ower Play 1BIBLE 2BIBLE 3BIBLE Lesson Path

Transcription

1 LESSON 1 ower Play Bible Basis: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12 Lesson Focus: Memory Key Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1 Lesson Path 1BIBLE READINESS: To help them relate the Bible study to their own experience, students will discuss chance and design. Introductory Activity: Teaching Aid 1 (from Upper Elementary Creative Teaching Aids) Discussion Time: No additional materials needed 2BIBLE STUDY: Using the Bible and Bible Adventures, students will study Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19, in which God creates the heavens and the earth, and Jeremiah 10:12. Bible Study: Bible Adventures Lesson 1, pp. 2 3, Bibles Memory Verse Practice: No additional materials needed 3BIBLE ACTIVITY CHOICES: Students will practice today s lesson from Genesis 1 and Jeremiah 10:12 by exploring God s creative power. Starstruck Skit: Bible Adventures Lesson 1, p. 1, (optional: skit props lab coat, clipboard, pencil) Who s in Charge?: Bible Adventures Lesson 1, p. 4, pencils Memory Verse Poster: Bibles, Bible Adventures, poster board or large paper, pencils, crayons, markers 4BIBLE RESPONSE: To help them take the lesson into their everyday lives, students will design an expression of awe for God s creative power. Writing paper or index cards, pencils, PraisePac CD (from Upper Elementary Creative Teaching Aids), CD player; Pix for Lesson 1 This symbol will appear whenever preparation takes more than five minutes or whenever supplies are needed that are not included on the list of standard materials (see page 6). Teacher Devotional Close your eyes and try to imagine what it was like before Creation. It is hard to picture nothing! Our minds are full of the parts of God s creation that we see and know. As humans created in God s image, we share a tiny part of His creativity. Yet while we can combine existing elements and ideas to make new things, only God has the power to make something from nothing. We have thousands of words to choose from in our language, but none do justice to the magnificent creative power involved in Creation. But Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. If you can do so before teaching this lesson, spend some time outside at night, taking in the stars and moon. How does God s creation declare His glory to you? Take a few moments and think about the creative power of God. What impresses you most? Why? As you teach this lesson, think about how you can affirm the creative power of God displayed in the uniqueness of each child in your class. We may never fully understand the power behind God s creation, but we can reflect that power to bless God s kingdom. 8

2 Understanding the Bible The term genesis means origin, birth, beginning. The title Genesis comes from the first phrase of the book (in ancient times, books were often named after the first word or phrase). Moses is generally accepted as the writer or compiler of Genesis, along with the next four Bible books, and Scripture itself seems to support that (see Acts 15:1, a reference to Genesis 17). From Genesis 1 we learn that all of the material universe came into existence through the expressed will of the eternal God. The phrase the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1 summarize all the parts of the universe: the heavens and the earth and everything in between. On the first day of Creation, God took the formless earth and created light to separate it from the darkness. God separated the waters forming the sky on the second day. The land and seas were formed on the third day. On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars. The Hebrew word for day may mean a period of light between two periods of darkness (Gen. 1:5, 16, 18), a period of light together with the preceding period of darkness (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), or a longer period of time far exceeding 24 hours (as in the term generations in Gen. 2:4, KJV). Christians debate the exact length of the creative days in Genesis 1. However, we can know that only God has the power to have created the universe, even if we do not fully understand every detail. When Teaching the Bible to Upper Elementary Students... Upper-elementary kids have a hard time seeing the big picture. The larger world out there may seem to be random or disordered. These lessons on God s creation will comfort them as they see that the same God who made all still is very much involved in His creation. Here are some ways to begin teaching your students about the all-powerful God of creation: Find out where your upper-elementary students are in their beliefs about Creation. Ask questions to get them talking. Don t assume that their presence every Sunday means that they are solid in their belief that God created everything. They have probably been exposed to theories that assume that Creation was a random coincidence. Even if your students have been in church all their lives, they still might not be sure what they believe. Kids are learning about cause and effect and sequencing through language arts programs at school. That s why the story of Creation is a natural fit for the age-level. As you go through the unit, give students the opportunity to tell the story of Creation in their own words. What happened on Day 1? Day 2? Day 3? This will help them begin to appreciate the thoroughness of God s plan for Creation. Reassure students that no matter what occurs, God is always in control. He s powerful enough to handle any problem that upsets them. LES. 1 Early Bird Options Here are some suggested activities you can set up to occupy children who arrive early. Both activities will help prepare your students to learn about the power of God s creation. Word Puzzle - Write the word Creation on a chalkboard before class. Let kids try and spell words using the letters from creation (example: cat). Or they could use the word in a sentence to explore its meaning. Link to Last Week Last week, your students discovered that Jesus is with those who believe in Him both now and forever. As kids arrive, talk with them about what Jesus presence means to you and ask them to share what it meant to them last week. Creation Creations - Supply your students with paper, pencils, and markers. Ask them to draw their ideas of what the earth looked like at the very beginning of God s creation. Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12 9

