Creation

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4th/5th Grade – Sep 2

Old School  Lesson 1

Creation Bible Verse In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Teacher Enrichment This is the first lesson in the Old School: Lessons from the Old Testament series which examines many well-known stories from the Old Testament. Each week will explore how God is revealed through the events and characters of a Bible story. This series will build a base of Old Testament Bible knowledge for children. God created the world. The Book of Genesis says everything was dark and formless until God acted. God created the light and darkness, the sky, land and oceans, the sun, moon and stars, plants, animals and, of course, humans. After each of His creations, He stopped, took a moment and “saw that it was good.” We can learn from those pauses to stop and see the wonderful, amazing, goodness that is all of God’s creation. While Genesis describes God creating the world over seven days, there is much debate in our world about science versus religion. In the Bible, God did not choose to give us the scientific details of HOW He created, but the Bible leaves no doubt about WHO created. Our world did not come into being accidentally. God planned His work and created with purpose. Through this lesson children will understand that God created everything in the entire world and He considered ALL of it good. Children may ask difficult questions about creation and the account in the Book of Genesis. Answer the questions you can, but don’t be afraid to tell them you do not understand all the details because creation is so incredible. Share your own awe of God’s creation. The important thing is that God knew what He was doing. He is more awesome and powerful than we can comprehend.

Before Class Begins  Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival.  Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival.  Check that you have supplies for this lesson: - Arrival Activity, Creation activity sheet – 1 per child - Index Cards – 30 per group - Tape – 1 roll per group  Place an arrival activity at each place on the table.

Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, Creation activity sheet, pencils, markers  Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name.  Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child  

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with a sticker to place in today’s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete Creation activity sheet. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships.

Children’s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards

Old School  Lesson 1

 The Children’s Worship Leader will direct your class to come to Ruth Hall at 9:20 or      

11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children’s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 110. Encourage children to participate in Children’s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children’s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children’s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 110.

The Lesson SUPPLIES: Index cards, tape

SAY: Today we learned about creation. God created the entire world just by speaking it! It would be cool if we could do that, but it takes a little more work for us to make things. ASK: What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever created or built? (out of paper, dirt, Legos, Play Dough, food, etc.) SAY: God was a pretty amazing creator. Today we’re going to see how good you are at creating. Divide the class into teams of 3 children each. Provide each team with 30 index cards and one roll of tape. Direct them to create anything they want using these two supplies. After about 15 minutes, stop the teams and lead a discussion on creation using the Discussion Guide below.

Old School  Lesson 1

Discussion Guide  What challenges did you have as you created? - Deciding what to create; working together as a team; getting from idea in my head to actually building it; falling apart half way through; limited supplies  Do you think God faced any of these challenges when He created the world? - No, because He’s God; but maybe He had to think about what He wanted to create; He was starting with NOTHING!; He didn’t have to work in a team; God is all powerful so He could make whatever supplies He needed.  What do you think is God’s coolest creation? - Give anyone who wants to share an opportunity; relate their answers to parts of the creation story (e.g. koalas are part of God creating animals, black holes are part of God creating sun/moon/stars, volcanos are part of God creating land) - Differentiate between things God created and things people created (e.g. God created space, but people created spaceships)

If time remains after the discussion, allow teams to continue creating with their index cards. Encourage children to comment on what is cool about other teams’ creations.

Closing  Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the

children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, We are amazed by all the cool things you have created in our world. Thank you for creating each of us. Amen  If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Creation activity sheet if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom! Old School  Lesson 1

Old School  Lesson 1