Lesson 1 – The “C” of Creation: God Made the World
Sailing the 7 C’s Series
The following lesson is great for the Sunday after New Year’s, but it can easily be adapted for any time of the year. The only change would be the picture on the Bible Verse Poster.
LESSON OVERVIEW
Key Point: God made everything and made me special.
Bible Story: Creation
Bible Reference: Genesis 1-2
Challenge Verse: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
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ITEMS NEEDED
Signs that say: Light, Darkness, Water, Water (each class will need 2 “Water” signs), Land, Sea, Stars, Sun, Moon, Birds, Sea Creatures, Land Animals, What Else?
1 piece of construction paper for each student
1 piece of white copy paper for each student
1 pair of scissors for each student
1 small zip-lock bag per student
A small piece of paper with a fish on it or a cut-out fish. The kids will be writing prayer requests on these and throwing them (or, “casting their cares”) into a fishing net.
Each class needs a fishing net.
Bible Verse Poster
BEFORE CLASS
– Put up the Bible Verse Poster for today.
– Set out any items you need for today’s lesson
– Pray for each student by name.
AS STUDENTS ENTER
– Greet each student by name as they enter.
– Give each student an attendance sticker for the attendance chart, and feel free to add guest names to the chart. This will give them a sense of belonging.
– Be sure to smile.
OPENING ACTIVITY
Activity: Play-Do Sculptures
As your students arrive, ask them to make the ball of Play-Do into something—anything. (NOTE: You will also need Play-Do for next week’s lesson.)
Give them several minutes to do this. Then have them leave the excess Play-Do at the tables and bring their creation to the circle.
SAY: Welcome aboard! We’re sailing the Seven “C’s” and today will be sailing the “C” of creation.
Control Tool
Anytime you say, “What are you?” students respond in a hick-type voice, “I’m Special!”
Leader: What are you? / Students: I’m Special!
SAY: That’s right. God made you special and I want to see what you’ve made.
Go around and have each one tell you what it is. Be sure to be very complimentary about every child’s work.
(Teaching Tip: Anytime a student creates or draws something and you don’t know what it is, it is always better to say, “Tell me about that,” instead of “What is that?”)
SAY: On the count of three, take your creations back to the table. We’re going to use the Play-Do again next week.
Ask the students—What is something else you’ve made? (Maybe a model airplane or a painting or a piece of pottery, etc.)
Ask the students—How would you feel if I said, “Oh, I don’t believe you could do that. You’re only [age of kids in your class] years old. A [age of kids in your class] year old can’t…” How would you feel if I doubted that you created something?
Ask the students—How do you think God might feel when people don’t believe that He created the world and everything in it.
SAY: Today we’re going to learn this important truth: God made everything!
REPEAT after me: God made everything!
SAY: God made everything: God made butterflies, God made anteaters, God made 3rd graders, God made your big brother or sister, He made the dirt in your driveway and the dust in your closet—Everything that has been made, He made it all.
SAY: I have a special riddle for you.
Riddle
Name one thing God hasn’t made.
(Don’t take answers now, but tell them you’re going to give them a hidden hint sometime during today’s lesson.)
Ask the students—Did the universe begin with a Big Bang? (No, God made it.)
Ask the students—Did animals grow into people over millions of years? (No, the Bible says that God made the plants and animals and people and all that there is.)
Ask the students—Did the universe come about by chance? (No, God made it with a plan and He has a plan for your life as well. He made you for a reason too.)
Control Tool
Leader: What are you? / Students: I’m Special!
BIBLE STORY
Days of Creation
SAY: Today we’re going to learn about how God created the world and to do this I’m going to need several volunteers. And be listening for the hidden hint for today’s riddle.
Choose 6 volunteers—Give them the following signs representing the first three days of creation: Light, Darkness, Water, Water, Land, Sea. Then set the Light and Dark volunteers several feet to your right, the two Water volunteers in the middle with a chair, and the Land and Sea volunteers several feet to your left.
DAY 1
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 1.”
READ from the location of the Day 1 volunteers—Light and Darkness. Have these volunteers stand right next to each other: The Bible says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called…” Who wants to make a guess? “…‘Night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
SAY: On Day 1—Everybody say, “Day 1.”
SAY: God created light and separated the light from the darkness. Push the Light and Darkness volunteers apart and leave about enough room for three other students.
DAY 2
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 2.” (Challenge them to do it louder if they’re quiet.)
READ from the location of the Day 2 volunteers—Water and Water: The Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse…” Who wants to make a guess? “…‘sky.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.”
SAY: On Day 2—Everybody say, “Day 2.”
SAY: God separated the waters—some on the earth and some above the earth. Have one of the Waters stand on a chair, the other sit on the floor beneath.
DAY 3
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 3.”
READ from the location of the Day 3 volunteers—Earth and Sea: The Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry ground…” Who wants to make a guess? “…‘land,’ and the gathered waters he called…” Who wants to make a guess? “…‘seas,’ …And God saw that it was good…” Then God created vegetation on the land. “And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.”
SAY: On Day 3—Everybody say, “Day 3.”
SAY: God separated the land and sea and made vegetation (i.e., plants and trees) on the land. Separate the Land and Sea volunteers a few feet apart.
QUICK REVIEW
Quickly review Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3—i.e., On Day 1 God separated the light from the darkness, on Day 2 God separated the waters on the earth and the waters above and made the sky, and on Day 3 God separated the land and the sea and made vegetation like plants and trees.
