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Course OverviewTheme Verse: “Your word is truth.” John 17:17

Day 1:Creation

Day 2:Corruption

Day 3:Catastrophe

Day 4:Confusion

Day 5:Christ, Cross,

Completion

Title/BibleContent

Destination Creation:

Back to the Beginning

The Fall of All:Sin Enters the

World

Water, Water, Everywhere:Noah and the

Worldwide Flood

The Babel Rabble:The Tower of

Babel

Sad Turns to Glad:

Jesus Came and Will Come Again

Color Green Dark Blue Gray White/Red/Yellow

ScriptureReference

Genesis 1 Genesis 3 Genesis 6-9 Genesis 11Sections from

RomansRevelation 21-22

MemoryVerse

“Then God saw everything that He

had made, and indeed it was very

good.”Genesis 1:31

“Through one man sin entered the

world, and death through sin.”Romans 5:12

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world

and those who dwell therein.”

Psalm 24:1

“Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the

language of all the earth.”

Genesis 11:9

“For God so loved the

world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in

Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

ApologeticsContent

Examining the Age of the Earth

Examining the Effects of the

Curse

Examining the Reality of the Flood

Examining Where the People Groups

Came FromCreatureFeature

The Jungle Jaguar The Amazing Anaconda The Basilisk Lizard The Amazon

ArmadilloThe Blue Morpho

Butterfly

RainforestGames/Activities

Clay Creations

Vine Memory Verse

Picture This

Tic Tac Toe

Flood Bible Account

Vine Limbo

Babel Bingo

Tear Down the Wall

Review Stops

Bag of Beads

Gospel Message

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An OverviewBefore beginning any journey, it helps to

know where you’re going and what you’ll find when you get there.The Ultimate Trek Through Time

As we begin to explore the animals and plants of the Amazon rainforest, children will be taken on the “ultimate trek through time,” which is based on the God-breathed record of history given to us in the Bible. Through the Seven C’s of History, children will understand that the Bible is not a dusty book that bears no connection to the world in which we live. Rather, it is the Word of our Creator, and as such, it can be trusted to tell us the truth about every area it touches on. In addition to the Bible content, apologetic content (showing how to answer the questions of the of the world) is also taught at Amazon Expedition.

The Seven C’s of History are seven biblical events that have affected, or will affect, the world. Creation (Genesis 1-2) reveals that God created a “very good”universe in six normal-length days (6,000years ago). Corruption (Genesis 3) showsthat Adam’s disobedience brought death,sickness, and sorrow into the world, thusleading to the need for a Redeemer.

The catastrophe (Genesis 6-8) was the global Flood of Noah’s day by which God judged the wickedness of man (4,300 years ago). Many of the earth’s fossil layers were formed at this time. The confusion (Genesis 10-11) at Babel came when God confused the language of Noah’s descendants, causing them to spread out and fill the earth (4,200 years ago). This event brought about the many

people groups and language families in existence today. Christ (the Creator God who stepped into history to become a man) came to redeem the world from sin by dying on the cross and paying the death penalty for those who receive Him (2,000 years ago). As Christians, we look forward to the completion of all things in the future, when the Curse will be removed and God prepares a new heaven and the new earth for His children. In Amazon Expedition, each C is also paired with a color: Creation - green, Corruption - dark, Catastrophe - blue, Confusion - gray, Christ - white, Cross - red, Completion - yellow. These colorsare incorporated throughout the VBS.

Note: We have chosen “dark” instead of black for Corruption because the Bible frequently compares sin to darkness but never to the color black.

Terms to KnowExpedition Teams: Groups of children named after Amazon animals, such as Anacondas or Toucans.

Amazon River Guides: Teachers and Helpers of the guided learning time.

Guided Learning Time: Bible and apologetics teaching time.

Hikers: Kindergarten – 2nd Grade

Explores: 3rd Grade

Trailblazers: 4th – 6th Grade

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Frequently Asked QuestionsThe content of Amazon Expedition may be new to you. So we’ve put together a list of questions for each day, along with web links to answers so that you can be prepared to teach your students about the ultimate trek through time.

Day 11. Did God create in six actual days?

www.answersingenesis.org/org/days2. How old is the earth? www.

answersingenesis.org/go/world-born3. Hasn’t science shown the earth

is millions of years old? www.answersingenesis.org/go/young

4. What about the dinosaurs? www.answersingenesis.org/go/dinosaurs

5. Couldn’t the Bible teach that the earth is millions of years old? Could God have used evolutionary processes to create? www.answersingenesis.org/go/compromise

6. Could God have used the big bang to bring about the universe? www.answersingenesis.org/go/big-bang

7. What does it mean that God created the animals “after their kind”? www.answersingenesis.org/go/kinds

8. What about the so-called “apemen”? www.answersingenesis.org/go/anthropology

9. Don’t Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 contradict each other? www.answersingenesis.org/go/contradictions

10. Don’t carbon-14 and other radiometric dating methods show the earth is millions of years old? www.answersingenesis.org/go/dating

Day 21. If there is an all-powerful, loving God, why is there so much death and suffering in the world? www.answers ingenesis.org/go/death-suffering

Day 31. Can the global Flood of Noah’s day

really explain the many rock and fossil layers? What about the formation of coal and oil? Cave formation? www.answersingenesis.org/go/geology

2. Wasn’t the Flood just a local event? www.answersingenesis.org/go/flood

3. What about the flood legends found around the world? www.answersingenesis.org/go/flood-legends

4. How could Noah and his family care for all the animals on the Ark? www.answersingenesis.org/go/ark

5. Where did all the water come from? www.answersingenesis.org/go/floodwater

6. Have the continents moved? www.answersingenesis.org/go/tectronics

Day 41. Where did the so-called “races” come

from? www.answersingenesis.org/go/people-groups

2. Have languages evolved? www.answersingenesis.org/go/linguistics

3. Have all the people groups really come from Noah’s family? www.answersingenesis.org/go/grandsons

4. Hasn’t secular history shown the Bible to be false? www.answersingenesis.org/go/history

5. Weren’t the ancients just primitives? www.answersingenesis.org/go/history

Day 51. Is Jesus really God? Is there evidence

that Jesus really existed? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? www.answersingenesis.org/go/Jesus-Christ

2. Why is Jesus called the “Last Adam”? www.answersingenesis.org/go/last-adam

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Fun Facts to Whet Your Amazon Appetite

Stop! Look! Listen! And be amazed. The Amazon rainforest, through which the Amazon River snakes, is a unique place. Ponder these fun facts, and use them to get your wheels turning on this year’s VBS “fun” Theme. Google “Amazon rainforest,” or check out library books on the Amazon to get your creative juices flowing.

• The word rainforest was invented in 1903 to describe a forest that grows in constantly wet conditions. Count on it raining in the rainforest most every day.

• There are two main types of rainforest: temperate and tropical . The tropical rainforests of the world are found near the equator.

• More than half of all the earth’s plant and animal kinds currently live in rainforests, though rainforests cover only 6% of the earth’s surface.

• Tropical rainforests are home to the world’s biggest creepy crawlies: spiders the size of dinner plates and beetles as big as baseballs!

• The rainforest has four main layers: the forest floor, the understory, the canopy, and the emergent layer. Trees grow to 200 feet (61 meters) at the emergent layer.

• Two-thirds of all medicines used today originated from rainforest plants.

• The Amazon rainforest in South America is the largest rainforest in the world. It is as big as the continental U.S.

• There are few roads in the Amazon rainforest, and much of it is still unexplored and inaccessible.

• The Amazon rainforest supports more types of plants and animals than anywhere else on earth, with new ones being discovered all the time.

• Two words that describe the Amazon rainforest are hot and wet.

• Because of dense foliage, rain can take 10 minutes to reach the rainforest floor. The foliage also traps most of the sunlight in the ceiling of the rainforest. Only 1% of the sunlight makes it to the forest floor.

• There is no winter in the Amazon. The average temperature is around 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius).

• The rainfall in the Amazon rainforest each year can fill two-billion Olympic-sized swimming pools.

• The Amazon River flows through the Amazon rainforest. It is the second largest river in the world, measuring 35 miles across in some places.

• The Amazon River is so deep ocean liners can travel on it.

• The main mode of transportation on the Amazon River is by boat. The most common type of boat is a hollowed out log with a motor attached.

• About two-thirds of all the freshwater in the world is found in the Amazon River basin.

• There are more species of fish in the Amazon River than in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

• The Amazon River can be black, red, green, white, or blue, depending on the sediment content and depth.

• There are many different tribes, or people groups, who live in the Amazon rainforest.

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Amazon Animals and PlantsA variety of amazing Amazonian animals and plants are listed below. The first group of each letter describes animals and the second describes plants. Use this list for decorating ideas, class names, and other VBS fun!

A Anaconda, Arawana fish, Atelopus, Acacia ant, Armadillo, Army ant

A Acacia tree, Avocado Aya treeB Blue morpho butterfly, Bird-eating

spider, Basilisk lizard, Black agoutiB Banana tree, Bromeliad, Brazil nutC Capybara, Caiman, Crab spiderC Cacao bean, Caladium, Coconut,

Cashew, Chicle tree, Cannonball treeD Dolphin (pink), DogfishD Damiana ShrubE Electric eel, Emerald boaE Epiphyte, EpazoteF Fer-de-lance-snake, Fruit-eating batF Fig tree, FernG Giant anteater, Giant otter, Golden

lion tamarinG Guava, Gumbolimbo treeH Howler monkey, Harpy eagle,

Hercules beetle, Hoatzin, Hummingbird

H HortelaI Iguana, IbisI Iporuru treeJ JaguarJ Jatoba treeK KinkajouK Kola nut, Kapok treeL Leaf cutter antL Lime, Lemon, Liana vineM Matamata, Mother of pearl butterfly,

ManateeM Mango, Moss

N Night monkeyN NettlesO OcelotO OrchidP Peccary, Piranha, Pygmy marmoset,

Poison dart frogP Passion flower, Papaya, Prayer plant,

Palm grass and tree, PhilodendronQ QuetzalQ Queen’s wreath, Quinine barkR Red-eyed tree frogR Rubber tree, Rosy periwinkleS Scarlet macaw, Stingray, Sloth,

Suriname toad, Spiny katydidS Sugarcane, Strangler fig, Swiss cheese

plantT Toucan, Tapir, Tamandua, Tent-

making batT Tomatoes, Tonka BeanU Umbrella birdU Ubos fruit treeV Vampire batV Vanilla beanW Wooly mouse opossum, Walking

stick, Windowpane butterflyW Walking palmX Xenarthrales (armadillo)X Xylopia brasiliensis treeY YapockY YamZ ZorroZ Zebra plant

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Creation

Destination Creation

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Destination Creation

Today’s Lesson at a Glance

Take Off on Your Trek• Introduction• Clay Creations

Travel Your Trek• The Story of Dot• The Bible Account of Creation

Retrace Your Trek• Wrap-up: Evidences of a Young Earth• Memory Verse Time: Vine on a Line

Preparing for the Lesson

oRead Genesis 1-2 several times.oRead this lesson several times.oSee the Frequently Asked Questions page about the

big bang, age of the earth, etc.

