Intermediate Level, Block 1—Creation, Fall, and Flood
Week 1
God Creating (1)
Point to Emphasize: We should work on something diligently until we complete it.
Reference Reading: Genesis 1:1—2:3
Memory Verse: For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day… (Exodus 20:11a)
Story Sample
Have you ever looked at the beauty in creation and thought, “Wow, I wonder how God created all this? And how long did it take Him?” I certainly have, especially when I think about the way we get night and day reliably each day. Or about how we have four seasons at around the same time each year. Or what about all the different kinds of animals there are in the world?
Today, we’re going to talk about what God did in six days. There is no way any of us could do what God did in six days. Well, our God is pretty amazing. So let’s see what the Bible says God created on each day. [Write the days on the board, and as you go through each day, write down or draw something related to what God created on that day.]
On the first day, God said, Let there be light; and there was light. Can you imagine that before the first day, it was so dark because there was no light? Can you imagine you are somewhere and it’s just dark all the time! Well, it’s a good thing God created light! He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. Did He stop here? No! This was just the beginning.
There was only water covering the earth, so on the second day, God created the heavens. The heavens include the universe and our atmosphere. What’s the atmosphere? Yes, it’s our sky and the air we breathe. Did God stop here? No! There was so much more to do.
On the third day, God put all the water into one place, and from the water, dry land appeared. This dry land was called Earth, and the waters were called Seas. Then what do you think God created on the dry land? He said let the earth sprout grass, herbs with seeds, and fruit trees according to their kind. So on the third day, God also created plants! Did He stop here? No! He still wasn’t satisfied!
On the fourth day, God created things in the heavens that would give light on the earth and that would separate the light from the darkness. What do you think these are? Yes, the sun, moon, and stars! They separate day from night and help us tell seasons and days and years. Did He stop here? No! But we are getting closer.
On the fifth day, God created animals in the water and in the air. He created sea creatures in the waters and birds in the air. And He told them to multiply and to fill the seas and the heavens. Can you name a few of the animals we can find in the seas? (e.g. whales, jellyfish, starfish, sea horses, etc.) That’s only a few of them. There are so many varieties of sea and air creatures, aren’t there? Did God stop here? No! I can hardly wait to hear what He saved for the last day!
On the sixth day, God created animals on the earth, cattle and creeping things, each according to their kind. And then God created the most important thing—can you guess what it is? He saved the best for last. Yes, man! He created male and female and He blessed them.
Then God saw everything that He had made, and He said it was very good. He was so satisfied. Now He is done!
So what do you think He did on the seventh day? Well, each day after God created something, He said that it was good. But on the sixth day, He said it was very good. So after six days of creation, God was very satisfied with what He had done. So on the seventh day He rested.
When I was younger, I liked doing puzzles with my older cousins. They would buy these big 10,000-piece puzzles that you can frame and hang on the wall when you complete them. These puzzles can’t be completed in a day or even a week. First, we would group the pieces by color. Then each one of us would work on a particular color area every day. We would work at it until we completed our areas, then we would put everything together. When the entire puzzle was done and we would see that not one piece was missing, we were so excited! Our huge puzzle looked exactly like the picture on the box, and it was beautiful! It was even more beautiful to us because we had worked so hard and diligently on it until we finished it. We were so satisfied at the end. [Discuss with the children: Think of working on a big project, staying with it, doing a little each day, then finishing it—you want to sit back and relax after you’re done, and you feel so satisfied.]
Aren’t you glad God did all these wonderful things? Aren’t you glad He didn’t just stop after the second day or the third day and said He was done? We have such an amazing God who created all these things for us and created us!