Hope – ask the children one thing they hope to do in their life. It could be a dream like, “I hope to go to Disneyland” or an ambition, “I hope to be a doctor.” Ask the children whether the things they hope for are likely to happen?
Say that when the Bible says “hope” it isn’t talking about things that might happen; it is talking about things that will happen – things we can count on. Knowing that these things are going to happen makes us feel positive when we are going through times of trouble.
Bible Time: Read the story of Noah from a children’s Bible. Genesis 6:9- 8:22
Why they think Noah agreed to do what God said, and built the ark? Did they expect God to save them? Do you think they might have wondered if the rain was ever going to stop?
Say that Noah had hope that the water would go down – how do you know that? What happens in the story to show that Noah had hope? (He sent the dove out.)
How many times did Noah send a bird out of the ark? What did that show? (That he didn’t give up hope – he trusted God to make the waters go down. When the water was still too high the first time he waited and tried again.)
Reflection: Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine that they are locked into a boat filled with smelly animals… and maybe animals they fear. What would be difficult for them? If they thought this was going to last forever, how would they feel? What would their faces look like? (Let them make a face to show you.) But suppose they knew that it was only for another 100 days, and then they would be able to get out of the smelly boat and live on the earth again, how would they feel then? Would their faces be any different? (Show.)
Say that when we have real hope that things will be different in the future it helps us to put up with things that are difficult now. This was true for Noah and his family – and it can be true for us. Ask the children if they can think of things that are hard now, but that they can put up with because they know one day it will be different?
The Point: To talk about how having hope in the future made life easier for Noah’s family – and how it can make things easier for us.
Prayer: Thank God that he is always with us and gives us hope.
Play and Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8IJpiTK9CM
Creative Craft: Grab your piece of paper with the word “HOPE” on it. Ask the children to draw on the back of it – using the whole page – a scene that they think might illustrate “hope”. For instance, they might decide to draw a sunrise, or a country scene, or a pretty garden – or a shop full of sweets perhaps. It doesn’t matter.
When their pictures are complete, they need to turn them over so that they can see the word “hope” on the other side. They need to cut the letters out (yes it will destroy their picture; that’s part of the plan). They might need help with this.
Now give the children a sheet of dark paper and ask them to stick the letters H O P E across it. They should be able to see part of their original picture on the background – like hope breaking through difficult times.
Make a paper boat (Instructions below)
Here is link to Minno Kids for a short devotional time. https://www.gominno.com/lp/church-at-home
How to make a paper boat – Visit the crafts page