Today’s C: CreationToday’s Color: GreenBible Content: Genesis 1, Back to the

BeginningApologetics Content: Examining the

Age of the EarthMemory Verse: “Then God saw

everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

Materials

Per Childo1 Skittleo1 ball of clay (see recipe below)o2 crayons of different colorsoPattern Draw Days

From Teacher Resource PackoPoster 1-a (Creation) Transparency oIllustrations 1-00 - 1-01

Other MaterialsoSmall amount of saltoBalloon for each sessionoBead letters for each balloonoFunneloPinoMarker boardo2 dry erase makers of different colorsoClotheslineo15 clothespinso15 green paper leavesoBible

Room Setup

• Attach poster 1-a to the green butcher paper.• Softly play a CD with rainforest sounds.• Spray tropical-scented air freshener.

Homemade Clay Recipe (about 8 children) 1 Cup flour 1/2 Cup salt 1 Package Unsweetened Kool-aid 1 Cup Boiling Water 1 Tablespoon cooking oil

Mix flour, salt, and Kool-aid in a bowl. Add boiling water and cooking oil. Mix until it forms into clay. Let cool.

The flavor of Kool-aid you choose will determine the color and scent of the clay.

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Today’s Devotional: God is the Good Creator“The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are

over all His works.” Psalm 145:9 For a few moments, imagine yourself strolling through a section of the Garden of Eden. This beautiful abundance of flora and fauna was just declared by the Creator to be “very good.” The creation was a manifestation of the goodness of the Creator. In your mind’s eye, how does this original paradise reflect the goodness of God? Do the flowers fill the air with glorious fragrances? Do the serpents hanging from the trees fill you with delight at their bright colors and silky smooth skin? Do you gently stroke the thick fur of the large bear off to your right? Do you gasp in awe at the towering T. rex as he lumbers past? Contrast this with the view that Carl Sagan held about God and His creation: “If God is omnipotent and omniscient, why didn’t he start the universe out in the first place so it would come out the way he wants? Why is he constantly repairing and complaining? No, there’s one thing the Bible makes clear: The biblical God is a sloppy manufacturer. He’s not good at design, he’s not good at execution. He’d be out of business if there was any competition” (C. Sagan, Contact [New York: Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, 1985]). In Sagan’s eden, the flowers God created prick you with thorns when you bend over to inhale their fragrance. The serpent slithering past your feet inspires a fearful shriek. The lion creeping up behind the lamb suddenly takes a bite out of it. And the dinosaurs are nowhere to be seen because they died out millions of years ago. What important factor did Carl Sagan fail to take into account? He believed that the world we live in today is the world God originally created. He didn’t understand that we now live in a fallen world—a world that has been corrupted with sin. His view has been colored by the belief that the world is millions of years old and that the fossil record—filled with evidence of death, disease, suffering, and thorns—is a record of the way things have been for the past several million years. Carl Sagan isn’t alone in viewing the Creator this way. Media mogul Ted Turner, and even Charles Darwin himself, are just a few of the many who can’t comprehend the goodness of God because of what they see today.

Although all of creation shouts, “There is a God!” (Romans 1:20), it has been marred with our sin. Read Psalm 33:5. In what ways do you see the goodness of God still reflected in His creation? In what ways do you see the effects of our sin? Think about how you represent the all-good Creator to those in your care. For example, are the “design features” you share with your children reflective of a good God or a fallen creation? As you present today’s C, do so in a way that emphasizes the goodness of God. His original creation was complete and “very good.” It was full of life, peace, and joy. He provided light for us to see by (Day 1), air for us to breathe (Day 2), vegetation for us to eat (Day 3), majestic arrays of stars to study before bed (Day 4), abundant Fauna for us to enjoy (Day 5-6), and a creation for us to care for. He created for His glory. Read Psalm 107:1, 15, and 119:68, as well as the Puritan prayer about the infinite goodness of the Creator.

King of glory, divine majesty,Every perfection adorns thy nature and

sustains thy throne;The heavens and earth are thine,

The world is thine and its fullness.Thy power created the universe from

nothing;Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple

concerns,Presiding over nations, families, individuals.Thy goodness is boundless;

All creatures wait on thee;Are supplied by thee;Are satisfied in thee.

How precious are the thoughts of thy mercy and grace!

How excellent thy lovingkindness that draws men to thee!

Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005) p. 216.

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Take Off on Your TrekIntroduction (5 minutes)Welcome everyone as they enter with “Ola” (“hello” in Portuguese, the language of the Amazon rainforest). After everyone is seated, start the following dialogue.

Amazon River Guide One (Master Teacher) Welcome to the Amazon! My name is _________, and I am a highly trained Bible scholar and expedition guide.

Amazon River Guide Two (Teaching Assistant) And my name is _________, and I am a highly trained, uh, helper!

Guide One We will be your Amazon River Guides this week as we take the ultimate trek through time. This trek is not for the faint of heart. It’s a jungle out there, and we’re heading right for it!

We will make stops each day at one of the Seven C’s. The Seven C’s are seven events that are explained in the history book of the universe—the Bible.

Before we can begin, though, everyone has to take a malaria pill. We don’t want anyone to contract jungle fever!

Pass out one Skittle to each child and have them pretend it is a malaria pill.

It’s time to leave on our trek. When I say “go” everyone needs to stand up, face the back wall, jog in place for 20 seconds, turn around three times fast, and sit back down. Ready? On your mark, get set, go!

Once they have settled, continue.

Clay Creations (5 minutes)Guide One We’ve arrived. The first C in history is Creation. The color green reminds us of God’s beautiful creation filled with green plants and trees. And speaking of Creation, let’s do some creating!

Pass out pieces of clay to make rainforest animals. The expedition team members (kids) may create any rainforest animal they want by molding and twisting their clay into shape.

Take a minute to quickly look at their creations. Then put all clay aside and say:

That was great creating! Now I’d like you to make a rainforest animal out of nothing. You must work alone using no supplies. Ready? On your mark, get set, go!

Give them a few seconds to let the reality of this sink in. Then play with them a little bit.

J Today’s lesson is packed full, so keep things moving!

oSkittles

J Be familiar with the lesson, but don’t memorize it. Place it on a clipboard to use as a reference.

J Calling yourself “Jungle Jane” or Crocodile Clay” ads to the fun!

J If you have no teaching assistant, delete the Guide Two part.

J Vary your costume to match the color of the day, such as a green shirt on Day 1, dark bandana on Day 2, etc.

oBall of clay

J You may want to make sample animals or brainstorm a quick list of Amazon animals: sloths, monkeys, jaguars, poison dart frogs, snakes, tarantulas, beetles, butterflies, anteaters, piranhas, and lizards.

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What’s the trouble? I don’t see anything happening! Should I repeat the instructions?

As they verbalize the impossibility of the situation, say:

Are we able to create something from nothing? What about this world we live in? Where did everything come from?

Let’s explore how everything came to be. There are two main ideas about what happened in the beginning. One was made up by men. The other account was given to us by God.

Travel Your TrekAccount One: The Story of Dot (10 minutes)

Ask for a volunteer. Put a grain of salt in his hand. Refer to the grain of salt as you say the following:

This is not the true story of what happened in the beginning. It was made up by men. This story begins with a tiny speck. Can everyone see it?

The kids will not be able to see it, of course. Ask the volunteer to hold the grain up. He may drop it in the attempt. Even if the volunteer succeeds in holding up the grain, the kids still will not be able to see it.

Well, since our speck is so teeny tiny, I will blow it up for illustration purposes. Please remember it is no bigger than the size of that grain of salt. But for this demonstration, we will make it biggie size.

Take the speck of salt from the volunteer and have him sit down. Turn around so your back is toward the kids, and blow up the balloon with the bead letters inside it. Tie it off and turn back around.

Have another volunteer hold the balloon.

This account of the past was made up by men. The people who wrote this story say that billions of years ago there was a little, nonliving speck. They do not know how this speck got here in the first place. It just existed.

We’ll call this speck Dot, to remind us of its size. Dot was tiny, but it was not lightweight. You see, Dot had all the ingredients for the entire universe squished inside of that little space. That’s a lot of stuff!

Tell the volunteer to shake the balloon.

Well, as you can imagine, Dot was very uncomfortable with all that stuff squished in there. Dot was so full and so jam packed that one day, Dot just expanded with a big bang!

Poke the balloon with a pin while the volunteer holds it. This will send the letters cascading all over the place.

oGrain of saltoFunnelo1 Balloon per teaching sessionoBead letters for each balloonoPin

J Prepare balloons before class begins. Put a funnel in the end of a balloon, and pour in bead letter (available at craft stores). Do not tie it shut.

Those allergic to latex can use a latex-free medical glove (found at drug stores or medical offices).

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As you can see from the floor, when Dot exploded, all the stuff in the universe, called matter and space, flew all over the place. It was a mess.

Now I don’t know about you, but anytime I think of an explosion, I think of chaos. For instance, pretend you own a brick factory, and it explodes. Do you think that a perfectly built brick house would result from the explosion?

