...That will be fine,o said another. ...And we will all live around the tower. We will build a city around the tower.o
So they began to build. They made bricks of clay. They baked the bricks in big hot ovens, till they were very hard. They laid the bricks in rows, one on top of the other. So the wall of the big tower was started. God saw what they were doing.

God said, ...We will not let them build a tower that reaches up to heaven. We will stop them. And we will scatter them all over, so that they will live all over the earth.o

At that time all the people talked alike. No one talked German or French or English. They all talked the language of Adam.

But one night God touched their tongues. And in the morning they began to talk in other languages. They did not all talk alike anymore.

They started to work in the morning, to build the tower. They talked to each other. And they could not understand each other. One man would ask for something and they would not know what he wanted. One would say something, and other did not know what he said. They talked and talked, louder and louder. They became angry at one another. At last they shook their heads and gave up. They could not work that way. They had to stop building the tower because they did not talk alike.
Then they did not want to live together any longer. Some people moved north. Some moved south. Some moved west. Some moved east.

After a while, God gave children to Adam and Eve. The first was a baby boy. Adam and Eve were very happy to have a baby boy. They called him Cain. They next baby was a boy, too. They called him Abel. Then there were many other children, both boys and girls. When Cain grew up, he made a garden. He had fruits and vegetables. Abel became a shepherd. He had many sheep and lambs. One day, Cain and Abel were in the field together.

Cain said to himself,

Today I shall bring a gift to God on my altar.

So Cain took some of the grain and fruit from his garden. He laid them on the altar and burned them to God. But Cain did not love God. As he watched the gift burn on the altar, Cain was not happy. He knew, deep down in his heart, that God did not want his gift. God wants us to love him first. Then he will take our gifts. Cain looked up. He said Abel.

Abel, too, was bringing a gift to God. Abel had taken a lamb from his flock. He was offering it to God. Cain watched him. He saw Abel lay the lamb on the altar and burn it. He saw that Abels face was happy. The lamb on the altar was a picture of Jesus dying for our sins. But Cain said, God takes Abels gift. He does not want mine.

And Cain was angry. Then Cain heard a voice call out to him. It was Gods voice. God said,
Cain, why are you angry? If you do well, you will be accepted; if not, sin is at the door of your heart.
But Cain did not care, He was very angry.

He doubled his fist and went to Abel. He talked to Abel. Anger filled his heart more and more. At least he hit Abel. Cain hit him so hard that Abel fell down dead. Cain saw Abel fall. But he turned and went away. Then Gods voice called Cain again. God asked, Cain where is your brother Abel? Cain did not dare to say what he had done. He answered,

Must I take care of my brother?

But God knew what Cain had done.

God knows everything. God said to Cain,

Because you have done this great sin, your garden will never grow for you again. You shall wander around, far from home. You must find your food from here and there. You shall be a wanderer.

Then Cain was afraid. Cain said,

What shall become of me? If I go and wander up and down, someone will find me and kill me.
But God had mercy on Cain. God said, I will not let anyone kill you. And he put a mark on Cain, so that no one would kill him. So Cain left his home. He took his wife along. They wandered away to a far country. Adam and Eve were very sorry to lose to of their boys. Now they knew that sin had come upon their children. along. They wandered away to a far country. Adam and Eve were very sorry to lose to of their boys. Now they knew that sin had come upon their children.

But God called them. God called, Where are you? They knew they could not hide from God. So they came out of their hiding place. They stood before God. They said, We were afraid.

And they told God what they had done.

Adam did not say that he was sorry. He said it was Eves fault. Eve did not say she was sorry. She told God it was the serpents fault.

When they had told God about it, God called the serpent. God said to the serpent, From this day on, you shall crawl upon your stomach. You, and all serpents to come, shall eat dust. The children of this woman shall be your enemies. And one of them will crush your head.

When God said that, He was thinking of the time when Jesus would come to be our Savior and crush your head.

God said to Eve, Your happiness is spoiled. You shall have children. But you shall have my pain and sorrow.

Then He said to Adam, Because you disobeyed me, thorns and weeds shall grow on Earth. You shall have to work hard. And at last you shall die and become part of the Earth again.
Then God sent them out of the garden. He put an angel at that garden. The angel had a flaming sword. No one could come into the garden.

God also had animals killed and made coats of their skin for Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve were very sad. They went out of the garden with sad hearts.
Now they had to make their own garden. It was hard work. Weeds grew fast. Sharp thorns came on many plans. Adam had to work hard to get enough to eat.

The animals had been friends of Adam. But now they had become wild. The lion and tigers growled at Adam and Eve. The little animals ran away from them.

So, by the sin of Adam and Eve, Gods beautiful world was spoiled.

But, worst of all, God did not come to walk and talk with Adam and Eve as He used to. Their sin had come between them and God. God had sent them away from Him. Their sin separated them from God. To be separated from God is death.

