During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Before class, think of a meaningful story from your own life that you can share with your students. You may want to choose a funny or lighthearted experience to act out, but a more serious one is also okay.
Also, tear out the God Is Our Loving Creator poster. You will use this poster for all 4 of the lessons in this unit.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
Ephesians 1:3–5
Before the water, before the sky, before the earth itself … God had already thought of you! As the Spirit of God hovered in the darkness above the deep before He created the world, every day of your life was already known to Him. He could see your face, and He knew your heart. He knew that you would be teaching teens to know and love Him. He made you in His glorious image! You are an adopted child of the One True King! You are an important part of His story!
As you share the grand story of God’s eternal love with your students, think about how your life reflects the One who created you. Do your words remind others that you are destined for heavenly places? Do your actions help others to experience God’s never-ending love? Does your heart reflect His? Think about the part God has invited you to play in His grand story and praise Him for His love and goodness!
Encourage the students to share the first part of God’s story with their families—God Is Our Loving Creator! This will give them an opportunity to practice their storytelling skills while sharing important truths about God with their families.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the students warmly. Ask them, “What do you think is the most important event in your life so far?” Invite them to share their stories with others until you are ready to begin class. Then gather them for discussion.
Each of us has a different story. I would like to share a small part of my life story with you.
Share a story about something significant that has happened in your life. Tell the story in a dramatic way, and include some of the emotions you felt.
What do you think was the most important part of my story?
Allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts.
We all have exciting, emotional, and even difficult stories in our lives. Let’s find out about some of yours!
Divide students into groups of 3–4. Each teen in the group will briefly act out a scene from his own life without using words. The others in the group will guess what is happening in the scene. Afterward, the actor will explain what the scene was. Then the next student will share. Give the groups 8–10 minutes to complete the activity. Then gather the class together.
Did anyone in your group have the exact same story?
Our lives are made up of many small stories. Some of them are happy memories we can remember with joy. Some of them are difficult challenges that brought us pain. But all together, these experiences make up our lives. They have helped us to learn and grow, and they have shaped us into who we are today.
Each of us has a different story. Yet all of our stories are part of a larger story—God’s story. The Bible tells us the stories of many people, but the entire Bible is God’s story. We may think of each of the stories in the Bible as a separate story. But they are not. Each of the stories is just a small part of God’s larger story. And though the Bible is complete, God’s story continues in people’s lives today!
What are some of the Bible stories you know?
Allow 2–3 students to share their ideas.
For the next few classes, we are going to learn 4 important parts of God’s story, and we are going to share this amazing story with others!
Hold up the God Is Our Loving Creator poster from the end of the lesson.
Today we will learn the first part of God’s story—God Is Our Loving Creator! Each week we will also create a simple motion to help us remember and share that part of God’s story with others. Let’s think of a motion to remind us that God Is Our Loving Creator.
Give the teens a few minutes to create a simple motion for God Is Our Loving Creator. After they have created the motion, practice it a few times as a group to help them remember it.
God’s story begins in an amazing way! The book of Genesis tells us about how God created the earth and everything in it. Listen as I tell you about it.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
In the very beginning, God was all that existed in the darkness. The Spirit of God hovered over the deep. Then God began to speak. With His words, God created a good world. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. He spoke, and land arose from the seas. He spoke, and the sun, moon, and stars lit the sky. He spoke the plants and animals into existence. For 6 days God created, and He said it was good. Everything we see was created by God and for God, and He was pleased with all of it.
What can we learn about God from the way He created the world?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their thoughts. Be sure they mention that we can learn about God’s power, His goodness, His creativity, and His attention to each detail and that God is worthy of awe and worship.
The story of creation helps us to understand that God is worthy of awe and worship. His creation brings glory to His name! Listen to what the Bible tells us about the reason the heavens and the earth were created.
Have a student read Psalm 19:1 aloud from the Bible. If that is not possible, the verse is printed here.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1
Have the students find partners to work with for the rest of the lesson. Have the pairs discuss the following questions. Then allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts with the whole class.
What does this verse teach us about God?
Listen to another verse about God’s creation:
For in [God] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
This verse tells us that all of creation was made through God and for Him. What do you think that means?
Allow 2–-3 teens to share their thoughts. Then guide them to understand that all of creation worships God and brings glory to His name.
