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2026-01-04 God punishes a sinful world

Introduction

The story of Noah’s ark shows the wonderful faithfulness and glory of God. It also shows a just God that cannot tolerate sin and the promise of judgement and punishment for those who reject God. However, God is patient with sinners and will always keep His promises.

Praise and Worship (15 mins)

Parents: The parent and child scheduled for this week will lead us in singing on Sunday. Please take time to practice the songs together at home, helping your child feel confident and joyful as they prepare to lead.

Suggested Songs:

  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
  • Arky, Arky

Prayer and Offering (5 mins)

Parents: Please encourage your children to bring an offering to church. You may help your child prepare by setting aside a coin for them to bring on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to teach them about giving to God with a thankful heart and trusting Him to provide.

What is Offering?

Offering is when we give something to God to show our love and thankfulness. In church, we often give money as an offering, but we can also give our time, talents, and kindness to God and others.

Why Do We Make an Offering?

To Thank God – Everything we have comes from God! Giving back is a way to say, "Thank You, God!"
To Trust God – When we give, we show that we trust God to take care of us.
To Help Others – Offerings help the church teach about Jesus, help people in need, and share God's love.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,
"God loves a cheerful giver!" That means God is happy when we give with a joyful heart!

Prayer for Offering
Dear God, thank You for giving us everything we need. We want to give back to You with joyful hearts. Please use our offering to help others and share Your love. Help us to always trust You. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Review 

  • “Does anyone remember the two brothers from before Christmas? Does anyone remember their names?”
  • (Wait for children to say “Cain” and “Abel”)
  • “What jobs did they have?”
  • (Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd)
  • “Cain and Abel both brought gifts to God because they knew they sinned and needed God to fix their sinful hearts. Abel trusted God and gave God his best lamb. God fixed Abel’s sinful heart. But Cain didn’t give God his best vegetables and God would not fix his sinful heart. Cain’s heart stayed black.”
  • “When we give God our best gift like Abel did, God can take away our sins. Guess what, God came up with a way to deal with sin where we DON’T need to give Him a gift. We’ll learn about it in the coming weeks that God’s perfect plan was sending Jesus!”

  • We learned the Bible verses:

  • “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22b
  • (Review with hand motions)
  • “… without the shedding”: hold both hands up, then pour them down like liquid pouring
  •  “of blood”: point to your arm where blood flows
  •  “there is no”: shake your head "no" and wave hands side to side
  • “forgiveness of sins”: first cover your heart with both hands (sin), then open arms wide showing freedom (forgiveness)

  • “And without faith it is impossible to please him,” Hebrews 11:6a
  • “and without faith”: Hold your hands over your eyes like you can't see
  •  “it is impossible”: Make an X with your arms in front of your chest
  • “to please him”: Point up to heaven with both index fingers, then smile and give two thumbs up

Bible Story (10 min)

Introduction (2 min)

Props Needed:

  • Pitcher of water with vinegar added to it
  • “Do not drink” sign (stick it on the pitcher)
  • Cups

(Put out a jug of water with vinegar in it and “Do not drink” sign on the table)

Teacher:
"Can anyone read what this sign says? Would anyone like a drink?"

(Pour a cup for anyone who volunteers)

Teacher:
"Yuck, this water is really gross! The warning sign was right; we should have listened to it! This warning sign had a promise written in it Do you know what promise is?"

(Wait for response)

Teacher: "A promise tells what will really happen. Some promises tell of good things that will happen, like: if you finish dinner, there will be ice cream for dessert. Other promises warn of bad things that will happen, like the sign on the water. It said “do not drink”, but we didn’t listen to it and the water tasted bad."

Story Telling (5 min)

Props / Visuals Suggested:

Teacher:

  • “Today’s story tells us of a time when God made promises to His people and they didn’t listen.” 
  • “After Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, the world began to fill with people. Everyone had sinful hearts and did not love God. This made God sad. God made a promise to all the sinful people that He would punish them if they continue to sin. He would make it rain so hard and so much that the entire world would be covered with water and everyone would drown.”
  • (Show black heart)
  • “But there was one man, his name was Noah. He wasn’t perfect, he sometimes sinned, but he loved God. He trusted God and obeyed Him. God covered Noah’s sinful heart so that Noah could be saved. God promise to save Noah and his family from the flood."
  • (Cover black heart with red one)
  • “God told Noah to build an ark- a big, big boat. Noah and his family, and two of every animal, would get on the ark and God will keep them safe during the flood.”
  • (Display Flood Visual)
  • “Now, to build an ark big enough to hold all these animals would take a long time. God didn’t mind. In fact, that was part of His plan. He was hoping the sinful people would return to Him and trust and obey Him. Do you think the sinful people listened to God?”
  • (No!)
  • “They ignored God and continued to sin. When Noah finished building the ark, all the animals and Noah’s family got on the ark. And it started to rain. It rained for 40 days. It rained to hard the entire world was covered in water. All those people that didn’t listen to God’s promise drowned. God promised to protect Noah and his family so they were safe.”
  • (Display Flood Visual)
  • “When it stopped raining and the water dried up, God made one more promise. He promised He will never flood the world again, no matter how much we sin. To remind us of this promise, God made a beautiful rainbow in the sky.”
  • “Every time we see a rainbow, it reminds us that God is faithful and He always keeps His promises.”

