Genesis 1:1-2:7
Key verse: Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Materials: Bible (all lessons), Playdough, Pictures of creation
Greet Students and open with prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you so much for allowing us to come here today. Help us to open our minds and our hearts so that we can learn more about you. Amen
Lesson Introduction: Hand out playdough and allow students to create whatever they would like. Before beginning the Bible lesson, have students share with the class what they made. After the students share, have them put away the playdough so it is not a distraction. Remember it will be used again in the follow up activity. Keep an eye on the time to make sure there is sufficient time for Bible time.
Bible Time: (All ages) Pass out Bibles and have students turn to Genesis 1:1. Read or have a student read the verse. Then read it again emphasizing God. Then ask who does the Bible say created the heavens and the earth. (God) Read the lesson from Genesis 1:1-2:7. For younger students or to save time, a children’s Bible or summary such as follows could be used. Pictures of each of the creations could be shown as the lesson is read to capture the attention of visual learners.
In the Bible it says that when God created the world all he did was speak and what he said came to be. The first day God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. The second day God said, “Let there be an expanse.” The expanse formed and God called it sky. The third day God said, “Let there be dry ground and let it produce vegetation.” Land appeared and plants grew. The fourth day God said, “Let there be lights to separate day and night.” The sun, the moon, and all the stars appeared in the sky. The fifth day God said, “Let the waters teem with life and let birds fly above in the sky.” Fish swam in the water, and birds flew in the sky. On the sixth day God said, “Let the land produce living creatures.” Animals of all kinds filled the earth, but God wasn’t done yet. Next He said, “Let Us make man in Our own image.” The first people were created in the very image of the God who created them. After all that hard work God looked over everything and said it was very good, and on the seventh day… God rested!
Follow up Activity: Go over the days again. Ask what was created Day 1. (light) Point out that you can see because of the light in the room. Ask what did God create on Day 2. (sky) Let the students get up and look out the window. Ask how big the sky is. (This will be discussion to think about how amazing God’s creations are, not about how to calculate how many square miles the sky really is) Ask what was created day 3. (land, water gathered and plants) Hand the playdough out again and allow the students to form plants. Ask what was created day 4. (Sun, moon and stars) Allow the students to make the sun, moon and the stars. Ask what was created day 5. (Fish and Birds) Allow the students to form fish and birds. Ask what was created day 6.( Animals, a man, and a women) Allow students to form animals and people. Ask what was created day 7. (Nothing God rested) Pick up the playdough and allow the students to nap. (Just have them lay their heads down for 5 seconds).
Extra Time:
Choice 1: Allow more free time with playdough
Choice 2: choose an item such as the playdough or a wooden chair and ask what it is made of. Then ask where did those items come from. All things can be broken down to their natural elements that God made.
Close in prayer: Dear God, Thank you for creating everything in our world. Thank you so much for creating each one of us. Amen
A note to teachers: In and of itself this is a simple lesson that all who grew up in the church know well. Today some children are taught in science books and from teachers that they look up to that life formed over millions of years until humans evolved from other species. As a Bible School or Sunday School teacher, you do not need to disprove macroevolution. Your job is to teach the children what the Bible says. If a question about evolution comes up simply point out that you are teaching what the Bible says and the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth. If it seems appropriate you can mention that a different interpretation of the Hebrew word “yom” that is written as day in English Bibles could be a period of time. Although many Christian scientists such as Ken Ham believe in a literal 7 day creation, some Christian scientists such as Hugh Ross believe days in Genesis 1 are longer time periods. If need be, at a later time, you could connect a child with questions to a pastor or someone who has studied more about the scientific evidence and how it connects to creation.