Genesis 1:1-27; 2:1-3
LESSON LIFESAVERS
Days 1-7 Creation Scripture Puzzle
OBJECTIVE: To increase each child’s appreciation for the earth that God created for us.
ACTIVITY: Creation Scriptures Puzzle
Help children learn the order of creation. Read each scripture reference and write in the day it was created. Children can use this as a teaching tool for Sunday School or family scripture study.
Days 1–7 Creation:
Day 1, God divided light and darkness (Gen. 1:3–5);
Day 2, He created the heavens (Gen. 1:6–8);
Day 3, He divided land and water, and created flowers, trees, fruit, and vegetables (Gen. 1:9–13);
Day 4, He created the sun, moon, stars (Gen. 1:14–19);
Day 5, He created fish, water animals, and birds (Gen. 1:20–23);
Day 6, He created animals and man (Gen. 1:24–27); and
Day 7, He rested (Gen. 2:1–3).
TO MAKE Print and cut out the Creation Scriptures Puzzle for each child. Enclose puzzle pieces in a bag or envelope.
THOUGHT TREAT Land and Sea Bread Balls.
1. Roll bread dough into 2–3″ balls then in butter, then in sugar mixtures. #1 LAND, roll the first half of the dough balls in CINNAMON and sugar mixture (1/3 cinnamon, 2/3 cup sugar). #2 SEA, roll the second half of the dough balls in BLUE colored sugar (mix 2–3 drops of food coloring in 1 cup of sugar).
2. Place balls in a rectangular glass baking dish close together.
3. Cover with a towel and raise for 25 minutes.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
5. Remind children that the land and water were created on Day 3. Quiz children on what was created on the other five days (detailed above).
SCRIPTURE STUDY
• Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
• John 1:3 “All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
• Psalm 95:5 “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.”
DISCUSSION #1: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on this earth without, e.g., fish, water animals, and birds? Name all of the days 1-7 creations and ponder what it would be like. Then, ponder the glory of seeing these creations come into your world one day at a time.
DISCUSSION #2:
• Read Quote: “As beneficiaries of the divine Creation, what shall we do? We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations.” – Russel M. Nelson
• Ask, “How can you be a wise steward of your spot on our earth?”
DISCUSSION #3. Beautiful Creations God has given us. Tell the youth that our glorious world was carefully designed and organized by a loving God.
• It’s never so cold we would freeze, nor so hot we would burn up.
• God gave us a perfect mix of oxygen to breathe.
• God gave us plenty of water to drink and use for our crops. He even devised a beautiful way to store water. It is called snow. The snow melts in our beautiful mountains and fills our streams and lakes.
• God placed seeds of all kinds on the earth to grow into trees, shrubs, grasses, fruits, and vegetables.
• God gave us the wonderful sun, moon, and stars to give us light.
• God gave us animals on the earth, under the sea, and birds in the air.
• He even placed us in a perfect spot in our solar system so we could observe all the other wonders of the universe. None of this was by accident.
• The best part of all was He placed our first parents, Adam and Eve, on the earth to take care of all these beautiful creations.
• Then He rested on the seventh day. We call this day the Holy Sabbath.
CREATION Questions
• What are your favorite creations?
• Why did God set an example for us by resting from his labors?
• What activities can you do on the Sabbath to honor God?
• What can you do to enjoy this beautiful earth? (suggestions: run barefoot in the grass, build a snowman, notice how the sun shines on the snow and creates tiny diamonds, rake a pile of leaves, and jump in, go for a drive with your family and write down all the creations you see such as spring lambs, spring piglets, wild turkeys, deer in the forest, cows grazing, birds flying, waterfalls…)
SONG / POEM: My World Is Glorious (see song visuals coming soon)
POEMS (choose/vote on your favorite):
Anthony J. D’Angelo “Where ever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
Khalil Gibran “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
Rober Miller “Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
Vincent Van Gogh “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
Robert Frost “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
Robert Frost. “The earth laughs in flowers.”
R. Buckminster Fuller “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
John Ruskin “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
Socrates “He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.”
Aristotle “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
Hans Christian Andersen. “Just living is not enough … one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
Plautus “The day, water, sun, moon, night – I do not have to purchase these things with money.”
Joyce Kilmer (1886 – 1918) “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. … A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray. A tree that may in summer wear a nest of robins in her hair. … Only God can make a tree.”
OUTDOOR ACTIVITY. Lie on blankets on the grass outside to observe the wind, sky, trees, birds, animals, and sounds. Have a prayer together thanking God for our beautiful world.