All death came into the world because of sin. But even then, so very long ago, God was planning to send His Son to be our Savior, to save us from sin and to bring us back to God.

This time God did not speak as He did when He made the fish and the birds and the furry animals. Instead, He took some of the ground and shaped it into a man, with arms, legs, hands, feet and head, just like you and I have. When He had shaped the man, God breathed his own breath in to the man and the man stood up before God. He was alive and big and strong. God called the man Adam.

Then God made a beautiful garden. It was called the Garden of Eden. There were all kinds of flowers and beautiful trees with fruit. God brought Adam to the Garden and told him to take care of it. It was a place where Adam would be very happy.

Soon after that, God brought all of the animals to Adam, so Adam could give them names. He saw how beautiful the animals were, and the animals were not afraid to come right up to Adam. They let him pet them. Of course, Adam knew just the right names to give to every animal. They would run off into the trees after Adam named them with their new names1/2the cunning chipmunk, the rabbit with long ears the very big elephant and the giraffe with his long neck!

But none of the animals could talk to Adam! God knew that Adam would be lonesome without another human being to talk to so God put Adam to sleep and took a rib from his side. God made a beautiful woman out of the rib. When Adam woke up, there was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen! She was to be his wife and live with him in the Garden of Eden and talk with him. Her name was Eve.

Boys and girls, God made Adam and Eve very special, just like he made you special. He loves you so much and wants to talk with you. He talks to you when you read the Bible stories and you can talk to God by praying to Him. God wants to hear everything about you! You are so very special to God that He sent Jesus to die for you so you could be with Him forever!

Remember you are special, one of a kind, and God loves YOU! John 3:16

But above the water, and above the ark, there was the blue sky. At night the start twinkled there, and the moon sailed slowly from east to west. And high above the stars, God watched over all.

God had not forgotten Noah. He saw the ark floating on the deep waters. And He sent a wind to dry up the waters. The wind blew. The water began to dry up. The ark began to go down -- down, down a little farther each day. One morning Noah looked out the window and called to his sons. "Come and see! The water is going down! We can see the top of the rocky hills!" Noah was happy to see that the water was going down. Now he knew that God was not forgetting him. After awhile the ark came to rest on one of the hilltops. Noah waited a little longer. Then one day he took a dove from the roomful of birds. He let the dove fly out of the window. He thought maybe the dove would find a tree to rest in, and would not come back. But soon he saw the dove fluttering by the window. He opened the window and reached out his hand. The dove flew to Noah, and he took it in. Now Noah knews that the trees were still covered with water.

Another week passed. Noah sent out the dove again. This time the dove stayed away until evening. Then it came back. Noah opened the window for it. The dove flew in. And Noah saw that it had an olive leaf in its bill. Now Noah knew that the treetops were uncovered. The dove had found a leaf. Another week passed. Again Noah sent the down out. This time the dove did not come back at all. The water had dried up off the earth at last.

Then Noah opened the roof of the ark. He and his sons looked out upon the earth. It was clean and beautiful. Everywhere new plants were growing. How pleasant it all looked! They were eager to get out of the ark. They had been in the ark for more than a year. But they did not go out. They waited for God to open the door. At last God spoke to Noah. God told Noah to go out of the ark. What a happy day that was! Noah and his wife stepped out upon the clean new earth.

Noah's sons and their wives stepped out. And then the animals! The great big ones, the little ones, and all the creeping things - they ran out to play on the green earth. The birds spread their wings and flew up into the blue sky and sang. What a day that was!

As soon as they were all out of the ark, Noah picked out stones and built an altar. On the altar he brought a thanksgiving gift to God. He took some of the animals that God had sent into the ark by sevens. He gave them as an offering to God on the altar. God was pleased with Noah's gift. He came to talk to Noah again. God said, " I promise you that i shall never again send such a flood to cover the whole earth. I will never again send a flood to kill all that lives upon the earth." Then God pointed to the sky. Noah looked. He saw a beautiful big rainbow there. It was very beautiful. Its colours were very bright. God said, "The rainbow is a sign of My promise. When I see the rainbow, I will remember My promise."

And never again has God sent such a terrible flood.

In those days, when God looked down from heaven upon His earth, what did He see? He saw that his beautiful earth was no longer the same as it was in the beginning. There were many thorns and weeds where beautiful flowers used to be. Many of the animals were wild; they fought each and even ate each other.

And what about the people? Some people were very sinful, like Cain. Some were just having a good time, forgetting all about God. They did not pray. They did not bring gifts to God. They played and danced and did only what they wanted to do. They did not take care of God's plants and animals. They did not even think about God.

But there were still a few good people.

There was Enoch. Enoch lived close to God. He walked with God and talked with God every day, even if people laughed at him. One day Enoch's children went to see their father. They could not find him. They hunted for him. He was not in hiud house. He was not in the field. He was gone. God had taken him up out of the world. God had taken him to heaven. So Enoch never died but God took him.

