GOD CARES FOR ALL CREATION

Transcription

1 BOOK 2, PART 2, LESSON 6 GOD CARES FOR ALL CREATION THE BIBLE: Psalm 65:9-13; Psalm104:1, 5, 24, 33 THEME: The Bible gives us a recrd f Gd as creatr and sustainer f the universe, and f the persns wh are created in the image f Gd. PREPARING FOR THE LESSON MAIN IDEA: Gd cntinues t be present and t care abut all f creatin. We thank and praise Gd fr Gd s cntinuing care. MEMORY VERSE: Yu take care f the earth and send rain t help the sil grw all kinds f crps. Psalm 65:9a CEV KEY WORDS AND CONCEPTS TO BE LEARNED: a. Thankful feeling r expressing gratitude r appreciatin. b. Depend t place trust in r t rely n. MAJOR LEARNINGS: The children will learn hw Gd shws lve fr us and fr the wrld by cntinuing t care fr all creatin. BIBLE BACKGROUND: The Bible is the stry f Gd s care and prvisin fr the wrld. The stries give us many examples f Gd intervening int histry t shw care and t lead the peple n the right path. The greatest stry that gives us the mst knwledge abut hw very much Gd lves creatin is that f Jesus being brn, living and dying. The resurrectin stry is the basis fr ur belief in the gdness f Gd. There are many Psalms that tell f the majesty f Gd and the care that Gd gives t the creatin. The selected verses f this lessn help give us the picture f hw Gd cares specifically fr that which has been created. UNDERSTANDING YOUR STUDENTS: The bys and girls that yu are teaching will nt autmatically understand the cncepts that yu are teaching them. It is nly in their experiences that they can begin t relate t the creatin f the wrld and t Gd s care f it. Therefre, it is in very cncrete ways that we help children understand the presence f Gd and Gd s care. We chse activities, Scripture readings, stries and pictures that help children visualize what they already knw and can imagine. They d nt understand histrical cncepts and they d nt understand cncepts that they cannt see r experience. Nte the kinds f questins and answers they have as yu prceed thrugh the lessn.

2 DEVELOPING YOUR FAITH: This week, divide yur Scripture reading s that yu read nt nly the verses listed in the lessn plans but als read the entire Psalm 104. Yu will find there a richness cncerning Gd s active creatin in the wrld. Yu may even want t highlight sme f the verses t use in yur class r perhaps even prepare sme f them t pst n the wall. Lk fr thse things that children will relate t and understand. Each day this week, name sme f the children in yur grup that need special prayers and understanding. Pray fr them by name a different grup f children each day. Als ask Gd daily fr the ability t knw what Gd wuld have yu say t the children as they are in yur care. Remember that yu are representing Gd as yu wrk with them, helping them t understand a lve that is s great that it will prvide fr the needs f all creatin. 1. INTRODUCTION TEACHING THE LESSON As the children arrive, invite them t sit at the table r n the flr. Let them have a time f cnversatin, catching up n each ther and the activities f the week. When enugh children have arrived, jin them n the flr r at the table. ASK: What have yu dne this week that helped smene else? Allw as many children as yu wish t respnd t the questin. Their answers may require additinal questins frm yu r yu may want t cmment n what they say, r simply say thank yu fr sharing. See if yu can mve them t talking abut what they have been learning abut Gd s wrld and their wrld. Ask them what they remember that Gd has created fr them. ASK: Hw many f yu have smething that is yurs that yu care very much abut? (Let them answer.) Hw d yu care fr that? SAY: We knw that when we have smething special, whether it is a special ty, friend r anything else, we want t take special care f it. That is what we will be talking abut tday, hw Gd created smething s special the wrld, that Gd wants t take special care f it.

3 2. EXPLORE THE BIBLE MESSAGE Befre teaching the lessn, gather all the pictures that yu have been using with this unit and place them beside yu. Hld up the picture f the earth n the backgrund f blue with cntinents and ceans visible. ASK: What d yu remember abut this picture? Help them t recall that the Bible tells us that Gd created the heavens and the earth, separating the water frm the land, the heavens frm the earth. Hld up the landscape picture f land, water and plants. ASK: What des this picture remind yu f? Help them t recall that Gd als prvided fr the sil and water t help plants and ther living things exist. Hld up the picture which was a puzzle f the mn, stars, and sun. If yu have cut the picture up and nt kept it tgether, put the pieces tgether again fr the children. ASK: What d yu remember abut the mn, stars and sun? Yu want them t recall their purpses and hw they prvide light, warmth and directin r rder fr ur wrld. The next picture t hld up is the picture that has animals in it. Remind the children that Gd als created animals, thse that are wild and thse that we tame and have fr pets. ASK: What d yu remember abut the animals? As they answer, prepare t hld up sme f the animal puppets that were used in that sessin as well. As yu hld up a puppet, have the children identify which kind f animal it is and the sund it makes. Nw hld up the picture f peple s faces. ASK: What d yu think abut r remember abut this picture? Help the children t repeat that Gd created nt nly the animals and ther creatures, but Gd als created humankind. Have them then lk arund the rm at teach ther. Help them t think abut hw each ne is different. SAY: D yu knw what if s very wnderful abut all f this? This is all f Gd s creatin. And the mst wnderful thing is that Gd did nt stp caring abut what had been created. Gd still cares fr the wrld even tday. 3. RESPOND TO THE BIBLE MESSAGE ACTIVITY 1: Stand Up and Make a Circle Play this game with the children. Have the children stand up and make a circle hlding hands. (If there are t many children fr ne circle, have them make tw r three smaller circles.) Once the circle is frmed, have them drp their hands beside them. Let them knw that yu are ging t give directins and they are t d as yu say. Give ne directin and let them d the activity and then give anther directin and let them d the activity, and s n.)

