A very long time ago lived a man named Jonah; God had a special job for Jonah, God wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh and to tell the people that their evil ways had broken God’s heart. Jonah didn’t like this special job and so Jonah decided to run away. Jonah got onto a boat that was going in the opposite direction of Nineveh!

While Jonah was on the boat a storm rose up around him and it shook and blew the boat so much that the sailors thought the boat was going to break! Oh no, how scary! Jonah knew that God had sent the storm and so Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the water.

God loved Jonah and so God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Can you imagine being inside of a big fish? It must have been dark, and squishy, and smelled like the ocean! While Jonah was inside of the fish he prayed, and after he was done praying God commanded the fish to spit him up onto shore.

God still wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh, and so Jonah obeyed God. Jonah told the people of Nineveh that their evil ways had broken God’s heart and that God was going to destroy them, and guess what, the people were sorry and the cried for God to forgive them. God loved his people so much that He decided to forgive them, God loved his people so much that he decided he was not going to destroy them.

The Bible says:

10 God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil things. So God changed his mind and did not do what he had warned. He did not punish them. (Jonah 3:10, ICB)

God always knows what kind of help we need.

Tell God you are sorry and he will give you a second chance.

Here are some ideas for your children based on the story.

Draw a fish or print out the one below. – Colour in or rip up pieces of tissue paper, scrunch them up and glue them on! The belly of the fish was probably a scary place to be, but god was with Jonah even there!

Have children press their fingers onto a stamp pad & stamp fingers onto paper. Add features such as fins.

Blow bubbles, just like fish do – invite your child to run around and pop them as fast as they can.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we love you SO much!  We pray that we can learn about how much you love us today.  Come into our hearts and fill us with joy.  Thank you for taking care of us.  Amen

The story of Noah presents the flood as God’s spring clean of a world spoiled by people’s unkindness.

God was feeling sad. Everywhere he looked people were spoiling his world by arguing  and fighting. No one loved God anymore 😢 💔 except for one man, Noah. He was a kind man who always listened to God and tried to please him.
“Noah” said God one day, “My world looks very dirty. It needs a good spring clean. I am going to send a BIG flood to wash all the unkindness away”.
“Oh dear” said Noah, “I am going to get very wet”.
God smiled, ” Don’t worry Noah, you are a good man. I will keep you dry. You must build a big boat called an ark. Give it a door and a roof to keep out the rain”.
So Noah built the ark. (Shall we help him? Mime  hammering the wood🔨 )
“Now” said God “Fetch animals and birds of every kind and take them to the boat”. (Shall we help him?)
“All aboard” said Noah. Noah and his family got on the boat and shut the door.
Soon the blue sky turned grey and it became very dark. It began to rain and rain and rain.
The water rose higher and lifted the boat up. It floated! Noah and his family stayed safe inside the ark for forty days and nights. Until one day the rain stopped. The water went down and the ark landed on a mountainside.
“Now” said Noah “Let’s send a dove to see if there is anything green”.
The dove came back with a twig.
So Noah opened the door and saw a rainbow in the sky.
“Noah” said God “My rainbow is to say that never again will everything be washed away. I promise”.

Here are some ideas for your child based on the story:

Cut out some big raindrop shapes and decorate with rainbow colours and glitter.

Make some animal shaped biscuits.

Sing the song ” I hear thunder”
I hear thunder, I hear thunder,
Hark don’t you, hark don’t you?
Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops,
I’m wet through, so are you.

Dress teddy in some boots, an anorak, a rainhat and give him an umbrella.

Pretend putting on boots, a raincoat, a hat and putting up an umbrella.

Pretend to go for a walk and jump over puddles.

Go outside and help to wash the garden furniture so that it is sparkling clean.

Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for all the colours of the rainbow red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Whenever we see a rainbow help us to remember that you keep your promises and are always taking care of us.
Amen

Can you find one thing inside or outside your home that is small but precious and beautiful to you? It may be a pebble, a flower, a favourite toy or something that you have made yourself. We are all precious in God’s Eyes, however small we may be.

This week many of us will have seen and felt the gentle rainfall of Spring after many days of beautiful dry sunny weather.

Some families in far away places right now, don’t have the joy of the rain. Rainfall is precious to them. Their world is dry, meaning that they may face many different challenges to us.

In Peru, Gloria, age 9 said ” If I could change the world, I would collect water and grow plants, they help give us life, they protect us so that we can breathe fresh air

Thank you God that we can breathe fresh air and enjoy both the sunshine AND the rain.

Here are two activities which you may like to do together in your family, you could each even spend some quiet time on your own and then later share your thoughts about the small things.

1. Collect some rainwater and make a little rain pond, (you can use tap water if you don’t have any rain)

Use any small or large container.

Fill your little pond with anything you find, stones, shells, grass, petals, anything at all… Say thank you to God for the joy of His life giving water.

Share a piece of bread and take a drink of water with your family.

One cup, one bread, one family.

2. Make a Nature Box thanking God for all his Creation.

Any carton will do. You can use an egg box if you have one.

Collect small things from around your home or on your daily walk.

Talk about the things you have put in your box and say “We thank you God”