Here is a Sunday school lesson plan for the story of Noah’s ark that works well with 9-11 year olds. They grasp the importance of a promise and like discussing this topic. Decoding secret codes can be done in groups or individually.
Bible Story: Noah’s Ark, pick up the story once the ark has been built and God sends Noah and the animals into the Ark. Either retell the story up to the point where God makes his Covenant with Noah, or use the following selected passages from the bible.
Genesis 7:7 – 7:18
Genesis 8:3 – 8:12
Have students in the class read the following passage – choose one student per verse.
Genesis 9:12 -9:16
Discussion: Promises and relate to personal situations
What is the importance of the rainbow? What do they understand about promises? Ask what happens when they break a promise. Ask how they feel when someone breaks a promise with them. What kinds of promise do they think should never be broken (come to the conclusion that no promise should be broken unless it’s not possible to do otherwise).
Activity: Secret Code Bible Verse
Use a verse from your bible reading – for example Genesis 9:16 – and issue the students in the class with a copy of the verse (unidentified) and in code – substitute numbers for letters (Noah – 14-15-1-8) or use letters one before the one it should be (Noah – Mnzg). The mission of the students is not only to break the code and write out the bible verse as it should be written – but also to identify which verse it is!
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