4 Clap yur hands! Rll yur head arund! Snap yur fingers! Turn t the left! (Help them if they dn t knw which way that is.) Put yur hand n the shulders f the persn in frnt f yu! Rub thse shulders! Turn arund and rub the shulder f the persn in frnt f yu! Nw instruct them t turn back s that they are facing the middle f the circle. Have them take small steps frward until their shulders are tuching the shulders f the persns standing next t them. (Remind them t keep their arms straight by their sides.) When they are clse tgether, direct them t place their arms arund the waist f the peple next t them. Tell them t squeeze. This is called a grup hug. Nw ask the children t back up fur steps and sit dwn n the flr r grund. After they are settled, ask them abut what it felt like t have their shulders rubbed by smene. ASK: Hw did it feel t have a grup hug? What d these kinds f gd feelings help us t knw? SAY: They help us t knw that smene cares abut us. When we get a kiss frm ur mther r father, when smene hlds us, when smene pats us n the head, and any number f ther things, we knw that smene cares. Encurage them t name ways in which peple shw lve t them. SAY: We knw by the way peple shw lve t us that they care fr us. Listen t these verses frm the Bible (Read the Psalm 65 selectin t them.). ASK: What d yu think these verses are saying t us? Help the children name thse things that the verses tell us Gd is ding fr the creatin. If yu need t, repeat the reading, letting them tell yu what they think each sentence r cmplete thught means. Help them t understand that the writer f this Psalm is being thankful fr Gd s cntinuing care f the creatin. Nw have the children list the ways that they knw Gd cares fr the earth and the place in which they live. Help them talk abut rain, sunshine, peple wh care fr thers etc. Talk abut what the rain is and what it des. Talk abut the sunshine and hw it helps care fr them and the earth. Help them understand that Gd has set a plan fr caring fr all that has been created. Remind the children f the things they said earlier abut hw we knw when smene is taking care f us and shwing lve. SAY: Nw, when we see rain cluds r hear the rain and thunder and lightning, we knw that Gd has put thse things in place t water the earth, t replace water in the rivers, lakes and streams f ur cuntry. Gd has placed the sun there t dry up the rain, t bring warmth t peple and creatures wh live n the earth and t nurish r help plants and vegetatin t grw.

5 4. CLOSE IN PRAYER SAY: Tday we have lked at ways in which Gd has prvided fr the earth and fr us. We have already talked befre abut ways that we can help Gd take care f the earth, us and ther creatures. Have them name sme f thse again. ASK: What is ur respnse t what Gd has dne? Hw d we feel abut the fact that Gd des cntinue t care fr us and fr the wrld that Gd created? What are sme wrds that yu wuld use t describe hw that makes yu feel? Yu want them t think abut being special, abut a being thankful that Gd cntinues t care, abut being safe and secure, abut being welcme in the wrld. Help them identify sme f thse wrds. Have the children sing a sng: (Team: Insert a sng here, if there is ne that the children enjy that will talk abut the happiness they feel in Gd.) SAY: When I am feeling particularly happy and thankful t Gd, I try t name thse things befre I pray. ASK: What are the things yu are feeling thankful fr tday? Allw the children t name thse things and yu name sme als. When they have finished naming thse things fr which they are thankful, have them bw their heads and be silent. PRAY: Dear Gd, Yu have heard us name s many things that we are thankful fr. We are thankful fr (Name sme f them here.). We are als thankful fr many things that we have nt said but that we think f in ur minds and hld in ur hearts. Yu really are a Gd that cares fr us and that makes us feel very special. We knw als that yu expect us t help yu care fr the wrld. Help us this week as we try t be nice t ur families, as we care fr ur pets and the animals we meet each day, as we care fr the place where we live, and as we care fr ur friends. Help us t knw that as we d that, we are shwing yur lve t the rest f yur creatin. We pray that yu help us knw hw t share yur lve. Thank yu fr the time we can spend tgether here in this place. Thank yu fr the Bible and the wrds that help us knw that yu did create the wrld and that yu d care fr it. Amen.