Genesis 1: 3-5
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
What did God create on day 1? Has anyone ever heard of the 7 days of creation? We know that God made the world and everything in it... but what happened first? How long do you think it took Him? Today, we are going to learn about the very first "day" and what God decided to make for the very first day!
"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light 'day', and the darkness he called 'night'.
And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." (Genesis 1:1-5 NIV)
Tell the children to close their eyes. Now tell them to cover their closed eyes with their hands.
That is how dark it was before God made light! Now, tell them to close their eyes, cover them and then shut off the light. Have them open their eyes and then turn the light on!
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Blue, Black, and Yellow Construction paper
Scissors
Tape/Glue
Cotton Balls
Crayons
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The message: Talk about some reasons why God wanted to create the sun and light. Talk about some reasons why God wanted to create the moon and stars.
Directions:
Have the kids take a blue and black piece of construction paper and tape them together side by side to make the picture background that you see above.
Let the kids draw and cut out the sun and moon on yellow construction paper and glue them where they belong.
Let the kids glue cotton balls on the blue construction paper for clouds and stars on the black constuction paper for stars
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Tape
Tissue paper
Empty cardboard paper towel roll
Paint
Paintbrushes
Glue
Metallic confetti stars
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Telescopes – God made the heavens. Help the children think about the awesome power of God to make all of the stars they can see at night, and more that we can't see. Provide construction paper or cardboard rolls, tape, and markers. Let the children roll and tape paper tubes to decorate as telescopes for stargazing.
Directions:
Paint your cardboard roll whatever color you’d like and allow to dry. They can use crayons/markers if you would like.
Cut a large square of tissue paper (big enough to cover the hole in the cardboard roll with plenty of room to overlap.)
Glue individual stars to the tissue paper square.
Place the tissue paper square over one end of the cardboard roll (the stars should be on the outside) and secure to the sides with tape.
Peek through your telescope and see your very own galaxy!
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
none
Get the details by clicking here!
God Made Day and Night: Genesis 1:1-5, 14-19
In the very beginning there was God, but nothing else. Then God made the heavens and the earth. The earth did not have the shape it does now. The Bible tells us that it looked different because the earth was completely covered with water. There wasn't any land on the surface of the earth. And everything was completely dark!
Darkness was everywhere. It was a deep darkness. Close your eyes for a minute. (Have the children close their eyes.) What do you see? (Allow the children to respond.) The darkness you see when you close your eyes is like the total darkness that was all over the earth. Open your eyes now.
God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. By those words God made light. God saw that the light He made was good. God gave the light a name. Do you know what He called it? (Let the children answer.) He named the light "day." God also gave a name to the darkness. What is that name? (Let the children answer.) Yes, God called the darkness "night." That's how God made day and night. God made day and night during His first day of Creation.
God wanted more than day and night. He wanted His creation to have many lights. God said, "Let there be lights." And that's exactly what happened. God made two great lights, one light for the day and the other for the night. And He made the stars. What do you think the two great lights are called? (Let children volunteer answers.) God made the sun and the moon. God had a very special plan for these lights.
The brighter and larger light God made is the sun. (Show the sun.) It gives light for the earth in the daytime. God made the sun to shine all the time. But God also made the earth to spin slowly, so we can see the sun only part of each day when the part of the earth where we live is facing the sun. The hours of each day that we can see the sun are what we call daylight or daytime.
The smaller light God made is the moon. It gives some light during the nighttime by reflecting sunlight onto the part of the earth that is not facing the sun. (Show the night sky.) God also made stars that we see in the nighttime sky. The moon and the stars do not look as bright as the sun does, but they are bright enough to make our nighttime on earth so it is not totally dark.
God made day, night, and the sun, moon, and stars. God saw that all the lights He made were good.
This review activity will let the children have fun remembering what God made and thinking about how the day and night are good.
Tape your signs around the room where the children can see them. Direct the children's attention to each sign as you read each one aloud. Explain that "Yes" means "I agree" or "That is right." The "No" sign means "I disagree" or "That's wrong." Tell the children to go (run, walk, hop, etc.) to the sign that best tells what they think about each sentence you say. Read the first sentence given below. Let the children think and move. Then continue with the second sentence, and so on. Answers are given. Some sentences might have more than one correct response. If they go to a sign not suggested as the answer, ask the children to explain why they think their responses are correct. Add more of your own sentences if you want and have time.
God made day and night. (Yes)
The daytime is the best time to sleep. (No)
When does the moon give us light? (Night)
God made daytime best for playing soccer because we can see better. (Yes)
We get out of bed when it comes each morning. (Day)
When is it usually colder? (Night)
When do we go to school? (Day)
We always eat breakfast in the nighttime. (No or Day)
God must be very powerful to be able to make light for the whole universe by just saying, "Let there be light." (Yes)
It was very dark before God made light, but God could see okay because He had a big flashlight. (No)
Sometimes we can see the moon in the daytime sky, but God made the moon to shine only at night. (Yes. The sun is so bright that we can't see the sunlight reflecting off of the moon during the day.)
When do you usually go to bed? (Night)
What did God make? (Day and Night are both correct.)
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
none
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This game will help the children think about why day and night are good for them.
Explain this variation of "Mother May I?" The leader stands a distance from the starting line of the other players. The players may take a big step toward the leader when he or she tells something about the day, for example, "Eat lunch" or "Go to school." When the leader says something about the night, such as "Sleeping" or "It's dark," the players must be still like they are sleeping. Anyone who steps forward at the wrong time must return to the starting line. The first one to reach the leader becomes the new leader for another round of the game.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
White computer paper
Glue
Yellow and Black Construction Paper
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-Have the kids tear off small pieces of yellow and black construction paper and relate. Tell them they are showing how God made the light and dark by making their own light and dark.
-Let them glue their paper onto the correct side.
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
