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2026-01-04 God makes a promise to Abraham

Introduction

TheToday’s storylesson emphasizes a major theme in the Bible justification in faith alone. As sinners, we are worthy of Noah’God’s arkpunishment, we cannot “earn” our salvation through good works. We can only be saved by trusting in God’s saving provision. Abraham shows thehis wonderfulfaith faithfulnessby andtrusting gloryin 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 HisGod’s 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

    My God is So Big

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 

  • Teacher: “DoesLast anyoneweek, rememberwe learned about promises. God makes lots of promises and He always keeps them. Some of God promises are for good things, other promises are warnings.”
  • Teacher: “Why did God send a flood over the twowhole brothers from before Christmas? Does anyone remember their names?world?”
  • (WaitExpected forresponse: childrenBecause topeople saydid “Cain”not love and “Abel”)trust God)
  • Teacher: “WhatDid jobseveryone diddie theyin have?the flood?”
  • (CainExpected wasresponse: aNoah farmer,and Abelhis wasfamily a shepherd)survived)
  • Teacher: “CainBut weren’t Noah and Abelhis bothfamily broughtsinners giftstoo? toWhat Godmade becausethem theydifferent?”
    • knew
  • (Expected theyresponse: sinnedNoah and neededtrusted 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!”heart)

 

  • 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 andverse: “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.’ “6
  • This means “Righteousrighteous 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.”

Bible Story (10 min)

Introduction (2 min)

Props Needed:

  • Two paper plates
  • 8 crayons/ coloured pencils
  • Handful of rice
  • Check out lesson material

(Ask for 2 volunteers, turn to one of the volunteers.)

Teacher: "I need some help. Can you count how many crayons are on this paper plate?"

(Say to the other volunteer:)

Teacher: "Can you count how many grains of rice are on this paper plate?” (Wait 20-30 sec) “That’s a lot of rice, would you like some help?"

(When the first volunteer finish counting:)

Teacher: "You’re done already? How many crayons are there? Only 8? [Volunteer 2] and I are still counting. There must be thousands and thousands of rice here. I think we should give up and just say there are too many to count."

(Holds up the 8 crayons)

Teacher: "There is a special reason I brought in 8 crayons today. Eight isn’t a very big number, but that’s the number of people that were on Noah’s ark on were saved during the Great Flood. We have Noah and his wife” (Hold up 2 crayons) “Noah had 3 sons” (Hold up 3 crayons) “And they each had a wife” (Hold up remaining 3 crayons) “That’s 8 people."

"Why did God only save 8 people? Is it too hard for God to save a lot of people? Can God only take care and love a few people at a time? These are very important questions and we’re going to find the answer in our Bible story today.”

Story Telling (5 min)

Props / Visuals Suggested:

Teacher:

  • “After the flood, the world began to fill with people again. Because Noah and his family were sinners, all the people born after the flood were also sinners. Two of these people were Abram and Sarai.”
  • (LeadShow Abram and Sarai visual)
  • “God told Abram to leave his home and travel to a special place far, far away. God promised Abram a great reward: God will make Abram the kidsfather of a great nation of many people. But how can Abram be a father? He and Sarai don’t have any children! God promised He would give Abram and Sarai a baby boy. As a sign of God’s promise, God gave Abram and Sarai new names- their new names are Abraham and Sarah.”
  • “Abraham knew God is the most special person of all. Abraham trusted God to keep his promise. Abraham and Sarah left their home and moved to the special place God prepared for them. God kept His promise and Abraham and Sarah had a baby boy named Isaac.”   
  • (Show Isaac visual)
  • “When Isaac was a young boy, God told Abraham to kill Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice instead of an animal.”
  • “Do you remember why people during Bible times needed to sacrifice an animal?”
  • (Expected response: Everyone is a sinner. We needed the animal’s blood was used to cover the sins of the people.)
  • “Do you think Abraham wanted to kill Isaac?”
  • (Expected response: No!)
  • “Abraham trusted God with all his heart and obeyed him. In the Bible, it said” Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But an angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens and said ‘Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.”
  • “When God saw Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son, He knew Abraham trusted and obeyed Him. God was very happy with Abraham. God sent a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son.”
  • (Show ram visual)
  • “Abraham was a sinner- just like Abel and Noah. He knew he couldn’t fix his sinful heart.”
  • (Show Abram visual with a dark heart)
  • “Abraham believed that God was the most special person of all, so he trusted God and obeyed Him. He trusted that God would provide a sacrifice- the ram- to cover Abraham’s sinful heart.”
  • (Cover the dark heart on the Abram visual with a red heart)
  • “When we trust God with all our heart, that’s called having faith. God was pleased with Abraham’s faith and made a very special promise to him. God promised to give Abraham many, many grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren- as many as there are stars in repeatingthe sky and grains of sand on the beach. God will also bless everyone in Abraham’s family because of Abraham’s faith.”
  • “All of these people will love and trust God, just like Abraham. And God will tell everyone that these are My special people and My friends. God is so powerful and has so much love, He can love many, many people at once and save them. God made that promise to Abraham a long time ago and God is still keeping that promise today.”

