Lesson 1 - God Created the World
When you read the creation story in Genesis, it can sometimes sound very familiar. But imagine yourself at this opening event in world history—when God speaks, and things come to life. Light! Sun and stars! Land and sea! Animals, plants, and us!
As you prepare to teach the creation story to the children, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a fresh understanding. Let God’s power and creativity take your breath away. This week, notice the details and variety of the world created by Him and for Him. He found pleasure in His work, and He invites us to enjoy it as well. What a great God we have!
Family Connection: Let the families of your children know that they will learn about creation for the next few weeks. Encourage family members to ask the children what their favourite part of creation teaches them about God.
Reminder: All resources, including this Family Connection Card, are available for download at the end of this lesson.
LESSON TIME
1. Connecting: Play a game to learn each other's names and things God created.
Greet the children as they come to class. Your warm smile and excitement will let the children know that this class will be fun!
Welcome! We are going to learn some exciting things about God, each other, and ourselves in this class. We will have fun while we are learning! Are you ready to learn?
Tell the children they will have 5 minutes to ask each other questions. If someone guesses a child’s word, they should hold hands. The object is to see how many children finish the game holding hands. When 5 minutes is over, hold your hand up as a signal that they must all quietly sit down.
Teacher Tip: It is good for children to be active while they are learning. They will remember what they learn better when they participate in the lesson. Create a signal, such as a special clap, to let the children know when to sit still and be quiet. Use this every time you want the children to be quiet and pay attention.
Today we will learn some exciting things about God. He is the Creator of everything in our world. Plants, animals, people, water, sky, earth—He made everything! Close your eyes for a moment and think of your favourite thing in nature. (Pause) Now open your eyes, and let’s play a game!
Have the children sit in a circle. Let them know that everyone will have a turn to say his or her name and something in nature that God created. For example, a child might say, “I am Ada, and I like stars.” Start the game by saying your name and something you like in God’s creation. Then gently toss the ball or stone to a child. That child will say her name and something God created, and then she will toss the ball or stone to another child. Make sure every child has a turn. If you have a large group, you can divide the children into 2 or more circles. After the game, ask the children to sit in their usual places for the lesson.
2. Teaching: Learn that God created everything in our world (Genesis 1:1–31).
Today you will learn about the One True God. He created everything found in nature. The first book of the Bible tells us about creation. Listen as I tell you about our amazing and powerful God. As I read about each thing God created, you will make a motion to show what God created.
Teacher Tip: Children need to feel safe. When they learn that God created everything and He is good and always the same, it helps them feel safe because He is in control.
Let’s listen to the very first thing we learn about God:
Read the verse directly from your Bible. It is important for the children to see that what you are teaching comes from God’s Word, not just this leader’s guide.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Optional: If possible, share the Days of Creation poster as you teach.
Before anything else existed, God was alive! But there was no earth, no sky, and no land. The Bible tells us that there was a lot of nothing. It was dark. Then God spoke. He said, “Let there be light!”
- What do you think happened after God spoke?
Allow 3–4 students to respond.
Yes! There was light! God separated the light from the darkness. This created day and night. God saw that the light was good! That was the first day.
Stay seated, but use your hands and arms to show me a motion about how God created light. For example, you might cover your eyes to show the darkness, and then uncover them to show light.
Give the children a minute to create a motion about God creating light. Encourage them to be creative and not just copy your example.
Next, God spoke again. He separated the waters to create the sky. God saw that it was good! This was the second day.
Now use your hands and arms to create a motion to show that God created the sky by separating the waters.
Give the children a minute to create a motion about God creating sky. If they need an idea, suggest that they can press 1 hand up while pressing the other down to show God separating the waters. Or they could wave their arms above their heads to show the sky.
God spoke again. He told the water under the sky to join together so dry ground would appear. Now there was land and there were seas. God saw that this was good! Then God spoke and told the land to make plants and trees of all kinds. And it happened! There were all kinds of flowers and plants and trees. God saw this was good. This was the third day.
Give the children a minute to create a motion about God creating dry land and plants. If they need an idea, suggest that they slowly raise their arms as though they are plants growing.
God spoke again. He set lights in the sky to separate the day from the night—the sun and the moon. He also made the stars to shine in the sky at night. God saw this was good! This was the fourth day.