But the writers of this story say that this explosion was different from all other explosions. They say the stuff that exploded this time didn’t stay in a big mess. Without the help of any intelligent person, it started to organize and arrange itself.

Let’s look at this mess on the floor. It may be possible, although highly unlikely, to find a word or two in there. Even more unlikely would be to find a meaningful sentence. But these words are only meaningful to those who already know the language. And it requires intelligence to interpret a particular arrangement of letters.

Now, suppose we just sit and watch these letters. It certainly seems impossible for that mess to end up arranged into a small book, doesn’t it? But in this story, with no intelligent person working with this stuff, the matter got organized all by itself. In fact, as billions of years went by, it arranged itself into complex galaxies, and then (somehow) into our sun and our moon and our earth.

Remember that, so far, all the stuff that came from Dot was still not alive. Somehow, after millions and millions more years, the stuff that wasn’t alive turned into stuff that was alive. Wow! It eventually turned into all the perfectly formed plants and animals we know of today. It even turned into you and me! They call this “evolution.”

So, to review, the authors of this story say that all things started from a big bang that came from the Dot billions of years ago. But, remember, this isn’t the true story of what happened in the beginning.

Account Two: The Bible Account of Creation (10 minutes)

Before beginning the next account, pass out the supplies. Position the marker board up front to draw on. Draw two horizontal lines across your paper, separating the page into three parts.

I need you to help me with the next account. As I read this account, please draw it along with me.

This account begins not millions or billions of years ago, but just about 6,000 years ago. It is found in the Bible, and it is the true account of how everything came to be. This account tells the truth about the beginning.

Per childoPattern Draw Dayso2 different crayonsoHard writing surfaceoOther materialsoMarker boardo2 dry erase markersoBible

J Visit www.answersingenesis.org/go/drawing for instructions on drawing the six days of creation.

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Open your Bible, and read from it as you go through this lesson. Base your drawings on those in the margins. Use one crayon/marker for the first three days.

The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He did so in six actual days.

Read Genesis 1:1-5.Write the number 1 in the top left corner. Draw the earth with shading to show that light (not the sun) was shining on the earth, making day and night.

Read Genesis 1:6-8.

Write the number 2 in the middle left. Draw a water line.

Read Genesis 1:9-11.

Write the number 3 in the bottom left. Draw a line for dry land. Draw plants and trees. Allow the right side to remain open to be filled on Day Six. These plants and trees were to provide food for the animals and humans!

Switch to the second crayon/maker (children, too).


Write the number 4 in the top right corner. Draw the sun, moon, and stars.


Write the number 5 in the middle right. Draw simple birds in the air, and simple fish and sea creatures under the water line. Point out that God created creatures such as plesiosaurs, pteranodons, and pterydactyls on this day.

Read Genesis 1:24.

Write the number 6 in the lower right. Draw land animals (including a dinosaur—since dinosaurs were land animals, they were created on this day along with the other land animals).


Draw two stick people.

God made a beautiful garden for Adam and Eve to tend. He made them in His image, not from ape-like creatures. In fact, people everywhere are made in God’s image! We are special and set apart from the animals.

Read Genesis 1:31-2:3.

In the beginning, all the animals and humans ate only green plants! That means T. rex would have been munching on melons or berries, but not other animals!

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Then the Bible tells us that the heavens and the earth were finished. On the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested from all His work. He didn’t rest because He was tired—God never gets tired or sleeps. He rested because He was finished with His work.

So, to review, when we want to know how everything came to be, we need to check the Bible. From the Bible, we learn that God spoke everything into existence in six actual days, as only God could do.

Retrace Your TrekWrap-up: Evidences of a Young Earth (5 minutes)

Let’s discuss these two accounts. Both versions cannot be true. On the one hand, you have a little, nonliving speck turning into everything we see. On the other hand, an all powerful and good God created everything. Which is true?

Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s Word, the Bible, is truth—every word of it. So if God’s Word reveals to us that He is the Creator of the universe and that He made the world in six days, then that settles it. The one and only book written by God is the Bible, and it is the only source we can completely trust. There was no big bang, and the universe is not billions of years old.

What should you think when you hear at school or read in books or are told at museums that the earth and universe are millions of years old?

First, remember that the Bible is the authority. We always start there and trust what it says.

There are also many scientific findings that confirm what the Bible teaches. Here are some things to remember when you hear about the age of the earth.

Even though you will hear that millions of years of history are a fact, they are not. Have any people alive today been around for millions of years to tell us what happened? No! They are just guessing what happened. Of course, God has been actively involved in His creation since He created it, and He has told us what happened.

Let me give you a few quick examples that show the earth can’t be millions of years old.

From Teacher Resource PackoIllustrations 1-00, 1-01

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• Continents wearing away: Every year, the wind and the waves wear away, or erode, a little bit more of the continents. If they were millions of years old, the continents would be long gone by now.

• Mud on the sea floor: Billions of years of erosion would have filled the oceans with mud a long time ago. There’s’ not nearly enough mud on the sea floor if the earth is many billions of years old. The amount is much more in line with an earth that is just a few thousand years old.

• Salt in the oceans: Illustration 1-00. Have you ever been to the beach, played in the waves, and gotten a mouth full of salty water? Well, that salt has been accumulating since the beginning of time. But scientists have found that there’s not nearly enough salt in the oceans if the earth is billions of years old. On the other hand, the amount can be explained by an earth that is about 6,000 years old.

• Cave formations: Illustration 1-01. You may hear that it takes many hundreds of thousands of years for stalactites and stalagmites to form. But look at this picture of a bottle that has been covered with minerals in just a short while. Do you think it took millions of years for minerals to form on this bottle? No! This bottle isn’t very old at all, and it took just a little while for it to get covered.

There are many more examples that confirm that God’s Word is true. The earth is not millions of years old, and the universe did not begin with a big bang! It is about 6,000 years old! Let’s move on to a memory verse game called “Vine on a Line.”

Memory Verse Time (5 minutes)

Vine on a Line

Before class begins, cut out 15 “leaves” from green construction paper. Write each word of the verse on a leaf. Hang a clothesline “vine.” Attach each leaf to the clothesline with a clothespin.

During class, say the verse together. Take one leaf away. Say the verse together again. Take another one or two leaves away. Continue taking random leaves away till the team members are saying the verse without any help. If you are running short on time, take more leaves away at one time.

Today’s Verse

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

oClotheslineo15 clothespinso15 green construction paper

leaves

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Corruption

The Fall of All

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The Fall of All


Take Off on Your Trek• Tree Trivia

Travel Your Trek• Biblical Account: The Fall of All• Picture This: Corruption

Retrace Your Trek• Wrap Up: Responding to Temptation• Memory Verse Time: Tic Tac Toe


oRead Genesis 3 several times.oRead this lesson several timesoSee the Frequently Asked Questions page about

how we can reconcile the death and suffering we experience with our loving God.

Today’s C: CorruptionToday’s Color: DarkBible Content: Genesis 3, Sin Enters the WorldApologetics Content: Examining the Effects of the CurseMemory Verse: : “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin.” Romans 5:12

Materials

Per ChildoPaperoMarker

From Teacher Resource PackoPoster 2-a (Corruption) Transparency

Other MaterialsoBibleoRubber snakeoTropical print shortoIndex card cluesoTimeroMarker boardoDry erase makeroMasking tapeo5 bean bags for Xs and 5 for Os per game board

Room Setup

• Attach poster 2-a to the dark butcher paper.• Place a potted artificial tree nearby.• Darken the room a bit. It needs to be light enough for the children to be able to see to draw, however.• Play a CD of howling or rustling rainforest sounds.

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Today’s Devotional: God is our Righteous Judge“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways

are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4

After every tragedy, the media abounds with reports of people asking, “If there is a good and loving God, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?” Have you ever asked this question or heard this question asked? As the infinitely good God, the Creator fashioned a world that manifested His goodness, according to His pleasure and for His glory. He established rules for His creation to follow. The standard to which He held His creation is Himself: absolute goodness. With one bite of fruit, Adam fell short of His standard. Because God is absolutely pure and holy, untouched by sin, He cannot partake in sin, nor can He approve of it in others. He established a penalty for falling short of His standard: death. The goodness and holiness of God demands that He judge sin. As the righteous judge, He had no choice but to carry out the punishment that He had set for breaking His rules. He imposed a sentence from which we have no means of escaping on our own. We can’t get away from our punishment for sin: death, eternal separation from our Creator. When a murderer is given a sentence for his crime, do we blame the judge who sentenced him? The answer to the age-old question “Why?” lies not at the feet of the Creator but in the bite of a fruit by man.

As you share with the children today about the second C in our trek through time—the corruption that entered the universe after Adam sinned—be careful to emphasize that the mess we find ourselves in is not the fault of our good and loving Creator. This helps children answer the why question when they encounter a tragedy. It’s the deserved punishment for our sin. We need to also continually point them toward the great gift that the Creator has for us (salvation through Jesus Christ), which we’ll talk more about tomorrow and on the last day. Read Psalm 89:14, and think about the words of this Puritan prayer.

Thou Maker and Sustainer of all things,Day and night are thine,Heaven and earth declare thy glory;But I, a creature of thy power and bounty,Have sinned against theeBy resisting the dictates of conscience,The demands of they law,The calls of thy gospel;Yet I live under the dispensation of a given

hope.Deliver me from worldly dispositions,For I am born from above and bound forGlory.May I view and long after holinessAs the beauty and dignity of the soul.


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Take Off on Your TrekTree Trivia (5 minutes)

As the children arrive and get settled, say:

The next stop on our trek through time is a dark stop. There are many dark areas in the rainforest because of the large canopy of trees. One tree, the kapok tree, can grow to be over 200 feet tall. That is as high as a 20-story building! When many of the kapok trees grow together, it creates a thick canopy which blocks out much of the sun.

Talking about trees reminds me of our next stop, called Corruption, because there was a very important tree at that stop. Let’s gather some supplies, and then we’ll hear all about it.

Pass out writing supplies to each child. Give them a minute to draw on their paper.

Then explain that there is one rule that goes with the paper. From now on, they are only allowed to draw on the paper when told to, and they must draw what you ask. This is an exercise in temptation, but do not mention that at this point. Children should flip over their papers and prepare to listen.

Travel Your TrekCatchy Conversation: The Fall of All (10 minutes)

Guide One (Master Teacher) Who remembers what our stop yesterday was called?

Kids respond “Creation.”

We learned that the Bible is the only completely trustworthy source. And at Stop One, Creation, we left the first two people, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden where everything was very good.

Draw a smiley face on your boards to show that everything was very good.

At our next stop, things are about to change. Draw an X through your smiley face.

Guide Two (Teaching Assistant) Jump up and begin to change costume. Take off the river guide vest and throw a tropical shirt on over your T-shirt.

Guide One What do you think you are doing?

Guide Two You said it was time for a change.

oPaper (1 piece per child)oMarker (1 per child)oPoster 2-a

J Make the room “dark” to coordinate with the lesson, but don’t make it scary.

oBible oTropical print shirtoRubber snake

J Use small dry erase boards, paper and markers, or magic slates for this activity.

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Guide One I said things were about to change, not that it was time for you to change.

Guide Two Looking duly chastised.Oh, I’m sorry. Does this mean I can’t wear my Hawaiian shirt anymore? It’s my favorite.

Guide One Be my guest. Anyway, back to the Bible account. As I was saying, things were about to change. From reading Genesis 3, we learn that a serpent now enters the scene.

Guide Two Boo! HISSSSSSSS!

Guide One Open your Bible.

The Bible says that “the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord had made.” Satan had taken the form of a serpent.

Guide Two Oohh! He was a sly guy!

Guide One Yes. In fact, he was the slyest, meanest, nastiest ever. Draw a picture of this serpent.

Children draw it. Most likely it will look like a snake.

Most of you drew a snake. Since the Bible just calls it a serpent, we can’t be positively sure it was a snake. It could have been some extinct kind of animal we don’t know about. But the description does sound snake-like, so we will just use a snake to portray the serpent for now.

Place rubber snake in the tree.

The unusual thing about this serpent was that it could talk. Animals nowadays can’t talk, but this particular creature back in the Garden of Eden could. He asked Eve a question.

“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Guide Two Is that what God said?

Guide One No, that is not exactly what God said. According to the Bible, God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”Guide Two Oh, I get it. God said Adam could eat from any tree except one. There would be trouble with a capital T if he ate from that one.

Guide One Yep, you’re right. Anyway, Eve answered the serpent and said, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

J Photocopy these pages, and put them inside your Bible. Or have your Bible marked and ready to read the verses from Genesis 2 and 3.

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Guide Two Did God say that?

Guide One Eve seems to have added the part about not touching it. It’s very important to know what God said and not change or add to His words!

Anyway, the serpent answered Eve and said to her,

“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband, and he ate.”

Guide Two What did the fruit look like that they ate?

Guide One Let’s have the kids draw a picture of what they think it looked like.

Have them do so and show their ideas. Most will probably draw an apple.

Although we often think of the fruit as an apple, the Bible just calls it fruit, so we don’t really know. What matters is the trouble caused by eating that fruit.

Guide Two Trouble? What trouble? Who’s in trouble?

Guide One We are all in trouble because of that first time that someone disobeyed. When we disobey God’s commands and do wrong, that is called “sin.” The Bible tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Adam and Eve were the first to sin, and all of us sin. I sin. So do you. We are all born sinners. Every day, we do things that we shouldn’t, or think things that we shouldn’t. With that first sin, the world became a different place. Things began to change in the Garden of Eden. There was no longer just good, but good and bad.

Guide Two Like what? What was so bad?

Guide One Well, the Bible tells us that Adam and Eve hid themselves from God because they were afraid of their punishment. If they had obeyed, they wouldn’t need to hide, would they?

Guide Two Ah, no.

Guide One Next we see Adam and Eve playing the blame game. God asked Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

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And instead of fessing up and saying yes, Adam said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

Guide Two What a crumb he was for blaming Eve! I’m sure she would never do such a thing.

Guide One Think again. Eve blamed someone, too. She told God that the serpent tricked her into eating the fruit.

Guide Two This is getting bad.

Guide One It sure is. And it doesn’t end there. Because of their disobedience, God chose consequences that they, and all of us, would have to live with forever.

Guide Two What kind of consequences? Like when you get grounded or lose a privilege?

Guide One Kind of. But worse. From reading Genesis, we learn that now women will have lots of pain when they give birth to babies. And they will want to rule over their husbands. And it says that work will now be hard, and thorns and thistles will grow, and we’ll have to die.

Guide Two That sure sounds like a corruption of God’s beautiful paradise. I guess that’s not so hot.

Guide One It sure isn’t. Can you imagine the world before sin? No on would have ever died. Even the animals would never have died. There wouldn’t have been such a thing as a poisonous or ferocious animal!

Guide Two You mean we wouldn’t have had to worry about man-eating lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my?!

Guide One Nope. We also wouldn’t need hospitals, or doctors, or nurses, or funeral homes, or cemeteries, because no on would have ever gotten sick or died.

Guide Two Clutch throat and drop to the floor.

Guide One Well, I think the kids get the idea. But just to be sure, we’re going to let this dark tablecloth remind us of sin. The Bible compares sin to darkness. And now, let’s play a game of Picture This to see if we can figure out some of the bad stuff that came into the world because of sin.

Picture This: Emphasizes what happened because of the Fall (15 minutes)

Before class begins, write the clues listed here on index cards. During class, divide the children into two teams. Children take turns picking a clue and drawing it on a marker board or mural paper. Give them 20 seconds. Members of their team try to guess what they are drawing. Award one point for each correct guess.

oIndex card cluesoTimeroMarker boardoDry erase maker

J Boys vs. girls is usually the fastest way to form teams.

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After each turn, quickly share the explanation listed about the clue that was just drawn.

Picture Clue ExplanationVolcano “Natural disaster” (such as volcanoes, tornadoes,

earthquakes, and tsunamis) were not part of the world before the Fall. From Romans 8, we understand that the earth now groans with the troubles of a cursed world.

Unhappy Marriage Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where nobody fights or gets unhappy or divorces? It was like thatbefore sin entered the world.

Crying Before Adam and Eve sinned, they would never have felt disappointed or sad. They would never have cried tears of sadness or anger (they may have cried tears of joy!). It makes me want to cry just thinking about it!

Jail No jail would have been built before the Fall of man because no one would ever commit a crime of any kind. Wonder what the newspaper would report without anything bad happening?

Grizzly Bear Just think, you could have pet a bear or a T. rex before sin entered the world because animals that are poisonous or dangerous would not have had harmful behaviors before sin.

Sneeze Ah-choo! Can you imagine a world where no one ever got sick? Wonder how long it was after they ate the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve felt ill for the first time?

Poison Ivy We would never have gotten itchy rashes from an allergic reaction to something before the Fall! Tell that to the lotion companies!

Broken Arm Have you ever skinned your knee or broken a bone? Ouch! For a little while, before sin came along,nobody would have had that problem.

Gossip Can you imagine a time when mocking had ever came out of your mouth? No one would ever say or even think a bad word, a mean word, or an unkind word if sin hadn’t entered the world.

Bad Crops Can you imagine a time when all plats grew perfectly all the time? Today it’s difficult to be a farmer because you never know if the weather is going to be just right, or if bugs are going to eat your crops.

Litter Pollution and litter certainly don’t make the world a pretty place! Imagine a time and place with no garbage!

Fear Adam and Eve were afraid to face God after they sinned. Before then, they had no reason to be afraid of punishment or anything bad!

Thorns and Thistles Ever been poked by a thorn? Ouch! Before the Fall, there were no thorns and thistles. That means a rose wouldn’t have had pricklies! The Bible tells us in Genesis 3 that God cursed the ground with thorns and thistles.

Tombstones No sickness and no death. Enough said!

J Whisper helpful ideas to those “artists” who need advice.

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Retrace Your TrekWrap-Up: Responding to Temptation (2 minutes)

While collecting the papers, ask if anyone drew on their paper when they weren’t supposed to. Briefly discuss how we all face temptations like Adam and Eve. Everyone will sin, but we shouldn’t just give up and give in. When we sin, we need to ask God to forgive us. And we need to pray and ask God to help us do what is right

Memory Verse Time (remainder of class)

Tic Tac Toe

Depending on the size of your class, make one or more large tic tac toe grids on the floor and out of masking tape. Divide the class into teams

Give each team two sets of five similar beanbags or bean bag animals. These will serve as the Xs and Ox. The first person on a team throws the beanbag. If it is not quite in a square, move it to the closest square. The team has to say the Bible verse together. If they do so successfully, the bean bag stays in that square. If not, the beanbag returns to the group. Continue playing, with the teams taking turns throwing and reciting the verse. First to get three in a row wins.

Today’s Verse

“Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin.” Romans 5:12

oMasking tapeo5 beanbags for Xs and 5 for Os for each game board

J Before class, decide how many tic tac toe boards you need. Determine team size so you can quickly divide when the time comes. If you can’t put tape on the floor, put it on a plastic tablecloth.

J To make quick beanbags, fill socks part way with rice and tie off tightly. Fill five each of two different colors. Another option is to buy rainforest bean bag animals from Oriental Trading Company.

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Catastrophe

Water, Water, Everywhere

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Water, Water, Everywhere


Take Off on Your Trek• It’s Raining!

Travel Your Trek• The Worldwide Flood Bible Account• Biblical Account: Examining the Reality of the Flood

Retrace Your Trek• Memory Verse Time: Vine Limbo


oRead Genesis 6-9 several times.oRead this lesson several times.oSee the Frequently Asked Questions page about

Noah’s Ark, the Flood, fossils, and rock layers.

Materials

From Teacher Resource PackoPoster 3-a (Catastrophe) TransparencyoIllustrations 3-00-3-08

Other MaterialsoSpray bottle filled with wateroTimer oBibleoPlastic Vine

Room Setup

• Attach poster 3-a to the blue butcher paper.

Today’s C: CatastropheToday’s Color: BlueBible Content: Genesis 6-9, Noah and the Worldwide FloodApologetics Content: Examining the Reality of the FloodMemory Verse: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

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Today’s Devotional: God is the Sovereign Savior“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

Fill in the following blanks.1. __________ told Noah how to build the Ark.2. God provided all that __________ needed, including great wisdom.3. God brought all the __________to the Ark at just the right time.4. God provided a seaworthy, safe way for man and animals to __________.5. God shut the __________, after Noah, his family, and the animals entered the Ark.6. God caused the __________ to cover the entire earth.7. God directed Noah when to leave the ________.8. God provided the __________ as a sign that He would never send another worldwide flood.

Based on these questions, what attributes of God do you think we are focusing on today? He is the sovereign Savior of the world. Although each of the questions in the quiz highlights God’s sovereign salvation as seen in the account of the Genesis Flood, let’s focus specifically on number five. In His instructions for building the Ark, God told Noah to “set the door of the Ark in its side” (Genesis 6:16). The Ark had only one door to pass through to escape God’s terrible judgment. By faith, Noah and his family entered the Ark. Once they were all inside, the Lord shut them in (Genesis 7:16). What is significant about God shutting the door of the Ark? After God shut the door, the time of judgment was at hand. Only those who had gone through the doorway would be saved. No one else could enter. Noah and his family had to obey God’s command to build and then enter the Ark for salvation—but it was God who had commanded the Ark to be built as the means of Noah’s family being saved in this time of judgment. The Ark pictures salvation in Jesus Christ, our “Ark” of salvation. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). The Bible makes it clear that we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Nothing we can do can save

us from our sin and its consequence of eternal separation from God. But the Bible also tells us that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). It is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is all of God. Our responsibility is to go through the doorway (Jesus), and God will save us. Today, as we teach the children about the great Flood of Noah’s day, continually look for opportunities to point them toward the sovereign Savior of the world. He judged the wickedness of mankind once by water. And He provided salvation through the Ark that He commanded Noah to build. Many heard the warning of the coming judgment, but only Noah and his family responded through faith and entered through the door of the Ark. The next judgment will be by fire (2 Peter 3:5-12). God has provided salvation through the Ark—His Son, Jesus Christ. Many are hearing the warning of the coming judgment, but who will enter through the God-given means of salvation—the death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf? A time is coming when God will close this Door. Are we ready? Let’s close this time by reading Acts 4:10-12 and thinking about this Puritan prayer.

Sovereign Lord,Thy will is supreme in heaven and earth,And all beings are creatures of thy power.Thou art the Father of our spirits;Thy inspiration gives us understanding.Thy providence governs our lives.But, O God, we are sinners in thy sight;Thou hast judged us so,And if we deny it we make thee a liar.Yet in Christ thou art reconciled to thyRebellious subjects;Give us the ear of faith to hear him,The eye of faith to see him,The hand of faith to receive him,The appetite of faith to feed upon him;That we might find in him light,Riches, honour, eternal life.


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Take Off on Your TrekIt’s Raining (5 minutes)

As the children arrive, spray a light mist of water. Tell them that it is raining in the rainforest and they need to get under the shelter quickly. After everyone is settled, say:

It is raining in the rainforest today, as it does almost every day. In fact, enough rain falls every year in the Amazon rainforest to fill two billion Olympic-size swimming pools! The word rainforest actually means a forest that is constantly wet. The Amazon rainforest gets so wet that it is flooded about half of every year.

The stop we are making today on our ultimate trek through time involves a flood, too. But the Flood we are going to talk about today is nothing like the flood in the rainforest. The rainforest flood is just a local flood that happens in the Amazon region. We don’t even realize it is happening here in __________ (name of your town), do we? But the Flood at Stop Three, Catastrophe, is the Flood of all floods! Wait till you hear bout it!

Lead the kids in a rain activity to get in a rainy-day mood! Work you way from light rain, to thunderstorm, to light rain again using the following suggestions.

Light rain Rub thumb and fingers together.Medium rain Click tongues.Heavy rain Rub hands together quickly.Wind Make noses like the wind.Storm Stomp feet.

Travel Your TrekThe Worldwide Flood Bible Account (15 minutes)

The children will act out the account of Noah and the worldwide Flood.

Before class begins, print the Bible Account onto cardstock. Cut into five sections.

Divide the class into five groups. Give each group one section of the account. Announce that they have five minutes to read their section, figure out which part each will play, and how they will act it out. They cannot talk while they act it out. Start the timer, and let the brainstorming begin! Advise as

needed.

oSpray bottle filled with water

oTimeroBible

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After five minutes, get everyone quiet and situated. Begin narrating the following account. Call up each group at the appropriate time and have them act out what you are saying. Remind them that you alone are talking.

At the end of each section, the actors freeze. The next group comes up and tags them to sit down.

When done, move directly into the next activity, which will take a look at this account from an apologetics point of view.

Biblical Account: Examining the Reality of the Flood (10 minutes)

Guide Two (Teaching Assistant) Hold it a minute. I’ve got some questions about all this. I know you’ve studied this a lot, so can you help me?

Guide One (Master Teacher) Sure. I’d love to.

Guide Two Oh! I have a fun idea. Let’s pretend I’m a news reporter, and I’m interviewing you about Noah and the Ark. Are you game?

Guide One Well, OK.

Guide Two All right! Now you’re talking. Let me just find myself a microphone, and we’ll be in business.

Looks around and grabs something that is a decoration, like a flower or a piece of vine. Something ridiculous is good! Begins to act like a TV newscaster.

Hello, and welcome to Amazon News Tonight. I’m _____, reporting live from the Amazon Rainforest.

Guide One Excuse me, but why did you just tell them your name was _____?

Guide Two I’m just pretending. Come on, loosen up. Let’s try that again. Hello, and welcome to Amazon News Tonight. I’m _____, reporting live from the Amazon rainforest. Today’s special guest is _____, the world famous Bible scholar and Amazon River Guide. Welcome, _____.

Guide One Thank you, _____. I think.

Guide Two I understand you have studied the biblical account of Noah quite extensively, so let me pose a question. How large was Noah’s Ark?

Guide One Illustration 3-00. Well, we always picture Noah with a little hammer and saw, but think about it. This was a big boat! The Bible tells us it was 450 feet long. That is like one and a half football fields!

Illustration 3-01. Besides being long, the Ark was also tall. It was as tall as a four story building!

oIllustration 3-00-3-01

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Guide Two That is HUGE!

Guide One Right! So you’ve got to understand that Noah was a smart guy, and he would probably have used cranes, pulleys, and other machines to help engineer this Ark. The cool thing about the Ark is that it was the ideal dimensions for a ship. It was six times longer than it was wide.

Guide Two Well, that answers how big it was, and how Noah might have built it, but what about all those animals? I mean, how in the world did he round them all up?

Guide One If you’re picturing Noah running around the earth saying, “Here, ducky, ducky!” or “Come on, Mr. Bear, get in here!” then forget it! Noah didn’t have to round up the animals. The Bible indicates that God directed the animals to come to the Ark.

Guide Two That would make things easier. But I’m still having trouble imagining that all those animals could fit.

Guide One Illustration 3-02. That’s because you are imagining every species of animal getting on board, rather than every kind. There’s a difference. God said He wanted two of every kind of land animal and birds, seven of the clean kinds. Noah didn’t have to take two wolves, two coyotes, two dalmations, and two beagles, for instance. He just had to take two of the dog kind. Big difference.

Also, the Ark didn’t have to carry every kind of animal—just the air-breathing ones living on land. That eliminates most animals because many animals live in water.

Guide Two But what about dinosaurs? Were they on the Ark, too?

Guide One Yep. Remember, dinosaurs were created on Day Six with the other land animals and people, just 6,000 years ago. So they would have been around at the time of the Flood. That means they would have been on the Ark.

Guide Two How would they fit? They are Huge!

Guide One I never said that they had to be full-grown animals. God most likely brought Noah two young adults of each dinosaur kind—a male and a female. Plus, we know that the average size of a full grown dinosaur was about the size of a sheep or pony. They weren’t all huge like T. rex, you know! But even if they were full-grown, they still would have fit without any problem.

Guide Two I’m convinced they all fit! But what about the Flood? How could it possibly rain enough to flood the whole world at one time?

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Guide One Illustration 3-03. If you read the Scriptures carefully, you will see that the floodwaters were coming not only from above the earth but also from below the earth. It was raining all over the world at the same time, and water was also bursting forth from below the ground.

Guide Two That sounds like a lot of water, but even so, how can we be sure the Food covered the whole world and wasn’t just where the Ark was?

Guide One Well, first of all, why would Noah need to build a huge Ark if the flood was just going to be local? Since he knew years in advance that it was coming, he and his family could easily have walked to another area to miss the flood.

Illustration 3-04. Also, the Bible tells us that the water rose to 25 feet above the mountains. How could it rise that high over local mountains and leave the rest of the area untouched?

Guide Two Good point. Any other evidence of it being a worldwide flood?

Guide One The best one of all. God put a rainbow in the sky. He promised He would never again send such a flood. If it had been a local flood, God would have broken His promise, because we’ve had many local floods since. But there’s never been another worldwide flood again, and we can remember that God is a promise keeper!

Guide Two That’s the best news! But I’m wondering if there is scientific evidence to support the idea of a worldwide flood.

Guide One There’s lots! Anywhere you go on the earth, there is evidence of a global catastrophe.

Illustration 3-05. You see it in many of the rock layers found around the world. Ye see it in land that has been raised up, like mountain ranges.

Illustration 3-06. You see it in the billions of dead things buried in rock layers all over the earth. Plants and animals were rapidly buried in the water, mud, and materials of the Flood. They eventually hardened into fossils.

Guide Two But I thought it took millions of years for fossils to form.

Guide One Nope. If you have just the right conditions, fossils can form quite quickly.

Illustrations 3-07, 3-08. Look at these pictures. Do you think this fossilized hat or this fossilized sack of flour are millions of years old? Of course not. They turned into fossils quickly, under just the right conditions. The Flood provided the right conditions for may fossils to form.

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Guide Two There really is a logical answer for all of this, isn’t there? Well, before signing off, I’ve got one more question I’ve just got to ask. What happened to the dinosaurs after the Flood?

Guide One Well, the earth was a very different place after the Fall and the Flood. The beautiful paradise was gone. Now the world was a broken up, difficult place in which to survive. The dinosaurs that survived the Flood on the Ark repopulated the earth like all the other animals. But eventually they began to die off, perhaps because the climate changed, they couldn’t find enough food, they became diseased, or people hunted and killed too many of them. These are reasons that many animals become extinct today.

Guide Two I guess it really isn’t such a mystery, is it?

Guide One Nope. You just need to start with the Bible. It helps us make sense of the world we live in!

Guide Two Well, thanks _____, for sharing with us. It was quite enlightening. And thank you, boys and girls, for tuning in to Amazon News Tonight. This is ____, reporting live. Now back to you!

Guide One Wow! That was quite an interview. Before I sign off completely, let me leave you with this thought. When I think of the color blue, I think of water. And when I think of water, I think of the Flood. And when I think of the Flood, I wonder if I would have listened to Noah and gone on the Ark if I had been there. I know I’m sinful and need to be saved. Just as God saved Noah and his family, God saves people today. How about you? Do you realize you have disobeyed God’s commands and the punishment for sin is death and eternal separation from God in hell? Do you realize you need to trust God to save you? Please talk to your leader or me if you have questions about it. And we’ll talk more about it on our last day. But for now, let’s play “Vine Limbo.”

Retrace Your TrekMemory Verse Time (remainder of class)

Vine LimboTwo people hold a vine like limbo stick. Kids line up behind it and take turns going under the vine while saying the memory verse. Lower the vine with each child. For added fun, spray water above the vine.

Today’s Verse

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

o Plastic vineo Spray bottle with water

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Confusion

The Babel Rabble

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The Babel Rabble


Take Off on Your Trek• Build the Tower

Travel Your Trek• Babel Bible Account• Babel Bingo

Retrace Your Trek• Memory Verse Time: Tear Down the Tower


oRead Genesis 10-11 several times.oRead this lesson several timesoSee the Frequently Asked Questions page about the origin of the people groups.

Materials

Per Childo1 Babel Bingo card o1 paper plateo1 writing utensilo1 zippered baggyo½ c. Honeycomb cereal

From Teacher Resource PackoPoster 4-a (Confusion) TransparencyoIllustrations 4-00-4-06 oBabel Bingo Letter Cards

Other Materialso“Bricks” oBibleoPaper BagoPermanent marker

Room Setup

• Attach poster 4-a to the gray butcher paper.• Mess up the room as if it has experienced some “confusion.” Knock over decoration, scatter trash, and place food to make it look like animals got into everything.

Today’s C: ConfusionToday’s Color: GrayBible Content: Genesis 11. The Tower of BabelApologetics Content: Where the People Groups Came FromMemory Verse: “Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth.” Genesis 11:9

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Today’s Devotional: God is the Infinite Sustainer Imagine if our entire would spoke the same language. Even with our English-speaking world of some 300 million people, what have we accomplished? It’s easy to pat ourselves on our backs about how much we have done. This attitude is perhaps best demonstrated at NASA. A tour of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA provides a glimpse at the massive machines and impressive technology NASA scientists have produced. During one segment of the tour, a narrator intones that with man “nothing is impossible.” Another narrator, an astronaut, affirms this attitude, “Whatever we can conceive, we can achieve.” Do such arrogant statements shock you? If you’re familiar with today’s lesson, they shouldn’t. Read Genesis 11:4-6. At the time of the Tower of Babel, people arrogantly thought they could achieve whatever they wanted. However, God judged their rebellion by bringing a multiplicity of languages, thus causing them to scatter over the earth. Why does mankind today have this same philosophy: “Nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do”? Ever since the temptation in the garden of Eden, when Satan said, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), man has been in rebellion against God, trying to be god himself. The first judgment was the entrance of death into the world. Later, God judged mankind’s rebellion with a watery catastrophe. And in today’s lesson, we find a judgment that included a confusion of mankind’s one common language into many languages. So, what should our attitude be? Read Acts 17:24-31. These verses show that God is the Infinite Sustainer of all things—apart from Him, we can do nothing. He gives us life, breath, and everything else. In Him we live and move and have our being. Today, let’s look for opportunities to show the children the importance of walking humbly before the Infinite Sustainer, recognizing our continual need for Him. We need to carefully reflect any glory that might come our way to God, and teach our children to do the same.

Read Colossians 1:15-17, and think about this Puritan prayer.

O God All-Sufficient,Thou hast made and upholdest all things byThe word of thy power;Darkness is thy pavilion,Thou walkest on the wings of the wind;All nations are nothing before thee;One generation succeeds another,And we hasten back to the dust;The heavens we behold will vanish awayLike the clouds that cover them,The earth we tread on will dissolve as a Morning dream;But thou, unchangeable and incorruptible,Art for ever and ever,God over all, blessed eternally.Infinitely great and glorious art thou.We are thy offspring and thy care.Thy hands have made and fashioned us.Thou hast watched over us with more than Parental love,More than maternal tenderness.Thou hast holden our soul in life,And not suffered our feet to be moved.Thy divine power has given us all thingsNecessary for life and godliness.Let us bless thee at all times and forget nothow thou hastForgiven our iniquities,Healed our diseases, redeemed our lives from destruction,crowned us with lovingkindness andtender mercies,satisfied our mouths with good things,renewed our youth like the eagle’s.May thy Holy ScripturesGovern every part of our lives,And regulate the discharge of all our duties,So that we may adorn thy doctrine in all things.


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Take Off on Your TrekBuild the Tower (5 minutes)

As the children arrive, act like your are in a state of confusion. After the children are settled, say:

Last night, some animals scavenged through our camp and got into the supplies. Everything is in confusion, as you can see. I’ve decided we need to build a shelter at this location in the trek, because it is the halfway point—three stops behind us, and three on ahead after today.

There is not much time to get this shelter up, so we are going to divide into groups, with each group building a section of the wall. We will build the wall around the perimeter of the room so we can sit safely inside.

Your group will have three minutes to see how high you can get your wall without it falling over. If it falls over, you have to start again.

We will break up into groups of three or four and pass out supplies. Do not start until I signal “go.”

Divide into small groups Pass out supplies. Say “go.” Teams build for approximately three minutes. At the end of the building time, announce the group that built the tallest wall.

Travel Your TrekBabel Bible Account (5-10 minutes)

After everyone is settled inside the “walls,” say:

Building those walls reminds me of our next stop on our ultimate trek through time. Confusion. The history book of the universe describes this event in which people built very tall walls.

To recount what happened, I will need some volunteers to read verses from the Bible. As each verse is read, each of you is going to try to build a tower out of Honeycomb cereal. You will put one Honeycomb down after each verse is read. We’ll see if we can finish hearing the Bible account before our Honeycomb towers fall over.

Pass out supplies. Begin to call volunteers and have them read one verse at a time from Genesis 11:1-9. After each verse, stop for a few seconds while the kids put the next tower piece on.

o “Bricks”o Poster 4-a

J Before class, gather • “bricks”—anything inexpensiveand lightweight that can be stacked:• Empty boxes, cartons, andshoeboxes• Styrofoam cups• Pool noodles cut into 2 inchsections• Legos, Duplos, or blocks

o 1 paper plate per childo 1 baggy of Honey-comb cereal

per childo Bible, with verses marked

J Before class, prepare baggies of Honeycomb cereal with approximately 25 pieces per baggy (1/2 cup).

J Some children have reading difficulties, so do not call on a child to read unless he volunteers.

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Babel Bingo (about 15 minutes)

Before class, pass out a Babel Bingo card and a writing utensil to each child. Say:

We are going to play Babel Bingo. To get our game boards ready, I am going to say each letter of the alphabet. Place that letter in one of your squares. Do not go in order across the board, but put the letters in random boxes. You may skip one letter because there are 26 letters but only 25 boxes. Here we go.

Proceed quickly through the letters of the alphabet in order, making sure everyone is following directions.

Before class, print the Babel Bingo Letter Cards, and cut apart the squares. Put the letter cards in the paper bag. Draw one letter card at a time. Call out the letter and have the children cover that letter with a Honeycomb piece. As they are doing so, read the information that goes with that letter. Some letters refer to illustrations. Show the image at the appropriate time.

The first to make a row across or down wins. Continue to play other rounds as you have time. Try to get through each letter at least once, if possible, so all information will be shared.

Because you are teaching information through this game, the kids should not talk. Explain that this game will be played quietly and that they should pay attention. If not, they will lose the space they just covered!

Several clues have to do with “melanin.” The first time you come across a clue related to melanin, read the clue as is. Adjust later clues as necessary.

Retrace Your TrekMemory Verse Activity (remainder of class)Tear Down the Tower

Before class begins, write each word from the verse on a different “brick.” Stack them with the first word on top. Say the verse together, and then remove a brick. Continue this pattern until all bricks have been removed.

Today’s Verse

“Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth.” Genesis 11:9

Per childo1 writing utensilo1 Babel Bingo card oOther MaterialsoBabel Bingo Letter Cards oPaper BagoIllustrations 4-00 - 4-06 oHoneycomb cereal from last activity

J To save time, write letters on the Babel Bingo cards before class. Make sure each card is different.

J The Babel Bingo Letter Cards are packed with information. Read the highlights and keep things moving!

o18 “bricks”oPermanent marker

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4-00A stands for Adam and EveO stands for One BloodR stands for Races

4-01C stands for Cave Men (and Women)

4-02E stands for Eye Shape

4-03L stands for Language FamiliesQ stands for Quit BuildingY stands for Yakety Yak

4-04M stands for MelaninV stands for Variety of Skin Shades

4-05T stands for Tower of Babel

4-06Z stands for Ziggurats

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Babel Bingo CardsA stands for Adam and Eve. Illustration 4-00. We are all related because we all came from Adam and Eve. No matter what shade your skin is or where you live, you are really my relative!

B stands for Babel. If we were to travel back to Babel and mix up the people into completely different family groups, we might find a fair-skinned group of people with tight, curly dark hair and blue, almond-shaped eyes. Or a group with very dark skin, blue eyes, and straight brown hair.

C stands for Cave Men (and Women). Illustration 4-01. Some people believe men were once primitive, unintelligent cave men but that does not line up with Scripture. It is true that people probably lived in caves as they traveled from the Tower of Babel, but they were very smart. They just happened to choose caves for homes because caves worked well for that. In fact, there are still people today who live in caves.

D stands for DNA. Much of the way we look is determined by a something inside of us called DNA. Each person’s DNA is like an amazing, one-of-a- kind recipe!

E stands for Eye Shape. Illustration 4-02 The shape of our eyes is determined by our DNA. Everyone has tissue under the skin around our eyes. Our DNA determines how much tissue we have, making our eyes more round or more almond-shaped.

F stands for Flood Legends. Many cultures have a story of a great flood that sounds very similar to the true account of Noah and the worldwide Flood. But where did these stories come from? As the families moved apart from the plain of Shinar, they carried with them the worldwide flood account. They passed this down to their children and grandchildren, although the story changed a bit over the years. These are the flood legends that we have today.

G stands for Genesis 10 and 11. The account of the Tower of Babel is found in the book of Genesis in chapters 10 and 11.

H stands for Hair Color. Hair color is partly determined by how much of a chemical called melanin our bodies make. Those with lots of melanin have darker hair. Those with less melanin have lighter hair.

I stands for Iris. We all have a chemical in our bodies called melanin. Melanin helps to determine our eye color. If the iris of the eye has a large amount of melanin, it will be brown. If the iris has a little melanin, the eye will be blue.

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J stands for Judgment. Illustration 4-03. The people building the Tower of Babel disobeyed God. They rebelled by staying together after God told them to fill the earth. So God judged the rebellion at Babel by giving different family groups different languages, causing them to scatter.

K stands for Knowledge. As the people groups split up and spread across the earth after Babel, each group took with it its individual knowledge. Some families would have known a lot about farming. Others were good at building structures. This affected how various cultures came to be.

L stands for Language Families. Illustration 4-03. Those who speak the same language find it easy to talk with each other. This can be good or this can be bad, depending on what you are saying to each other. At Babel, the people all spoke the same language. They were talking to each other about bad things that were against God. So God gave each family group a different language so they would not be able to talk with each other. This would help slow them down from getting in trouble!

M stands for Melanin. Illustration 4-04. Our skin color comes mainly from a chemical inside of us called melanin. We all have melanin in some amount. People with lots of melanin have darker skin; people with a little melanin have lighter skin.

N stands for Noah. Noah and his family likely had a middle brown skin color. From that color, it is scientifically possible to get all the other shades of skin we see today, from light to dark.

O stands for One Blood. Illustration 4-00. The Bible describes all humans as being of “one blood” (Acts 17:26). We all are related to Adam and Eve.

P stands for Pride. The people at Babel were full of pride. They didn’t want to do as God said but wanted to build a tower to make a name for themselves, so they could worship the heavens instead of God.

Q stands for Quit Building. Illustration 4-03. God stopped the people on the plain of Shinar from building their tower. These people were making big plans but they were not God’s plans. They were rebellious plans. So God caused them to quit their building plans by confusing their languages.

R stands for Races. Illustration 4-00. We hear a lot about different “races” of people. However, did you know that there is really only one race—the human race? We’re all related!

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S stands for Sin. God loves us so very much. But He is a perfect God, and He cannot allow sin (disobeying God’s commandments) to go on without disciplining us. The people at Babel were sinning against God, so He disciplined them by confusing their languages and scattering them.

T stands for Tower of Babel. Illustration 4-05. Is the tower that the people were building actually called the Tower of Babel in the Bible? No. The Bible tells us that a tower was being built and after the people scattered, the place was called Babel. So we put those together and call it the Tower of Babel.

U is for Understand Each Other. Those who don’t believe the Bible often picture people grunting at each other in the past. But the Bible shows that from the very beginning Adam and Eve could understand each other. From the beginning until the Tower of Babel, there was only one language, and everyone could understand each other. After this C, languages became confusing!

V stands for Variety of Skin Shades. Illustration 4-04. There are many different shades of skin color—from very light to very dark. Much of our skin shade is determined by the chemical called melanin. We are not really different colors but different shades of the same color.

W stands for When. When did this event at Babel take place? The people began to move apart about 100 years after the Flood, around 4,200 years ago.

X stands for the Roman Numeral Ten. In chapter ten of Genesis, we read about the man who led the rebellion at the plain of Shinar. His name was Nimrod, which means “we shall rebel.”

Y stands for Yakety Yak Don’t Talk Back! Illustration 4-03. God told the people to scatter. They basically talked back to God and said, “No! We’re staying together.” Remember that it is never a good idea to talk back to God!

Z stands for Ziggurats. Illustration 4-06. Ziggurats were towers built long ago. We don’t know for sure what the Tower of Babel looked like, but perhaps it looked like a ziggurat. Such skillful buildings show that people from the ancient civilizations were very smart! They built structures such as pyramids and ziggurats that boggle our minds even today.

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Christ, Cross, Completion

Sad Turns to Glad

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Sad Turns to Glad


Take Off on Your Trek• Introduction

Travel Your Trek• Review: First Four C’s• Gospel Presentation: Christ and the Cross• Future Time: Completion

Retrace Your Trek• Memory Verse Time: Bag of Beads


oRead Revelation 21-22 several times.oRead this lesson several times.oSee the Frequently Asked Questions page about

Jesus.

Materials

From Teacher Resource PackoPoster 5-a (Christ) TransparencyoPoster 5-b (Cross) TransparencyoPoster 5-c (Completion) TransparencyoPattern Some Day oIllustration 5-00

Other MaterialsoBibleoBalloonoWhite Cardstocko3 green pony beadso3 dark pony beadso3 blue pony beadso3 gray pony beadso3 white pony beadso3 red pony beadso3 yellow pony beadsoCrayonsoBag

Room Setup

• Attach poster 5-a to white butcher paper.• Attach posters 5-b to the red butcher.• Attach poster 5-c to the yellow butcher paper.• Restore order after the “confusion” of yesterday.

Today’s C’s: Christ, Cross, CompletionToday’s Colors: White, Red, YellowBible Content: Various New Testament Scriptures, Jesus Came to Save Us and Will Return to Make Things “Very Good” AgainMemory Verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

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Today’s Devotional: God is the Loving Redeemer “Andso it iswritten, ‘ThefirstmanAdambecamealiving being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. … Thefirstmanwasoftheearth,madeofdust;thesecondMan is the Lord from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47 As we wrap up our trek through time, let’s take a look at the connection between the first few C’s and these last three C’s. God is the Good Creator: The One who created a “very good” world is the One who will restore His creation to its original glory. The One who created the first man is the One who came to be the second man—the Last Adam. The One who breathed into Adam the breath of life is the One who gives eternal life to His children. God is the Righteous Judge: The One who sentenced the first man to death for his rebellion is the One who came and suffered the sentence of death on behalf of mankind. God is the Sovereign Savior: The One who provided an Ark for Noah and his family is the One who provided the Savior of the world. The One who judged the world with water is the One who will judge the world with fire. God is the Infinite Sustainer: The One who created time is the One who stepped into time so that He could live as a human. The One who confused the languages at Babel is the One before whom people from ever tribe, nation and tongue will bow and worship. The One who scattered the people around the world is the One who commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples of all nations. The One in whom all things hold together is the One who became part of His creation, born as a baby. Today, let’s take a look at another attribute of God seen in today’s three C’s. God is the Loving Redeemer: The One who killed animals to cover the sin of Adam and Eve is the One who came to bleed on the cross for the sin of mankind. The One who placed a curse on the creation is the One who came to redeem His creation from the curse. The One who promised to send someone to crush the head of the serpent is the One who fulfilled the promise by rising from the dead, conquering the “last enemy.”

The One who created the heavens and earth is the One who will create a new heavens and earth wherein righteousness and His children will dwell. Why has God done all this: “For God so loved the world. …” As you talk with the children today, look for opportunities to share the love of the Creator and redeemer with them, pointing them toward the One who has done so much for us. Let’s close by reading 1 Corinthians 15:21 and thinking about this Puritan prayer.

O Thou Most High,Creator of the ends of the earth,Governor of the universe,Judge of all men,Head of the church, Savior of sinners;Thy greatness is unsearchable,Thy goodness infinite,Thy compassions unfailing,Thy providence boundless,Thy mercies ever new.We bless thee for the words of salvation.How important, suitable, encouragingAre the doctrines, promises, and invitations of the gospel of peace!We are lost: but in thou has presented to us a full, free and eternal salvation;Weak: but here we learn that help is foundIn one that is might;Poor: but in him we discover unsearchableRiches,Blind: but we find he has treasures ofWisdom and knowledge.We thank thee for thy unspeakable gift.Thy Son is our only refuge, foundation, hope,Confidence;We depend upon his death,Rest in his righteousness,Desire to bear his image;May his glory fill our minds,His love reign in our affections,His cross inflame us with ardour.


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Take Off on Your TrekIntroduction (3 minutes)

After the children are in and settled, say:

We’ve been trekking through time for almost a week now, and we’ve stopped at four spots along the way, which we’ll briefly stop at again today. Then we’ll move on to the last C’s of the trip. As we venture the whole way through our ultimate trek through time, I need all of you to help me by saying the appropriate answer at the appropriate time. Listen carefully and be ready. Here we go.

In the following section, move with the kids to each stop, even if you only move a few feet. Before sitting, do a different activity to stay in shape on the trek, e.g., touching their toes, jumping up and down, or jogging in place.

Travel Your TrekStops One Through Four: Review (10 minutes)

Stop One

We started our ultimate trek through time with the color ______ (green).

Green reminds us of God’s green, beautiful ______ (creation).

We learned there are two different accounts about how everything came to be. One is called the Story of Dot, which is man’s idea, and one is called the Creation Account, which we find in the Bible.

Here’s something that might remind you of the Story of Dot.

Hold up a balloon. Blow it up and pinch it shut with your fingers. Do not tie it off.

We learned that the Story of Dot was not true. So when I count to three, I am going to let go of my balloon and take the wind out of the Story of Dot. Help me count. One. Two.. Three.

Let the balloon fly. Wait until the kids settle down, then start again.

Then we learned the true account of how everything was created. How many days did God take to create everything, according to the Bible? (six)

And everything God created was ______ (very good).

Right! Let’s all review our Bible verse together for the first day.

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

Move to the next stop.

J Today’s lesson covers a lot of material, so keep it moving!

oBible oBalloon

J When reviewing memory verses throughout this section, use fun voices, such as high, low, loud, soft, or accents.

J Cover the memory verse as you review, then uncover to check your accuracy.

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Stop TwoNext we learned about the color ______ (dark).

Dark reminds us of darkness and sin. Dark reminds us of the word ______ (Corruption).

We learned that there were two people living in a perfect world who were named ______(Adam and Eve).

Adam and Eve made a really, really bad choice—the worst ever! Adam ate the ______(fruit) he was told not to eat, and sin entered the world, as our Bible verse says. Let’s all quote the second day’s verse together.

“Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin.” Romans 5:12

And that was the start of bad stuff happening. The world from that point till now is full of both good and bad.


Stop ThreeNext we learned about the color ______ (blue).

Blue reminds us that water covered the whole earth. Blue reminds us of the word ______ (catastrophe).

We learned that the next stop happened how many years ago? (4,300 years) By this time, mankind was so wicked that God chose to judge the world, as our Bible verse says. Let’s quote it together.

“So He destroyed all living things on the face of the ground. Only Noah and those with him in the Ark remained alive.” Genesis 7:23

God sent a worldwide ______ (flood) and destroyed all the land animals and people. Only one man named ______ (Noah) was saved with his family and some animals. Many of the fossil graveyards of the world are leftovers from this one-of-a-kind event.


Stop FourThe next color we learned about was ______ (gray).

Gray reminds us of what happened at the Tower of Babel. Gray reminds us of the word ______ (confusion).

We learned that, not long after the worldwide flood, the earth filled with people again, and they once more turned away from God. This time the people disobeyed God by staying together and building a tall ______ (tower). So God came down and gave them different ______ (languages), causing them to scatter all over the ______ (earth). Our Bible verse talks about this. Let’s quote that verse together.

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“Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth.” Genesis 11:9

The family groups moved apart and eventually developed distinct physical characteristics: skin shade, hair color, eye shape. But still, all people from all time are really related. We all go back to ______ (Adam and Eve).


Stops Five and Six: Gospel Presentation (5 minutes)Stop FiveNow we move to Stop Five. Time went on. And people continued to sin. To this very day, everyone sins. Each one of us is born sinful. Every one of us disobeys God’s commands every day. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.

Can you think of when you’ve disobeyed God?Give examples: God says “do not lie,” “do not steal,” “be kind,” “love your neighbor,” “honor your parents.”

The bad news is that a perfect God can’t allow sinful people who think and do wrong into His perfect heaven. The Bible says our sin deserves death, and we deserve eternal separation from God in hell.

“But the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23

But that is where the good news comes in. It has to do with this stop—Christ.

God loves us so very much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to rescue us. The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

God sent His Son into the world about 2,000 years ago to save us! And we need to be saved! The color white reminds us of Jesus Christ, who was perfect and without sin, and able to save us.

Let’s think of it this way. Let’s pretend we are all stranded on a steep riverbank on one side of the Amazon River. There is no food, no water, and no way to survive on the side we are on. We need to make it to the other side, where all the wonderful provisions are that we need for life. Somehow, we need to get across that river.

We are stranded at an area of the river that is 35 miles from the other bank. That is how wide the Amazon is in spots. In fact, it is so wide, huge cruise ships navigate it. If you were staring at it, it would look like an ocean! It is huge!

Not only is it miles and miles and miles wide, it also floods. Half of the year, the Amazon River is in flood stage. So we are not only stranded on one side of this wide, wide river, but we have rapidly flowing water with strong currents to deal with. Sometimes, massive waves up to 16 feet tall (5 m) may come crashing through.

oBible oIllustration 5-00oPoster 5-aoPoster 5-b

J You can illustrate this on a marker board, have your assistant draw it, or wait and show illustration 5-00 at the correct time (see next page)..

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Add to this the vicious fish and other animals of the Amazon River. There are piranha, calman, electric eels, and many other dangerous animals in the river.

Now, with all this in our minds, think about trying to get across all by yourself, with no boat or any other help. What do you think is going to happen?

You are going to die trying! It is virtually impossible to swim across a 35 mile-wide river, during flood stage, with wild animals. You cannot do it. You’ll just be swept away and swept under. If you try to make it on your own, without help, you will die.

But, what if someone came along and built a bridge across the river? Could you get across then?

Well, in a way, that is what God did when He sent Jesus. Jesus bridged the gap between our sinfulness and heaven. He did this at our next stop, the Cross.


Stop Six

He came to earth fully God, but also fully man. We celebrate His coming to the earth in the form of a baby at Christmas. He lived a perfect life. He was the only person to ever do this. Then, when He was in His thirties, He chose to die on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. And that’s the best news ever! The color red reminds us of the blood Jesus shed on the cross.

But because He is God, He didn’t stay dead. He died and then rose from the dead and now lives in heaven. We celebrate His resurrection at Easter.

He did this because He loves us. He wants you to make the choice to follow Him all of your life, through the good times and the bad. But it takes a decision. Look at this picture and think about the following questions. Decide if you agree and want to become His child.

Illustration 5-00. Just like this guy is stuck on the riverbank, do you agree that you are stuck in your sin? Do you believe you have sinned, or disobeyed God? Are you sorry for your sin?

Do you believe Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for your sin, bridging the gap between you and a perfect God? Do you believe Jesus rose again and is the only way to heaven?

Do you want to follow God and become His child? Or do you have questions you’d like to ask someone to find out more?

If you said yes to those questions and want to make a decision to become a child of God, or if you just have questions, then right now you may go with ______ (someone who is prepared to lead a child to Christ, e.g., expedition team leader, teaching assistant, children’s pastor).

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The rest of us are going to stay here, finish our journey, and play a game.

Divide into those going with responsible adults and those staying. One teacher needs to stay to finish out the lesson.


Last Stop: Completion

Stop Seven (5-10 minutes)

Pass out the Some Day papers and crayons. Tell the kids that some day there will be new heaven and a new earth. Direct them to color every picture they think will some day be gone when the new heaven and the new earth come. As they are coloring, say:

This is our last C—Completion—and it tells us what is going to happen at the end! Most of what is recorded in the history book of the universe has already happened. But this event is still in the future. Completion refers to the time when God will bring this present sin-cursed heaven and earth to an end. He will create a new heaven and earth for us to enjoy. The color yellow reminds us of this new place that will have streets made of gold!

We know about the new heaven and earth because God has recorded information in the Bible.

Remember how we talked about the perfect, very good world that God made at the beginning of time? And how it became filled with both good and bad because of sin? Well, the good news is that a time is coming in the future when it will once again be very good. All the bad will be no more!

In Genesis 3, we read that God cursed the world. At the end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, we read about a time when the world will no longer be cursed. It’s a time when God is going to make a new heaven and a new earth. The Bible says there will be no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more pain. The old will pass away, and God will make all things new.

And the really awesome news is that those of us who have become children of God are going to get to live there forever! It’s going to be better than the Garden of Eden because it is going to be perfect forever and it is going to be our home! Wow!

Listen to some of the descriptions from the Bible. The new heaven and the new earth are going to be incredible!

Read the following passages as the kids finish coloring: Revelation 21:1-5, 9-21,22-27; Revelation 22:1-5. Finish by discussing which scenarios will be gone in the new heaven and the new earth. The answer is all of them!

oPattern Some Day (from Teacher Resource Packet)

oWhite cardstockoCrayonsoPoster 5-c

J Before class, copy Pattern Some Day onto cardstock, 1 per child.

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Retrace Your TrekMemory Verse Time (remainder of class)

Bag of BeadsBefore beginning to play, say today’s verse together twice.

Divide the class quickly into two teams. Ask review questions based on information discussed during the week, including the lessons and memory verses. Teams take turns trying to answer. If a team answers correctly, someone may pull a bead out of the bag. If they do not have that color, they keep it. If they already have that color, they put it back in the bag. The object of the game is to be the first team to get one of each of the seven colors.

Sample Questions

• “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” is found in what book of the Bible? (Do for other verses as well.)• What is the fourth C? (Do for other C’s as well.)• Which C is symbolized by the color blue? (Do for other colors as well.)• Fill in the blanks: “For God so loved the ______ that He gave His only begotten Son…” (Do for other verses as well.)• Approximately how old is the earth? (6,000 years old)• Approximately when did the worldwide Flood occur? (4,300 years ago)• What’s another name for the history book of the universe? (The Bible)• True or False: The big bang really happened. (F)• The Tower of Babel was built on the plain of _____, which is in present-day Iraq. (Shinar)• Yes or No: Does everyone get to live in the new heaven and the new earth? (No)• True or False: Fossils take millions of years to form. (F)• True or False: Noah’s Flood covered the entire earth. (T)• There is something in our skin called ______ that gives our skin its color. (Melanin)• One effect of the curse is ______. (Answers will vary.)• Who tempted Adam and Eve? (Serpent/Satan)

Today’s Verse

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

o3 green pony beadso3 dark pony beadso3 blue pony beadso3 gray pony beadso3 white pony beadso3 red pony beadso3 yellow pony beadsoBag

J Before class begins, gather 3 pony beads of each color, for a total of 21 beads. Put in a bag that is not transparent. Cardstock or fun foam squares of each color can also be used as an alternative.

J The questions may be asked in any order.

J Keep it moving. Fire the questions rapidly. If time runs out before a team has all seven colors, determine which team has the most beads at that point.

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