Wrap-up & Discussion (3 min)

(Gather children close for reflection.)

Discussion Questions:

Question 1: "A righteous person is someone who loves and trusts God. Who in our Bible story was a righteous person?"

(Wait for responses.)

Expected Response: "Noah"

Teacher Follow-up: "Noah wasn’t perfect- he still sinned. But the difference was Noah knew he can’t fix his sinful heart by doing good or nice things. He trusted God to fix his sinful heart. Wicked people are those who don’t trust God to fix their sinful hearts. They would rather not listen to God. God promises He will punish wicked people."

Question 2: "Do you think God WANTS to punish wicked people?"

(Wait for responses.)

Expected Response: "No"

Teacher Follow-up: "That’s right, he doesn’t like punishing people, He wants to save them. He waited a long time from when Noah built the ark to when the rain started. God was being PATIENT. He was hoping the wicked people will change their minds and listen to God during that time. God really does love us!"

Closing Prayer for Bible Story

(Invite children to bow their heads and fold their hands.)

Teacher leads prayer:

"Dear God,

Thank You for being faithful and always keeping your promises. Thank you for giving us the wonderful promises of salvation. Help us to believe in Your Word and to trust You.

In Jesus' name, Amen."

Memorizing Verse: Psalm 1:6

Psalm 1:6
"...for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the wicked will perish."

Teacher:

  • “Our memory verse today comes from Psalm 1:6: ‘…for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the wicked will perish.’ “
  • “Righteous people are still sinners but they put their trust in God to save them. Righteous people are friends of God, like Abel and Noah, and God will watch over His people. That’s a promise.”
  • Wicked people are those who do not trust God to fix their sinful hearts. They would rather do things their own way and not listen to God. God promises He will punish sinners.”
  • (Lead the kids in repeating the verse slowly. Repeat the verse in different ways: whispering, while hopping, etc.)

Activity and Game (5 mins)

Activity: "Get on the Ark" (5 minutes)

Materials Needed:

Teacher: "God saved Noah and his family from the flood. God is faithful to save sinners who trust in Him."

"How did God save Noah and his family?"

Expected response: (Build an ark)

Teacher: "And how did God punish sinners?"

Expected response: (Died in the flood)

Instructions:

  1. Give each child a handout.
  2. Have children colour the ark and storm clouds. 
  3. Draw a picture of big waves in the bottom box.  

Game: "Get on the Ark" (5 minutes)

Materials Needed:

  • Animal figurines
  • Pictures of animals corresponding to the figurines 

Teacher: "After Noah finished building the ark, God sent two of every animals to the ark. Let's help these animals find their partners so they can get on the ark."

Instructions:

  1. Before class, hide the animal figurines around the classroom
  2. Show the pictures of the animals. Invite children, one at a time, to find an animal hidden in the room matching the ones in the picture.

Response Song

"Before we close, let's sing a song to help us remember what we learned today! This song is about faith and trusting God."

Snack Time (10 mins)

Snack Prayer

(After the closing prayer, prepare for snack time. Have children stay seated or move to snack tables. Before eating, lead them in the snack prayer.)

Teacher: "Before we eat, let's thank God for our snack."

"Now, let us thank You for the snack we're about to enjoy.
We fold our hands.
We bow our heads.
We thank You, God,
for this daily bread.
Amen."

During Snack Time

Conversation Starters for Snack Time:
While children are eating, you can ask these casual questions to reinforce the lesson:

  • "Can anyone tell me what we learned about today?"
  • "Where can we find our memory verses?"
  • "When we see rainbows, what does it represent?" (Answer: God always keeps his promises)
  • "Do you think Noah and his family were afraid when it started raining? Would you be afraid to live through a flood?"
  • "What was your favorite part of today's lesson?"

Remember: Keep the conversation light and friendly during snack time. This is also a good time for children to relax and socialize.

Free Time & Children Pickup (15 mins)

Activity Suggestions:

  • Free play with toys or blocks
  • Review memory verses one more time with interested children
  • Quiet reading of Bible story books
  • Simple puzzles or games
  • Drawing pictures of today's story

Parent Communication:
As parents arrive to pick up their children, briefly share one highlight from today's lesson. For example: "Today we learned sinners will be punished by God. But God is patient with sinners and will always keep His promises." Encourage parents to review the memory verses at home and discuss what it means to have faith in God.

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