Allow the children to create motions for the sun, moon, and stars.
God spoke again. He created fish to swim in the seas and birds to fly in the sky. He told these fish and birds to have lots of babies to fill the seas and land. He saw this was good! This was the fifth day.
Allow the children to create motions for fish and birds.
God spoke again. He created land animals, such as elephants and tigers, dogs and cats, cows and monkeys. He made all sorts of animals. He told them to have lots of babies so there would be lots of animals. God saw this was good!
Allow the children to create motions for animals.
- Then God spoke again. What do you think He created next?
Allow the children to guess.
Listen to what God did next:
So God created human beings in his own likeness. He created them to be like himself. He created them as male and female.
Genesis 1:27
He created people! This was the sixth day.
Allow the children to create motions for people.
Listen to this verse that tells us what God thought about all that He had created:
God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.
Genesis 1:31
Optional: If you are using The Action Bible, read pages 17–20.
Let’s talk about what we learned about God.
- How did God make each thing in creation?
He spoke, and they were created.
God created everything through the power of His word. He is very powerful!
- What did God say after each thing was created?
He said that it was good.
God was very pleased with all His creations. That includes everything in our world—land and seas, sky, sun, moon and stars, all the fish and birds and animals. Most of all, it includes you! When God looks at you He knows that He created something very good. Our God is an amazing God!
Teacher Tip: In some cultures, there are other beliefs about the creation of the world. If this is true in your community, remind the children that the story they just learned from the Bible is true. God’s Word can be trusted!
3. Responding: Actively review the days of creation and thank God for creating a good world.
Let’s play a game to match each day with what was created on it. This is a matching activity. Some of you will pretend to be the days of creation. I will select you now. When I choose you, please stand at a distance from one another in the teaching space.
Choose 6 children to represent the days of creation: Day 1, Day 2, etc. They will hold up their fingers to show what days they are: 1 finger for Day 1, etc.
Some of you will pretend to be something that was created. As I tell you what you are, walk to the person pretending to be the day you were created.
Assign different parts of creation to the rest of the children: Light, sky, land, water, sun, moon, stars, fish, birds, plants, animals, and people. They will act out their parts with motions.
Teacher Tip: If you have a large class, you can assign more than 1 student to each part of creation.
Try not to give any hints. See if the children can remember what was created on each day. The rest of the class can help if a child is not sure which group he should join.
Ask each group to talk together about something they are thankful for about that day of creation. For example, the children in the Day 1 group might say, “Thank you, God, for light so we can see where we are going.”
After about a minute, point to the Day 1 group. The children should shout, “Day 1!” Then they will say the things they are thankful for and the reasons they are thankful. Repeat for each of the groups. After each group has had a turn, have everyone shout together, “God created everything, and it is good!”
Use the special signal you created to quiet the children after this activity.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, the children can do the activity to match the days of creation with the things created on these days.
Reminder: All resources, including this Student Page, are available for download at the end of this lesson.
Even though we are not perfect, it is important for us to know that God made us and loves us.
Memory Verse
Go over the memory verse with the children. Share the Memory Verse poster if possible.
Reminder: All resources, including this memory verse poster, are available for download at the end of this lesson.
Listen to our memory verse:
Everything God created is good. You shouldn’t turn anything down. Instead, you should thank God for it.
1 Timothy 4:4
Help the children remember the verse by teaching them actions to go with the words. Today the children will learn the first sentence with actions. Each week they will learn more of the verse until they have it all memorized. Lead children in repeating the first sentence with its actions 3 times.
Teacher Tip: If needed, change the following actions to those that better fit your culture.
Note the new actions so that you can use the same ones each week of this unit.
Everything—Move your hands from your stomach in a curve out toward each side.
God—Point to the sky with your hand.
Created—Cup your hands as though an imaginary ball is between them. Rotate the imaginary ball in your hands.
Good—Smile.
End class by speaking this blessing, based on Genesis 1:31, over the children.
Blessing: May you know that God, who is the Creator of everything, sees you and loves you. May you know that He says His creation is very good!
If you have time, share this song with your children to celebrate how great God is! Use this as your worship theme this quarter.
"How Great Is Our God" – https://youtu.be/vg5qDljEw7Q