Squeals by the girls and “Hey Dudes” by the boys were the greetings that bounced off our walls as we assembled for the Neighborhood Bible Study. The girls spent the first few minutes complimenting each other, “Your shirt is cute,” and “Who did you hair?” Hugging like that hadn’t seen each other in forever; they laughed and smiled. The boys slumped into a group and listened to Grey, my fourteen-year-old play on the guitar, universally relieved no conversation was necessary to be a part of the group. When everyone was relatively comfortable in their peer setting we opened in prayer and began. Each kid that brought his/her own Bible was given a reward, and the ones who read the passage received two.
Bible Reading and Discussion:
Week two we studied Noah’s Ark from the Bible, then compared it to a book about Noah’s Ark from the library, highlighting the importance of always going to the Source for the true and accurate account. We talked about Noah’s faith and that of his family’s. Troy and I took turns reading Genesis 6, 7 and 8, while the kids followed along. Then we asked questions…
Why did God flood the earth? (Gen. 6: 5, Every intention of man’s heart was evil.) Did Noah live near a body of water? (No) Had the earth ever seen rain up to this point? (No, a mist covered the earth to water the plants; Noah had not seen rain.) Who was on the ark? (Chapt. 6, Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, plus the animals God sent.) Why weren’t more people on the ark? (They would not repent.) Who closed the ark? (Gen. 7:16, The Lord) How long did it rain? ( Forty days and forty nights.) How many months were they on the ark total? (Gen. 7:24, five months)
Any number of question can be asked. The purpose is simply to get the kids to think and comprehend what they are reading.
We then read a short picture book on Noah’s ark from the library. We challenged the kids to notice any liberties the author took with the story that could not be supported by scripture. After discussing the validity of second and third hand information verses referencing the original source, we closed in prayer, ate cake and played games.
