Learn about God’s rainbow promise in the story of Noah’s Ark and other biblical narratives with this hands-on rainbow bible study for kids.
There are few things in nature as magical as a rainbow. My daughters and I often go on a rainbow hunt after a storm has passed and the first beams of light begin to shine. We are so excited when we spot one! As Spring brings its nourishing showers and warming sun rays, we opened our bibles this week to learn more about God’s rainbow promise and what it means for us today. Join us in exploring the story of Noah’s Ark and God’s loving faithfulness with this bible study for kids and hands-on rainbow activities!
Table of Contents
The Story: Noah and the Ark
For weeks all Noah and his family saw were storm clouds, powerful winds, and drenching rain. Have you ever been on a boat? I think I would have gotten sea-sick on day one! It must have gotten a little smelly too with all those animal friends on board. For 40 days it rained and the sea of water continued to rise higher and higher. The flood covered all the earth. But God took care of Noah’s family and the boat floated safely on the water. The water rose so high, it even covered the tallest mountains!
But then, after 150 days the waters began to slowly dry up. When all the water was gone, God told Noah to leave the boat and let all the animals out to make a new home. Noah built an altar to praise God for taking care of them. Then God spoke to Noah and made a special promise to them. God promised He would never flood the whole earth again. He put a bright rainbow in the sky to remind us all of His promise.
Key Bible Verse
“I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.” (Genesis 9: 13 NIV)
Lesson: God’s Rainbow Promise
What is a Rainbow?
Before we discover more about God’s rainbow promise, let’s do a little nature study and learn about how rainbows are made.
Have you ever noticed that if you hold a cd just right in the sunlight, all sorts of different colors are reflected on the wall? The same thing happens in a rainbow. When white light from the sun travels through rain drops, the raindrops act as tiny prisms. The water bends and reflects the white light and separates it into its different colors. Light travels in waves and each color’s wave is a different length. The colors of the rainbow always appear in the same order from longest to shortest wavelength. That’s how we get our favorite red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet ark of color.
1. Rainbow Promise: God will guide us through every storm.
The brightest rainbows appear after the darkest storms. When we are facing a challenge and think everything is going wrong, remember God has a joy filled rainbow waiting to shine bright for you! Just like He guided Noah and kept him safe through all that uncertainty on their voyage, God takes care of us each and every day. We can turn to Him when we are sad, or frightened, or just not sure what to do. He will help us find the answers we need.
2. Rainbow Promise: God will always love and forgive us
Do you remember what a rainbow is made of? A rainbow is light! Just like Jesus! Jesus is our light (John 8:12), ready to fill our hearts with his loving rays and welcome each of us into his family. God made a rainbow promise about the flood to Noah and He makes a rainbow promise to us in Jesus – that He will always forgive our sins and love us no matter what. Each of us sins. We don’t always obey God or do what is right. But all we have to do is open our hearts to Jesus and ask him to help us do better.
3. Rainbow Promise: God invites us to share in His glory
Noah’s story isn’t the only place in the bible that shows us a rainbow. When Ezekiel has a vision of God, he describes the glory that surrounds God’s throne “like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day.” (Ezekiel 1:28, NIV)
Did you know that everyone who believes in God has God’s glory living inside of them? Jesus says, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22, NIV)
What is this glory God has given us? Glory isn’t an easy word to define. In a way, it is the ‘awesomeness’ of God. His infinite (never ending) goodness, beauty, power, honor, and greatness. God is the source of all good things and He invites us to share in them too. That IS awesome! Check out these other rainbow bible verses about God’s glory from Revelation (4:2-3, 10:1-2).
Our Favorite Hands-on Rainbow Activities
Rainbow Promise Mobile
God has made some amazing promises to us! Let’s think of how we can live for God by making our own covenant promises with this Rainbow Promise Mobile.
Materials:
- your Rainbow and cloud/raindrop template
- white cardstock
- clean thick cardboard
- twine
- hole punch
- glue stick
- markers
- scissors
Instructions:
- Download your free Rainbow templates by signing up for our newsletter to STAY CONNECTED at the end of the post.
- Paste the rainbow template onto a piece of clean cardboard.
- Either cut out the entire rainbow as one piece or for an added dimension, cut each color arch into separate bands. Punch a hole in the center of each band and string together with twine.
- Cut out your cloud and raindrop template shapes. On each shape write a promise to God. Punch a hole at the top of each shape and a corresponding hole on the bottom of your rainbow. String these shapes at different heights from the rainbow.
- Hang your rainbow in your room to remember your promises to God and the amazing promises He made to us!
Rainbow Experiments
Growing a Rainbow
- Fold a paper towel in half and trim to about 7-8 inches long.
- Color rectangles of rainbow colors on each end. Make sure you use lots of ink so the dye can travel through.
- Fill two small mason jars or cups half full with water.
- Place your ‘rainbow’ with one end in each cup. Don’t put the ends too deep in the water or the dye will disperse into the water instead.
- Watch as the water travels up the towel and your rainbow grows to connect. This was a lesson in patience for the girls! It takes about 10 minutes in total.
Rainbow Paper
- Fill a bowl with water.
- Cut black construction or cardstock paper into 2″ x 2″ squares.
- Place one drop of clear nail polish into the water bowl. It will disperse quickly across the surface of the water. Use in a well ventilated area.
- Carefully dip the paper square into the bowl and lift out. Place on a towel to dry.
- Add a new drop of nail polish before dipping each new piece of paper.
- Observe your beautiful creation under the light and see the rainbow colors appear!
LEARN MORE …
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Our favorite Noah’s Ark activities for kids and rainbow science projects:
Happy rainbow hunting!
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