God takes care of his world

All Activity Sheets

key words

create heavens earth universe security control

biblical reference

Genesis 1 and 2; Psalm 104:24-30

memory verse

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, NIV*).

lesson objective

To help children develop a feeling of security and know that God is in control of the universe.

prepare yourself to teach

God not only created, but he also provided what is necessary so that everything could continue to function. First he separated the light from the darkness, creating day and night, and he later (on the fourth day) created two greater lights, the sun and the moon, starting the sequence of seasons and the cycle of 24 hour days. The sunlight in the morning and every drop of rain reminds us that he is in control of his creation.

By creating plants and animals also, he gave them the ability to continue to reproduce, while maintaining their own kind. Every plant and animal born assure us that the Lord continues to control the universe and not only gives us life. When he formed Adam and Eve, he told them to multiply, to fill the earth.

Psalm 104 is a hymn of praise to God, Creator and Sustainer of our world. In the song, the psalmist includes a stanza (vv. 27-30) talking about how God sustains life on earth. Verse 30 declares that his creative power continues until today.

Knowing that our God, who made the universe many years ago, is the same that continues to sustain it, should give us a sense of security and confidence.

adaptation

Children usually do not value what they see every day, such as sunlight, vegetation, animals, mountains, even the places where they are. They have the concept that the world is well formed. However, they are already at an old enough age to start thinking about who did all this. In the past three sessions you taught the children how the earth was formed. Those lessons were important to develop a suitable concept of God. But it is important that they know what the Lord’s plans are for this world going forward.

It is likely that your children have already learned a lot about life and the planet, such as food chains and life cycles. Let them discuss what they know about it. Based on what they already know, you help them discover ways God uses to sustain his creation. That will give them a sense of security.

God gave each living creature the ability to reproduce so each species or genus continues. If children ask you how people have children and animals, tell them to talk to their parents or relatives about it. If you want, offer to help by providing biblical material containing information about that. They can also ask the pastor to help advise them.

introduce the lesson

Everything that depends on man can fail, such as electricity, drinking water, gas, gasoline, etc. Although we may have sufficient money for these services, if they fail we cannot use them. Have you thought about what would happen if the same thing happened with God? What if man was in charge of supporting creation? Can you imagine if those who were responsible for scheduling the days were to go on strike, and instead of having day and night, we had three nights together, without days? Or the water ended, or we were not able to burn, or the sun got so hot that it melted. It would be a terrible mess. It is important to recognize that it is God who is in control of everything and not man.

Think of a river that you and your children know. Mention that it is possible that our grandparents swam in that place, now you do; and it is possible that in the future their children will as well. But this river has been running water 24 hours a day, day after day. The water does not end, and we can be sure that it never will end because it is under God’s control. That tells us about his faithfulness.

Remember that you can use other examples in this lesson.

teach the lesson

Prior to the session carefully study Genesis 1 - 2 and Psalm 104:24-30 and be ready to tell the story in your own words.

Be sure to include songs in this session that speak of the faithfulness of God in sustaining his creation. Emphasize that he did not just make the creation and forget about it, as does mankind in many of our works, but on the contrary, the Lord sustains it.

The Bible teaches us that God established the limits of the sea. It is been many years (centuries/ millennia); there have been many generations and the creation remains. Call the attention of the children to the photos they have seen during this unit. Highlight the fact that God has taken care of his creation: the flowers are growing, the seasons never fail to happen correctly, the sun always rises, the air is still available, water is flowing, and life goes on. This teaching will help your children realize how false the theories are of naturalistic evolutional coincidences. The order of creation and subsistence of it speaks clearly of a God of order and power. Seeing a world so well formed, it is ridiculous to think that is simply the result of accidents.

It is as ridiculous as thinking that a clock is formed by itself. Seeing the perfection with which it is made, anyone can realize that there was someone who made it. The same applies to creation. It is impossible for our wonderful world to have formed by chance. Someone had to do it, and that someone is God.

connect the lesson

God cares for the world

Give Student Activity Sheet #131-A to your children as well as pencils, colored pencils or crayons, and markers.

Read the instructions and work with them on the first two sentences. Allow children to fill in the spaces with the corresponding answers. Then read the answers they have found, which are: sun, rain, seeds, babies, food, family, and friends. Use this activity to support this lesson: God cares and takes care of creation.

God thinks of everything

Give the group Student Activity Sheet #131-B. Ask: “What would creation be like if we did not have God’s help to look after it?” (Let children think about it for a moment. Some of them may have difficulty thinking of an answer.)

Then ask: “What if the sun did not come up every day, or what if it did not rain? What if farmers did not know what they would harvest when planting their seeds, or if a pregnant woman did not know whether she would have a baby or a giraffe?” (allow the responses to lead into discussion) Children must understand that there would be chaos in this world. Let them propose other types of problems we would face if God did not care for this world the way he does.

Have them look up in their Bibles Genesis 8:22 and read it together. Then, ask how they feel knowing that God takes care of creation. (Give them time to give some answers. They could be: We have security, trust, we are happy, etc.)

practice the memory verse

Download Additional Memory Verse Activities PDF

Download Suggestions for Bible Memorization PDF

Use the clothing or cutouts with the words of the verse on them that you used last session. Put up the clothesline again. Put it near where the large text has been placed on the wall to guide the children. Put the pieces in a disorderly manner in a basket or other object. Then ask for some volunteers to come forward, take a piece and hang it on the clothesline using clothespins. Let others also participate until they hang the entire verse. When they have finished, say the verse together. When you’re done, save the verse to use in the final lesson of this unit.

wrap-up

Pray

Finish with a prayer. We recommended at the beginning of this unit that you keep a record of all the prayer requests. If time allows mention them all and thank God for those that received a positive answer. At least summarize how God has answered them.

Ask the children if they have new prayer requests and include their requests. Do not forget to thank God, not only for creating the universe, but also for taking care of it. Thank the Lord for taking care of the life of each of the children in the same way that he has looked after nature.

Encourage

Help your children remember what they should take home. Thank everyone for attending today’s session.

Invite

Create some excitement about the next session, trying to make a connection and create interest so they will not miss the next lesson.

* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™