God created the whole world to bring glory to His name, and He made us caretakers over all of creation. Listen to what the Bible tells us about how humans were created.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground— everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:26–31
Listen to another verse about the creation of humans.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
What is different in the way God created man than the way He created the rest of creation?
He breathed the breath of life into man, and man became a living being. He created humans in His image, and He put them in charge of the animals. He instructed them to populate the earth, He gave them fruit trees and seed-bearing plants for food, and He said that humans and everything else He made were very good.
Why do you think God created humans differently than the other things in the world?
Allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts.
What do these verses show us about God?
Man and woman are created in God’s image; God puts humans in charge of the animals; God tells humans to populate the earth; God gives humans fruit trees and seed-bearing plants for food; God said that what He made was very good.
What do all of these things tell us about God and His love for us?
He created us in His image, He provided for our needs, and He put us in charge of everything He created. All of these things show that He loves us. They also show us that He is good and powerful and worthy of our worship.
The Bible tells us that God is the Creator of the whole universe! His power and majesty are beyond our understanding. The story of creation also shows us that God loves us more than we can imagine. In fact, He loves us so much that He created us with His own hands! From the very first story in the Bible until the very last, God shares everything He has done for us, and we can see the unfolding of His perfect plan to invite us to be in relationship with Him. All of it shows us that God is worthy of our worship. It also reflects His great love for us. And He continues to show His love for us in the ways He works in our lives today.
God loves us so much that He created us in His image! He loves us so much that He cares for our needs. He loves us so much that He created a whole world for us to live in! Listen to something else the Bible tells us about His love.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34
What do you think it means that God’s love endures forever?
How does it make you feel to know that God’s love for you never ends?
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always good. He is worthy of our worship and awe. And our all-powerful, all-knowing God loves us, and He is with us always. He loves us always, even when we make sinful choices and even when others hurt us. He is always there and always loving. That is a wonderful and amazing story! It is good news for everyone! And it is meant to be shared. As we learn each part of God’s story, we are going to practice retelling it so that we can share it with others!
Ask for a volunteer to retell the story for the whole class. Encourage the student to share as much as she can remember. Tell her it is okay if she cannot remember all of the details. Be sure she mentions that God is worthy of awe and worship and that He loves all He created, especially humans, because we are created in God’s image. Hold up the poster from the end of this lesson to help her remember the details. When she is finished, lead the class in clapping for her. Ask the other students to fill in any details she missed. Be sure the following points are mentioned:
Now that you have listened to the first part of God’s story and discussed it, practice retelling it to your partner.
Have the students retell the first part of God’s story to their partners. Encourage the teens to use expression when they are storytelling and to listen attentively when their partners are telling the story. Put the poster somewhere they can see in case they need help remembering the details of the story. Be sure they mention the items in the list above.
If possible, take your class outdoors. If that is not possible, take them to a window where they can see outdoors or have them close their eyes and imagine the most beautiful place on earth. Gather the students around you.
Point out God’s creations around you that the students can see, such as the sky and clouds, a tree or forest, a field, a boulder, a hill, or a mountain. After a few minutes, have the students discuss the following questions with their partners. If possible, remain outside for the rest of the lesson.
How do the things you see make you feel about God, who created them?
The powerful and loving God, who created the earth and everything in it, created you in His image. And His love for you is greater than you can ever imagine. Listen to another verse about how much He cares for each one of us.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16
How does it make you feel to know that God knew and loved you before you were born?
The Bible tells us that God created the universe and everything in it. He is worthy of our worship. It also teaches us that God knew and loved us before we were born. He even knew and loved us before He created the world. He knows every moment of our life stories, and He has invited us to be part of His story!
How does it make you feel to know that you are part of God’s story?
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, have the students complete the page.
Let’s review the part of God’s story we learned today. As we do, think about the fact that God knew and loved you even when He was creating the world.
Briefly review the creation story with the students. If possible, call on students to share different parts of the story. Throughout the story, remind them of how the story shows that God is worthy of worship and that He loves all people.
Read the following ideas to the students, pausing after each one to allow the students to think and pray.
If possible, share this story with at least 1 other person this week. Retelling the story will help you to remember it!
Close with a blessing based on Ephesians 1:4–5. If possible, speak it over each teen individually.
Blessing: (Name of student), before God created the world, He knew and loved you. God is the almighty Creator, and He wants you to be part of His family!
Lead the teens in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