3 LES. 1 1 BIBLE READINESS MATERIALS: Teaching Aid 1* To help them relate the Bible study to their own experience, students will discuss chance and design. Free! Downloadable Options for Steps 1 and 4. In today s lesson, from Genesis 1 and Jeremiah 10:12, students will learn about the tremendous creative power of God as He spoke into existence the heavens and the earth. To help introduce the idea of God s creative power, they will try to create a puzzle universe by randomly dropping the puzzle pieces. To introduce the activity, say something like: Today we are going to try to create the universe using a puzzle. By Design Activity Before class, cut Teaching Aid 1, By Design * into 8-10 pieces. Have your students gather around a table. Show your kids the pieces and explain to them that the puzzle is a picture of the solar system that contains our planet, Earth. Then ask for several volunteers to help you with this activity. Give the first student the puzzle pieces and ask him or her to drop them onto the table (or the floor) from a few feet above it. Allow several kids to repeat this activity. Say something like: Well, we didn t do very well in putting together our universe, did we? Give students a few moments now to put the puzzle together correctly. Why didn t the puzzle pieces all fall in correct order and form a complete picture? (Answers will vary. Students may suggest that it would have to be put together in order for it to form the picture.) Help them see that it would require more than just random dropping of the pieces to be put together. What are the chances that dropping the puzzle pieces might actually put the picture together in the right order? (Answers will vary. Some students may suggest that if they dropped the puzzle enough times, they might see at least part of the picture. Most students, however, will say that no matter how many times you dropped the pieces, it would never be put together right.) Discussion Time Next, discuss this question as a class to help them connect with today s study. What are some of the things you personally have heard about how the universe began? (Allow kids to share freely. Some may share evolution theories they have heard. Be sensitive to those who may not yet understand the biblical view of Creation. Help students see that orderly things like a solar system don t just come about by chance. Even though we had all the pieces we needed, the puzzle didn t get assembled by chance or accident. It needed someone to put it together.) Then make the transition into the Bible study by saying something like: The only way the puzzle could have fallen together correctly was if a power greater than the puzzle was involved. When God created the universe, He showed that He is that power. We had all the puzzle pieces, and yet we couldn t make the puzzle come together by chance. But our powerful God created the real universe from nothing! Let s study how God s power created everything! * Scientists currently disagree on the classification of Pluto. 10 Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12

4 2 BIBLE STUDY LES. 1 MATERIALS: Bible Adventures, pp. 2 3 Bibles NOTE: The shape in front of each question helps you locate the same question on the Bible Adventures inset. Gray arrows indicate bonus questions. Using the Bible and Bible Adventures, students will study Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19, in which God creates the heavens and the earth, and Jeremiah 10:12. Give each student a copy of the Bible Adventures leaflet for Lesson 1. Also, ask students to turn to Genesis 1 in their Bibles. Tell your students they will be participating in an interactive Bible study. They will read the Scripture Spotlight directly from their leaflets. Point out the margin notes that help with word pronunciation and give additional facts about the study. Have them read the introduction to How It All Began by themselves. Choose a student to read Genesis 1:1-2 from the Bible. In your own words, what was the earth like when God first created it? (Allow for all reasonable answers. Kids will probably say that the earth had nothing on it or that there was nothing there.) Choose another student to read Genesis 1:3-5. What would it take to be able to speak something into existence as God did? (Help your students wrestle with this for a moment. You want them to begin thinking about the incredible creative power that it would take to make something from nothing, especially simply by speaking it into existence as God did at Creation.) Help your students see that this was not the same as making something using other materials, as we can do. This was God creating something brand-new where nothing had existed before. After students have finished their discussion, read aloud the transitional paragraph reprinted here about days two, three, and four of Creation: On the second day of Creation, God created the sky. He made the land and seas on the third day. On the fourth day, God again focused His attention on the heavens, as He had done on the first day. Scripture Spotlight Then move on to the first section of Scripture Spotlight, Genesis 1: Ask two students to read this section, with the first student reading up to And it was so, and the second student starting with God made two great... Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12 11

5 LES. 1 2 Then discuss these questions from Bible Adventures: What were the greater light and lesser light mentioned here? (Students should be able to guess that these were the sun and moon.) Point out footnote 3, which explains why Moses may not have used the names of these two lights. Notice how God created day and night before He created the sun, moon, and stars. How do you think there could be light without the sun? (Allow students to speculate. Remind them of God s great power, which could have given light without a natural source. Also, have a student locate Revelation 21:23 in the Bible. Point out to students that when Christians are with Jesus for eternity, we will not need the sun or moon because God s glory will give us light.) How would you describe God based on these verses? ( awesome, incredible, great.) Help your students understand how God s creation shows His tremendous creative power. Next, have a volunteer read the last section of Scripture Spotlight, Jeremiah 10:12. What can we learn about God from the way He created? (Let your students share their observations. The verse touches on His power, wisdom, and understanding. Students may point out other characteristics of God that they know about such as His love. For the purposes of this lesson, emphasize the amazing creative power that God exercised in making the heavens, earth, sun, moon, and stars. ) Finally, have a student locate and read today s memory verse, Psalm 19:1, from the Bible. How do the heavens declare the glory of God? (Through God s beautiful creation we can see how great and powerful He is. Encourage your students to give examples from nature that show God s creative power. We can look at the stars, for example, and know that someone greater and more powerful than us was at work. We can see the beauty of a sunset or the vast size of mountains and know that God is very powerful.) Check for Understanding This question will help you check your students understanding of the lesson. If you were writing this lesson, what title would you choose? (Answers will vary widely. Accept all reasonable responses. If a student gives an unusual answer, ask why he or she chose that title. Kids may say such things as Awesome Creator, Creative Power, Our Powerful Creator, and so on.) erse Bible Verse VBible Verse Bible Memory Key Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1 Memory Verse Practice This verse lends itself to rhythmic recitation. Have your students find their own rhythm or try this one, emphasizing the words with dark type and clapping on the x s: The heav-ens de-clare (x) the glo-ry of God (x); the skies (x) pro-claim (x) the work of his hands (x-x). (Psalm (x-x) nine (x) -teen one x-x-x). (If you have musical students, they might suggest a tune that would work with the verse.) 12 Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12

