more and and point fingers: “That Noah nut-case is turning his boat into a zoo!!”


In spite of how strange this must have seemed to Noah’s neighbors (and maybe even to Noah and his family), we never read that Noah or his family argued with God or asked for an explanation. Instead they obeyed, trusting that God knew exactly what He was doing.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have faith in You even when I don’t understand. Amen.
 

SECOND HELPING: Ark Journal

Pretend you are one of the passengers on the ark (person or animal).

Write three journal entries about what it is like:

1. After just getting on board the ark.

2. In the middle of your time in the ark.

3. On the day you know you are going to leave the ark.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Strong Noah

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 6:9-14

"Noah and Sons Build the Ark"

TO CHEW ON: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." (Genesis 6:8,9)

Have you ever been the only person or family doing something, or NOT doing something? That’s what it was like for Noah and his family. While all the other people were sinning and living like they pleased, Noah was famous for something else. He had the reputation of being good. He was known as someone who pleased God.

Can you imagine how he must have been teased and called all kinds “Goody-goody” names? Some people probably plotted ways to try to get Noah and his family to do bad things. When there was a celebration or wild party in town, guess who wouldn’t be invited?

But Noah resisted the temptation to follow the crowd. Instead he stuck to his God-pleasing ways.

Which character qualities do you think Noah had?



PRAYER: Dear God, help me to have Noah’s courage to resist wrong living. Amen.

SECOND HELPING: Strong You

Can you think of a time when you or someone from your family was the only person doing something, or not dong something? I'm sure it wasn't easy.

We all need help to stand alone. Memorize this verse now to help you remember who is with you and will help you next time you’re tempted to follow the crowd:

 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13

Answers


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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.