Then there was Noah. Noah had an altar. He brought gifts to God upon the altar, and he prayed to God. God was pleased to see that Noah served him. God was very sorry to see all other people living in sin. He loved the people and wanted them to love him. But they would not. Then God said, " I will send a great flood to wash all these wicked people from the earth. I will save only the good ones, only Noah and his family." God made his plan. He told Noah about it. He told Noah to build a big, big boat - an ark.

God said, "Make a boat -- a big boart. It must be three stories high. It must have a roof. It must have one window high up, and it must have one door. It must have little rooms. Put tar on it, all around, inside and out, so that no water can get into it. When the boat is ready, I shall send a very great rain. The rain will cover all the earth with a flood. You and your family will be safe inside the ark when I send the rain. Noah listened to God. God told him just how to make the ark. Then Noah went to work. Noah worked hard. He cut wood. He sawed, and he hammered. His three sons, Shem, Ham, & Japheth, helped him.

Sometimes people came to see what Noah was doing. He told them about the flood that was coming. He told them to stop living in sin. He told them to live for God. They only laughed at him. They would not listen. They did not think the flood would ever come.

From heaven God watched. He gave the people a long, long, time. He gave them one hundred and twenty years' time. He was kind to them. But they would not listen. They still lived in their sinful way. And Noah went on building the ark.

...The fruit that grows in the Garden is yours to eat,o God told Adam. ...But there is one tree of which you must NOT eat. That is the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. It grows in the middle of the Garden. If you eat the fruit off of that tree, you will die.o

God often came to the Garden. Sometimes He came in the evening. He would walk and talk with Adam and Eve, like we walk and talk with our friends.

But there was another person who came to the Garden. That was Satan. Satan hated God very much. Because he hated God so much, he wanted to spoil the beautiful earth that God had made.
One day while Eve was walking alone in the Garden, Satan came to her. He hid himself inside a snake and talked to her from inside the snake.

Satan said, ...How lovely this Garden is! How tasty the fruit looks! Did God tell you not to eat of the fruit of the Garden?o

...Oh noo, said Eve. ...He gave us all these beautiful fruits to eat. We can eat all we want. There is only one tree we must not touch. That is the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. God says that if we eat of that tree, we shall surely die.o

...But that is not true!o said Satan. ...You will not die if you eat of that tree. You will become like God if you eat of that tree!o

Become like God? How wonderful that would be! Eve went to look at the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. The fruit was very beautiful and Eve was sure it would taste very god too. But God had said not to eat of it or she would surely die. But the snake said she wouldn't die. Eve listened to the snake.
Eve took a bite of the fruit. Then she called Adam and gave it to him. Although he knew he shouldn't, Adam took a bit too. Then Satan was glad, for he thought he had spoiled God's beautiful earth!
But Adam and Eve looked at each other and they were ashamed. They were afraid too! They had disobeyed God. What would happen to them now? God said they would surely die!
Satan just laughed at them.

Boys and girls, we need to remember not to do bad things no matter how much fun they might seem to be or how nice it might be. When God tells us to obey, we need to obey. That means listening to our mommy and daddy or whoever is looking after us. God wants us to be obedient to Him. Don't let someone get you to do something bad'they will most times laugh at you when you get into trouble, just like Satan did with Adam and Eve.

Read the Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

God wanted the animals to live too. He told Noah to take two of every kind that He had made, and bring them into the ark with Noah and his family. Noah and his sons carried bushels of food into the ark. They need food for themselves. They needed food for the animals. At last that was done.

Then the animals came. God sent them to Noah. They came two by two- a father and a mother rabbit, a father and a mother elephant, a father and a mother of every kind of animal that God had made. But god sent seven of some kinds. Noah took these into the ark, too. When the animals were all in the ark, God told Noah to go in. God said, "Take your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives. You must all go into the ark. I will close the door. I will send the rain. "There was no sign of rain. But Noah went into the ark with his wife and his sons and sons' wives. The God closed the door.

After awhile the clouds came. Big dark clouds spread over the blue sky. They hid the sun. Then the rain began to fall. It came faster and faster. Soon it was pouring down. All day long the rain fell. All night long the rain fell. All the next day the rain fell. And all the next day. Water came up out of the ground, too. It came bubbling up. Soon the water began to cover the earth. It ran all over the ground. It lifted the ark. The ark floated on the water. And still the rain poured down.

For forty days and forty nights the water came down from the sky and water came up from inside the earth. It lifted the ark higher and higher. It covered the housetops. It covered the treetops. The ark floated above the houses and the trees. All the people and all the animals that were left on the earth were drowned.

Then at last the rain stopped. Noah looked out of the window. He could see nothing but water. Water covered the whole earth. It covered even the highest hills. Everything was one great big sea. And the ark floated on the great big sea. All the wicked people had drowned. Noah and his family and the animals inside the ark were safe.