6 3 BIBLE ACTIVITY CHOICES LES. 1 Students will practice today s lesson from Genesis 1 and Jeremiah 10:12 by exploring God s creative power. Today s Bible study from Genesis 1 and Jeremiah 10:12 showed how God created the heavens and earth by His great power. Each activity below will reinforce that lesson in a slightly different way. Use as many of these choices as possible, and allow students to choose among them. Page 7 of this guide offers tips for using centers. Who s in Charge? MATERIALS: Bible Adventures, p. 4, pencils Let your kids figure out the science questions that reveal God s power. Have your kids read the directions and answer the seven questions on the worksheet. Then have the kids spell the missing word (using the colored letters from the questions) that shows another important aspect of God s power. ( God s power keeps the world under CONTROL. ) Memory Verse Poster MATERIALS: Bibles, Bible Adventures, poster board or large paper, pencils, crayons, markers To help students memorize and personalize today s memory verse, Psalm 19:1, let kids work together to create a poster that illustrates how God s creation declares His creative power and glory. Kids can write out the verse and then decorate the poster to express the meaning behind the words. Starstruck Skit* MATERIALS: Bible Adventures, p. 1; (optional: skit props lab coat, clipboard, pencil) To help your students further explore the power and vastness of God s creation, have them work together to perform this fun skit. Let kids choose parts to read in this story about a space explorer and his passengers. If you have props available, one student can wear the costume and read the part of Dr. Starstruck, while the other kids read the parts of the passengers. Depending on the number of students participating, passengers may read more than one part if needed. At the end of the skit, have the kids discuss how the facts in the skit relate to the Key Verse, Psalm 19:1, and today s Bible study. * Scientists currently disagree on the classification of Pluto. When the time you have allotted is up, ask your students to clean up the materials and gather back together. Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12 13

7 LES. 1 4 BIBLE RESPONSE MATERIALS: paper or index cards pencils PraisePac CD and downloadable PDF songsheets CD player For help in printing the PDF songsheets on the CD-Rom, follow the directions on the readme.txt file. To help them take the lesson into their everyday lives, students will design an expression of awe for God s creative power. After your students have cleaned up and gathered from their various activities, say something like: Today we learned about God s incredible creative power. He spoke, and worlds appeared from nothing. This is just one example of God s power in Creation! How can we respond to God s creative power? One thing we can do is to praise Him because He created with such power. Have students listen to the Unit 1 song, God Created It All, on the PraisePac CD. Display the lyrics for the song while it is playing. Encourage students to sing along. When the song is finished, give students paper or cards and pencils. Let them create an expression of their feelings about God s power. Encourage creativity! They could create slogans, like the title from the song, or draw a picture displaying God s power. Students will take their awe expressions home with them as a reminder this week of God s creative power. Brainstorm together ways students can offer their expressions of awe to God this week. You might suggest the kids go outside one night and look up at the stars while expressing their awe of God. Closing Time Gather your kids in a circle. Open the prayer with something like: Dear God, we can only imagine the power You used in Your creation! Thank You for Your incredible power and creativity. Let kids pray their own prayers around the circle in prayer. Then close the prayer. Note: The loose cover wrap from this quarter s Bible Adventures is a fun kit to help each kid make a diorama of Noah s ark. Pass these out in Lesson 7, which covers the building of the ark. If You Have Extra Time: Since this is the first lesson of a new quarter, spend some time getting to know your students and helping them get to know each other. Gather your students together in a circle, and join in the circle yourself. You can start off by saying your name and then listing your favorite part of God s creation: I am Mrs. Nesbitt, and my favorite part of God s creation is mountains. The student to your right can give his or her name and list a favorite part of God s creation, and so on around the circle. To make the game more challenging, you could have each person give his or her name and favorite creation, followed by the name and creation of each person who came before. If someone forgets, the game starts over again as you have time. TAKE- HOMES Awe-response from Step 4 Lesson 1 of Bible Adventures Lesson 1 of Pix 14 Lesson 1: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19; Jeremiah 10:12