Children’s Sermon

Genesis 6:9

The Leaf and the Rainbow

Check out these helpful resources
Biblical Commentary
Sermons
Children’s Sermons
Hymn Lists

Genesis 6:9

The Leaf and the Rainbow

Printable Noah Worksheets found at:
http://www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/noah-worksheets.htm

Coloring Mural found at:
http://janbrett.com/mural/on_noahs_ark_coloring_mural.htm

The story of Noah and his ark may be familiar to you, but let’s go over the story together. Long, long ago, God told Noah, who was a good man, there would be a flood and water would cover the whole earth. He gave Noah instructions for how to build an ark, a large type of boat, big enough to hold Noah, his family, and many animals.

God told Noah to “bring two of every sort into the ship…male and female” (6:19). You may have watched a video about this story, read a book about Noah’s adventures, or even have a toy ark with animals that you place, two by two, into the ark. Those images capture our imagination, but my favorite part of the story is about the dove.

Noah, his family, and all the creatures, had been sailing in the ark for a very long time. The story tells us that Noah sent out a dove and “the dove came back to him at evening, and, behold, in her mouth was an olive leaf…” (8:11). This leaf meant that the flood waters had gone down and now trees and plants were growing.

What can we learn from this story? This is a lesson of hope, a story to remember when you may be struggling with a difficult situation. An olive leaf is fresh and beautiful. It is a green, living thing. It reminds us that there will be a better times ahead – don’t give up.

The end of this story is also about hope. God told Noah that he would set a rainbow in the clouds as a reminder that there would never again be a flood that covered the earth. Isn’t it interesting that rain is needed for a rainbow to form and when sunlight shines through rain, a beautiful rainbow appears.

When you struggle or feel discouraged, think about the fresh little olive leaf or the beautiful rainbow – the comfort and promise of hope.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible