Noah builds an ark

After Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sin entered the world, bad things began to happen. People began living their own way, they were selfish, they argued and fought and forgot about God who had created them.

God was sorry that He had made man on the earth and decided to destroy all men, women and everything that lived on the earth. But, there was one man called Noah who pleased God.

God told Noah his plan to destroy the earth and every living thing on the earth. God told Noah he should build an ark made of gopherwood big enough to hold him, his wife, his sons, their wives and two of each kind of animal and bird.

So Noah built the ark and once it was finished God sent two of each kind of animal to Noah to go on the ark. Once Noah, his family and all the animals were all on the ark God sent rain on the earth which caused a flood which covered the whole earth for 40 days and 40 nights and all living things outside the ark were destroyed.

God’s world is spoiled

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat freely of any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Satan came to Eve and questioned what God had said and tempted her with eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Eve took the fruit and ate it and gave some to Adam to eat too. When they did this they knew they had done wrong and felt ashamed. They made coverings with leaves to hide themselves and when God came to see them they hid from Him.

Adam and Eve were kicked out the garden of Eden, there were curses on the land and illness and disease and death entered the world. They could no longer walk with God in the garden like they used to be able to do. They were separated from God because of their sin.

But God made a promise that He would provide a Saviour who would restore the broken relationship between us and God by taking the punishment for the sin men and women.

God made people

God created Adam and put him in the garden of Eden that He’d created and gave Adam the job of naming all the animals. Out of all the animals God couldn’t find a helper for Adam.

So God made Adam fall asleep, took one of his ribs and made Eve to be a helper for Adam. God called the helper God made for Adam woman because she was taken out of man.

The two sons

A man who owned a vineyard had two sons. One day he came to his oldest son and said “Son, work in my vineyard today”. The son said he wouldn’t go and work in the vineyard, but after he’d said no to his father he felt bad and so he went and worked in the vineyard.

The father then went to his younger son and again said “Son, work in my vineyard today”. The younger son agreed to work in the vineyard but he didn’t actually go to work in the fathers vineyard.

Jesus told this parable and then asked “Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?”. The chief priests and elders listening to Him said the first son did what the father wanted. Jesus said to them that the sinners like tax collectors would enter the kingdom of heaven before them because they believed in Jesus but they did not.

In the beginning

On the first day of creation, God created heaven and earth. The earth was dark so God created light.

On the second day God separated the water on the earth from the sky.

On the third day God created dry land and grass, trees and plants to grow on the land.

On day four God made the stars, the sun and the moon.

On day five God made fish to swim in the water and birds to fly in the sky.

On day six God made all the animals that go on the land and he made humans. After God had created humans he said they were very good.

Sowing and growing

There was a farmer who went out to his fields to sow some seed. As he scattered his seed it landed on different types of ground. Some landed on the path and was quickly eaten by birds. Some seed landed on the rocky ground and started growing but couldn’t put down deep roots so didn’t grow. Some seed landed on ground with weeds and started growing but then was overpowered by the weeds and died. Some seed landed on the good ground, put down strong roots and could grow.

In the parable Jesus told, the seed represented God’s Word being preached. Each of the types of ground the seed landed on is like our hearts. Some people who hear God’s Word are like the path, they hear but it doesn’t take root. Some people are like the rocky ground, the seed starts growing but can’t put down deep roots so soon is forgotten. Some people are like the rockey ground and the Word of God starts to grow but other things come into the persons life and they forget what they heard. Some people’s hearts are like the good ground. God’s Word is heard, takes root and grows in their hearts.

Praying properly

Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. They both went up to the temple to pray.

The Pharisee stood and thanked God that he wasn’t like all the bad people and that he wasn’t like this tax collector.

The tax collector stood at the side and quietly beat on his chest and said “God have mercy on me, a sinner”.

Jesus said the tax collector was the man who went home right with God. The Pharisee went away unchanged. The tax collector came before God with a humble attitude whereas the Pharisee had a proud heart which was boasting about all he’d done.

Lost and found

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. They thought they were better than everyone else, better than the tax collectors and the other sinners that Jesus talked to and spent time with. They couldn’t understand why Jesus spoke to them and had meals with them.

Jesus told them two parables. The first one was about a shepherd who had a herd of 100 sheep. One day he realised one of his sheep was missing. He loved his sheep very much so he set off to find his lost sheep. He searched over hills and mountains until he found his missing sheep, picked it up and brought it back home. He celebrated with his friends and neighbours because he had found the sheep which was lost.

In the second parable a lady had lost one of her ten silver pieces. She searched all over her house, swept the floor and looked in all the pots until she found the silver piece that was missing. The silver piece was so precious to her that when she found it she had a big celebration with all her friends.

Jesus told the Pharisees that there is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents of their sins and trusts in God.

The lost son

Jesus told another parable. There was a man who had two sons. One day the younger son asked his father for his share of the inheritance. His father gave it to him and the son left with the money. He travelled to a city and wasted all his money until he’d spent it all. Once he had no money left he went and got a job feeding pigs.

He had no money, no friends, no food and he thought about his home and his dad that he’d left behind. He planned to return home and ask his dad if he could be one of his servants.

As he was returning home his dad saw him coming and ran out to meet him, hugged and kissed him and welcomed him home. His dad was so happy he threw a party to celebrate his son returning.

When the eldest son heard his brother had returned he was angry and jealous that the his dad had welcomed him back. He thought his younger brother should have been a slave because he’d left the family and wasted all the money his dad had given him. His father said to his eldest son “You’ve always been with me adnall I have is yours. It was like your younger brother was dead, but now is alive, was lost but now has been found.”

We are just like that younger son. We’ve all left God and gone our own way and lived a life that pleases ourselves. But God is ready to welcome us back into his family and forgive us for all we’ve done wrong against Him.

Two houses

Jesus has been talking to a lot of people telling them how to please God, the things God provides, not to worry and telling them things that displease God. There are two types of people listening to Jesus. The first type will listen to what Jesus says, but then just go home and not change. The second type of people would hear what Jesus said and then do what Jesus said.

Jesus tells a story to try and help people understand. There were two builders in Jesus’ story who were both going to build a house.

The first builder built his house on rock. It was hard to build his house because he had no diggers or machines so he had to dig into the rock himself to make the foundations.

The second man built the house on sand. It was quick and easy to flatten the ground for the man to build his house on.

Jesus called one of the builders a wise builder, the other he called foolish. The wise builder was the man who built his house on rock because the rock was sure and wouldn’t move even in a big storm. The foolish builder built his house on the sand. When the sand moved and the wind and rain came the house would collapse.

Jesus told the people they were to build their lives on something sure and certain, that wouldn’t move. Those who hear what Jesus said and do what he’s told us are wise because they are building their lives on.