Choose 6 more volunteers —Give them the following signs representing days four through six of creation: Stars, Moon, Sun. (Have these students stand behind the students representing Day 1.) Bird, Sea Creatures (Have these students stand behind the students representing Day 2.) Land Animals, What Else? (Have these students stand behind the students representing Day 3.) (NOTE: If you don’t have this many students, then some will need to have more than one part. Choose a volunteer from Day 1 to have a sign for Day 4 (i.e., Stars, Moon, Sun.), choose someone from Day 2 to have a sign for Day 5 (i.e., Birds, Sea Creatures), or choose a student from Day 3 to have a sign for Day 6, (i.e., Land Animals, What Else?)
DAY 4
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 4.” (If they’re getting distracted, have a quick competition to see if the girls or boys can say “Day 4” the loudest.)
READ from the location of the Day 1 and 4 volunteers: The Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night…God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day…” What’s that? (The Sun) “And the lesser light to govern the night.” What’s that? (The Moon) “He also made the stars…And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.”
SAY: On Day 4—Everybody say, “Day 4.”
SAY: God made the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. Move the Sun, Moon, and Stars volunteers between the Light and Darkness volunteers. Remember God separate them on day one, which means that there was day and night before the sun and moon!
DAY 5
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 5.” (If they’re getting distracted, have a quick competition between Day 1 and 4 vs. Day 2 and 5 vs. Day 3 and 6.)
READ from the location of the Day 2 and 5 volunteers: The Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky…And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.”
SAY: On Day 5—Everybody say, “On Day 5 / God made birds / and water creatures / that are alive!”
Have the Birds volunteers sit on the chair with a Water volunteer standing behind him. Have the Sea Creatures volunteer sit on the floor with the other Water volunteer.
DAY 6
REPEAT: Everybody say, “Day 6.” (If they’re getting distracted, have them all shout as loud as they can to disturb the classes next to them.)
READ from the location of the Day 3 and 6 volunteers: The Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals…And God saw that it was good.”
SAY: On the count of three have everyone sit back down in the circle except for the What Else? volunteer. Have him stand next to you. Ready…1-2-3…Go!
SAY: On Day 6 God made all the land animals, but What Else did He make?
READ: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish or the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground…God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the…” What day? “…the sixth day.”
Control Tool
Leader: What are you? / Students: I’m Special!
SAY: You’re special because you were made in the likeness of God Himself.
LESSON ACTIVITY
Make a Puzzle
Give each student a piece of construction paper. Tell them to write “God Made” at the top (Younger children can copy this from a marker or bulletin board.) Then tell them to list things God made for which they are thankful. (Younger children can draw pictures of the things for which they are thankful.) Then tell them to turn the page over and draw curved lines to make make a puzzle. Give them scissors. Tell the kids to cut along the puzzle lines to make their own puzzle. Then have kids switch to see if they can put someone else’s puzzle together. (NOTE: You will want to have bags in which the students can put their puzzles when you are finished.)
Ask the students—How does it make you feel knowing that there has never been anyone like you nor will there every be anyone like you because God make you one-of-a-kind—and God doesn’t make junk? (This is the HIDDEN HINT to the Riddle.)
Ask the students—Has anybody figured out today’s riddle: Name one thing God hasn’t made? (God hasn’t ever made a mistake. He didn’t make a mistake when He made you and He made you special.)
Ask the students—Would you feel any different about yourself if you thought God did not make you but you happened by chance? Why or why not?
Ask the students—Just like the puzzle pieces fit together in a special design, what do you think God has designed for you to do?
Control Tool
Leader: What are you? / Students: I’m Special!
CHALLENGE VERSE
Ask the students—Where in the Bible do you think we get this story? (The very beginning.)
Choose 1 volunteer — to show you where on the Bible Book Chart the book of Genesis is found and what section of the Old Testament it is in.
SAY: Get your Bibles ready for a Bible Drill.
Ready…Genesis 1:1…Go!
This is the first verse of the Bible.
Have student REPEAT: God made everything!
Control Tool
Leader: What are you? / Students: I’m Special!
LESSON ACTIVITY
Draw a Picture
Have your students draw or color pictures that represent the Story of Creation.
(NOTE: We’ll be drawing a picture of each of the 7 C’s which would make a great 7 C’s book or you can send the pictures home with your students each week.)
PRAYER TIME & WRAP UP
Since we’re “Sailing the Seven C’s”, have your students write today’s prayer requests on construction paper fish. (These can be easily made. You can even have your students do it.)
Big Question: There were seven days of creation…What happened on Day 7? (God rested. That’s why God created the Sabbath, which was a day of rest each week. To us, Sunday is our day to rest and worship God with other believers.)
SAY: Some people have trouble resting because they’re worried about things.
Ask the students—Have you ever been worried?
SAY: Listen to what the Bible says you should do when you get worried.
And get your Bibles ready for a Bible Drill.
Ready…1 Peter 5:7…Go!
SAY: “Casting” means to throw, and God wants you to throw all your cares on Him because He cares for you. So today we’re going to take our fish and “throw” them into the net to remind us to always cast our cares on God.
Pray and thank God for making everything and for making each of your kids special.
List Prayer Requests
Be sure to pray specifically for each request above.
EXTRA TIME
Use any extra time to:
– Ask your kids what their families did for New Year’s.
– Help your students memorize the verse for today
– Practice extra Bible Drills
– Make any announcements that need to be made.
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