Wrap-up & Discussion (3 min)

(Gather children close for reflection.)

Discussion Questions:

Question 1: "Do you think God wants to share His love and joy with just a few people or with lots and lots of people?"

(Wait for responses.)

Expected Response: "Lots of people!"

Teacher Follow-up: "God is so special, wonderful, great, and powerful. He is able to love and save as many people as He chooses."

Question 2: "How did Abraham show that he really trusts God?"

(Wait for responses.)

Expected Response: "He left his home OR he sacrificed Isaac"

Teacher Follow-up: "Abraham was probably really scared to leave his home to go live somewhere else. He also loved Isaac really, really much. He probably didn’t want to sacrifice Isaac. But Abraham had faith in God and remembered all the good things God has done for him."

"When we get scared or have a hard time trusting in God, we can think back on all the good things God has done to give us confidence that God can always be trusted."

Question 3: "Can you think of another Father that sacrificed their son, just like when Abraham sacrificed Isaac?"

(Wait for responses.)

Expected Response: "God sacrificed Jesus” (not likely to get this response)

Teacher Follow-up: "God sacrificed His Son, Jesus, on the cross for our sins. Even though God loved Jesus very much, God loves us even more. Jesus dying on the cross is the best sacrifice- even better than an animal sacrifice- because it covers ALL our sins. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we don’t have to sacrifice an animal every time we sin; Jesus’ sacrifice is enough."

Closing Prayer for Bible Story

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

Teacher leads prayer:

"Dear God,

Thank You for being so great and powerful that You can love so many people. Thank you for giving us the wonderful promises of salvation. Help us to always stay faithful to You like Abraham and to trust in You when we are afraid.

In Jesus' name, Amen."

Memory Verse: Psalm 86:9

Psalm 86:9
"All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name."

Teacher:

  • “Our memory verse slowly.today comes from Psalm 86:9: ‘All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.’ “
  • “All the nations in this verse mean all people from all over the world. Can you name a country that is not Canada?”
  • (Can bring out a globe or world map, wait for children to respond)
  • “This means God wants the boys and girls in [insert countries children mentioned] to know who He is and how special He is.”
  • “To help us remember the verse, we can use some actions:”
    • All the nations: using both hands, each hand drawing half a circle
    • you have made shall come: beckon with hand as if saying "come
    • and worship before you: put hands together as if praying
    • O Lord, and shall glorify your name: clap right palm onto the left, as you bring the right hand back to your side, wiggle the fingers as if light beams are shining out from it (ASL sign for “glory”)
  • (Repeat the verse inusing different ways: whispering, while hopping, etc.)actions)

 

Activity and Game (510 mins)

Activity:Craft: "GetStar onin the Ark"Sky Memory Verse" (5 minutes)

Materials Needed:

  • ActivityBlack pageconstruction handout (JWS_Workbook_Lesson_8_2024)paper
  • ColouredYellow/ pencils/white crayonstissue paper (cut into small squares
  • White crayons/ coloured pencils
  • Glue

Teacher: "God savedtold NoahAbraham andto hislook up to the sky. God promised he will give Abraham as many grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren as there are stars in the sky. God will bless all of Abraham's family frombecause theof flood.Abraham's God is faithful to save sinners who trust in Him.faith."

"HowToday, didwe will make a star to remind us God savecreated Noaheveryone on earth and hiswe family?"

should

Expected response: (Build an ark)

Teacher: "And how didworship God punishbecause sinners?"

He

Expected response: (Died inis the flood)

most

Instructions:

special
  1. Give each child a handout.
  2. Have children colour the ark and storm clouds. 
  3. Draw a pictureperson 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.all!"

Instructions:

  1. BeforeDraw class,a hidestar theoutline animalon figurinesblack aroundconstruction thepaper. classroom
  2. ShowWrite the picturesmemory verse (All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. Psalm 86:9) on it- older children can write the memory verse themselves.
  3. Hand out small squares of yellow/ white tissue paper. Have children scrunch the animals.tissue Invitepaper children,into onesmall atballs aand time,glue them to find an animal hidden in“colour” the room matching the ones in the picture.star.

 

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:If God alwaysasked keepsyou histo promises)leave your home and move somewhere far away from your family like he asked Abraham to do, would you do it?" 
  • "DoGod youwants thinkeveryone Noahin the world to know how special He is, what are some ways we can show our family and hisfriends familyhow wereSpecial afraidGod when it started raining? Would you be afraid to live through a flood?is?"
  • "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 sinnersGod willchose Abraham to be punishedhis by God. But God is patient with sinnersfriend and willgives alwaysAbraham keepfaith Histo promises.trust in Him." Encourage parents to review the memory verses at home and discuss what it means to have faith in God.

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