The Rainbow of God's Love

Today we are going to explore what it means to belong–to be included into a group. At Sanctuary Community Church, we want to make space for every person. We want everyone to feel that they belong, and God does, too. When we look in the Bible, we can see so many examples of God loving us, and we know that we were lovingly created in the image of God.

Scripture:

Genesis 1:26, Mark 12:30-31, Romans 15:13, 1 John 4:7-8, Ephesians 3:18

Questions to talk about together:

I wonder what you feel like when you belong?

I wonder if you ever feel different than other people?

I wonder what helps you feel included?

I wonder what it feels like to be held in God’s loving arms?

Story: The Big Umbrella

If we imagine God’s love in the shape of an umbrella, it’s almost like big arms gathering us together into safety. It’s almost the same shape as a rainbow! A rainbow shows us that different colors can join together to make something beautiful, just as different people can join together to make a beautiful community! A rainbow is a symbol of hope, of good things to come, and God’s promises to us.

Sometimes we might feel lonely, scared, or left out. But no matter what, God’s love is big enough and wide enough to cover us all. Because of God’s love, we all belong.

Activity: Rainbow Art Selfie Project

Have you ever seen some of the bright, colorful murals around Iowa City? Different artists have designed and painted these murals to help make our community a beautiful place. Some time when your family is out and about, ask your grownup if you can find one of the murals and take a picture in front of it! (Find out more about some of the newest murals here and here.)

Here are two different coloring pages that you might like to print and color, or you can make your own rainbow art!

Big Umbrella Coloring Page

Rainbow Coloring Page

Edited 6/5: We made a video of our church community to show that even when we are apart, we still belong together. We invited you all to send in your colorful selfies, and we compiled them into one video which we shared on Sunday, May 31. It was so wonderful to see your faces joining together in a beautiful rainbow!

Sanctuary Collage.png

Music Playlist

Here are some songs about God’s love for us, the colors of the rainbow, and how wonderful it is to belong. Listen to some of them and see if you can learn the words!

”Wide, High, Long, Deep” Song and Lyric Video by Ellie Holcomb

”Rainbow Colors” Song and Video

“I Can Sing A Rainbow” Song and Video

”He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” Song

“You’ll Never Walk Alone” Virtual Choir/Orchestra (15 Countries, 300 People)

Thank you, God, for all the colors of the rainbow, all the people of the world, and all the ways you love us. Amen!