God created the Sabbath

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Begin: Guide reads the background, scripture & prays for the class Unwrap-Opening Activity

10:00-10:10

Investigate: Tell & Wonder about the Story 10:10-10:25

Learn by doing

10:30-10:45

Music (1st, 2nd & 3rd) or Art (2nd & 3rd)— check weekly Sunday School Email for times Dismiss:

10:50

Review the Cornerstone & Closing Prayer

God created the world, and then RESTED on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a Holy Day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

At the heart of the creation story in Genesis 1, and in God's life-giving gift of Sabbath, are patterns of ebb and flow, and of repetition. God created the Sabbath day as a day of rest. To keep the Sabbath day holy encourages us not to just stop working (or creating as God did), but to enjoy the fruits of our labor and to enjoy creation. The idea behind Sabbath is to allow time to rejuvenate, for physical and spiritual renewal to occur. The Pharisees were people who didn’t like Jesus Christ and what he did. They tried to trap him into saying things that were wrong or against the law. One of the more well-known conversations between the Pharisees and Jesus is when they asked him if it was wrong to heal someone on the Sabbath day. They wanted him to say it was.

Playdough, Wikki-Stixx or Pipe Cleaners for the children to create with (“God is the potter, and I am the clay” concept)

Instead when asked this question, Jesus pointed out that if the Pharisees had a sheep and it fell in a hole on the Sabbath, they would help it out. Since people are more important than sheep, helping people is a good thing to do on the Sabbath. Today, you might discuss with the children the kinds of activities that may help keep the Sabbath. Ask them what things they have done today to keep the Sabbath day holy. Help them understand that going to church, praying, singing, learning about the teachings of Jesus, and participating in worship are all good ways to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Leaf rubbings with crayons onto white paper (as a reminder of the amazing, detailed world that God created.)

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Pick up a bible and show the class where Genesis is found in the Bible. Explain that the bible has two main parts: OLD TESTAMENT and NEW TESTAMENT. Show where each is located. Say ”Today’s bible story the FIRST ONE in the bible, so it’s easy to find and a perfect place to start on our FIRST DAY of Sunday School!” Hand a bible out to every child (or two can share)   

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Point out the two main parts: OLD TESTAMENT, the NEW TESTAMENT. Explain that each Bible verse is like an address… you can find it in the bible by looking at the three parts: the book, the chapter, the verse(s) Today’s story is one of the FIRST ONES in the bible, so it will be easy for them to find! Have them help find the verse by asking…. What is the first book of the Bible? Genesis Which part of the Bible is Genesis in? Old Testament Read Genesis 2:1-3 aloud (or have a child in the class read it).

Did God mold each tree with his hands like you did with the play materials today? Nope! He something even more surprising, and something that only God could do: He SPOKE these things into being. All he had to do was say “Let it be” and then is was. God created really complex things. God designed the color of every insect, the flavor of every fruit, the scent of every flower, and the shape of every animal. He chose every single SOUND in nature—the wind, a lion’s roar, a dog’s bark, the thunder’s boom. God had to do so much work to make our world!

God is powerful and strong enough not to need a break after creating the world and everything in it, but God took one anyway. The Bible doesn’t tell us that God was tired, but God rested anyway. I wonder if there are ways to “rest” other than taking a nap or sleeping at night  What other meanings do you think there might be

to “rest” in this story? I wonder if it was important for him to sit back and ENJOY all of these new creations. To appreciate them and take pleasure in how wonderful they were?  Let’s talk about a time when you felt good about

your hard work (that might have been after writing a book report, raking the yard, cleaning up the playroom, etc.).  Have you ever had a ”smiling moment” after it was

finished when you could step back and appreciate all of your hard work? What does that feel like? I wonder if God felt that way too, after God stepped back and looked at all God had created. Let’s imagine that moment.  What makes you smile in nature? (A colorful sunset?

Furry kittens? Rainbows? Waterfalls? The ocean?) The Bible gives a special word to this kind of nonsleeping rest: The Sabbath. Let’s all say it together (you might write it on the board in your room as they repeat the word with you).

I wonder if you would need rest after doing all of that work.  Do you ever need a break after doing a lot of work?

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I wonder if God gave us such an amazing and beautiful world so that we would explore and enjoy it? Can we do that if we’re stay too busy working or being on computer/TV/iPad screens all of the time? We need Sabbath time more than ever in our “technology world” to slow down and appreciate all that God has given us and done for us.  God made each thing with a PURPOSE for US. For us to eat survive and thrive on. I wonder

why God didn’t just do it the easy way and create everything in the same color and shape, and the food all share one flavor?

 Even More Wonders

I wonder how you rest. What does rest look like to you? Is it just sleeping or taking a nap?  I wonder if you’ve ever been in a game and have been asked not to play for a while, take a

rest.  Was that a good thing? Were you able to play better after taking a rest?  How might our 'rest' set us apart from the rest of the world?  How can our very resting be a visible way to acknowledge God?

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Here are some ideas for the children to apply the lesson through creating or playing Creation Pictionary: Ask each child to think of something that God created. Then they must draw it while trying to get the other children to guess. They can do this as a table, or on the blackboard/whiteboard as a class. Make sure each child gets a turn!

Creation Brainstorm: Divide the class into groups of +/- four students and give them 1 minute to write down as many fruits that God created as they can. Then continue with other categories. Any words that are duplicated by another team do not count toward the score, much like the game “Boggle”. Minute 2: animals Minute 3: trees Minute 4: sounds in nature

CRAFT IDEA: Use the Wikki-Stixx or pipe cleaners from earlier to challenge your students to create the design for a TOTALLY NEW animal or tree or fruit. Go around to each table to listen to describe their creation and the name they gave it.

Children in early elementary school are still beginning learn about the stories of God’s people. Some may still be unfamiliar with our faith stories. We want children to learn the themes of our faith through these Old Testament Stories. One of the themes in the Creation story is of God’s glorious creation that beings to show us how much God loves each and everyone of us. Older children may ask how creation can include scientific theory of creation. Accept their wonders and ask, how might God have created everything and science, too?

Say: Today we learned ways to keep the Sabbath day holy and remembered that God created the world, and then RESTED. Call: The Lord be with you.

Response: And Also with you. Let us pray Thank you, God, for all of creation and especially for the Sabbath. Help us to learn to rest, even when we aren’t sleeping. Amen.

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