Children’s Sermon

Genesis 9:8-17

The Promise

By Lois Parker Edstrom

RESOURCES:

Photos of rainbows

Rainbow crafts for kids

Isn’t it exciting to see a rainbow? Those lovely colors that arc across the sky are formed by sunlight shining through water. It could be raindrops or mist or dew. Rainbows sometimes form near waterfalls, or perhaps you’ve seen a rainbow when you are watering the garden and sunlight shines through the water coming out of the hose.

Anytime, anywhere, a rainbow is a lovely gift from God. We learn more about rainbows in the Bible. You probably know this familiar Bible story, how long, long ago there was a great flood and God instructed a man named Noah to build an ark. The story continues as Noah, his family, birds, and animals of every kind went into the ark so they would be safe from the flood.

Later, “God spoke to Noah…” (9:8) and said, “I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant (promise) between me and the earth”(9:13). God tells Noah that a rainbow is a sign that the earth will never again be flooded like it was in that great flood.

God says, “The rainbow will be in the cloud” (9:16). When it is rainy and the sun is shining, in just the right direction, a rainbow may appear. It is a symbol of hope. No wonder so many children like to draw pictures of rainbows. Just looking at a rainbow makes us happy.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2013 Richard Niell Donovan