God made everything

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

In Genesis 1:1–31, God speaks and makes the heavens, the earth and every living thing. Everything He makes is very good.

The God who was there at the beginning

At the opening of Genesis, God is already there. Everything else in the chapter receives its existence from Him. The sun, the seas, plants and animals all belong to the world He makes. He depends on none of them. This is where our understanding of creation begins: with the God to whom the whole world owes its life.

As the account unfolds, God speaks and what He commands happens. He brings light, separates day from night, makes the sky, gathers the waters and brings forth dry land and plants. He appoints the lights in the sky, then fills the sea, sky and land with living creatures (Genesis 1:3–25). The chapter gives us a growing sense of order and abundance. This world is His purposeful work, and He repeatedly declares what He has made to be good.

That gives substance to the short sentence we will share with the children: “God made everything.” The bird in the picture and the tree outside the window have a Maker. So do we. When we thank God for His world, we are beginning to acknowledge our dependence on Him and the goodness of what He gives.

People matter to their Maker

The account turns to human beings in Genesis 1:26–28. God makes them male and female, in His image, and gives them responsibility within His creation. Being made in His image means that people have a particular dignity and calling: we are made to know Him and represent Him in the world He has entrusted to our care. The chapter gives us both a reason to value people and a responsibility to care for what God has made.

This reaches into the way you welcome each child. Their worth is already given by their Maker, before they answer a question or make a picture. A child who needs help to communicate has the same God-given worth as one who readily tells you what they think. Learning names, listening patiently and offering help without embarrassment are simple ways to honour the children in your care.

A good world, a gracious Saviour

By the end of the chapter, God looks at all He has made and declares it very good (Genesis 1:31). We can share His delight in His creation and respond with thanks. Yet the world children encounter also includes pain and wrongdoing. Genesis 3 explains how the first people turned away from God and how sin brought devastating consequences. Keeping these chapters together helps us speak honestly: the goodness of God's original creation does not make present suffering or evil good. A child who is hurting should never be asked to call that hurt good.

That need for rescue is why the good news about Jesus matters. In Colossians 1:15–20, Paul explains that everything was made through the Son and for Him, and that He existed before it all. Jesus is the divine Son, not one of the creatures God made. The same passage speaks of His death on the cross, through which He makes peace. The One through whom the world was created came to save sinners. We can give thanks to Him as our Creator and look to Him as our Saviour.

For this first lesson, the children begin with the simple truth that God made everything. The short account also introduces Jesus as God's Son, who was there before the world began. The fuller connection helps you understand where this teaching belongs as you prepare; you don't need to fit every part of it into the children's brief account.

Helping the children make the connection

The pictures give you something to look at together as you tell the account in its biblical order. Keep your Bible open so the children can see where the account comes from. The landscape helps them recognise things God made; it illustrates the created world rather than showing exactly how creation happened. There is no need to turn it into a chart of the days. The picture of a girl shows a child today. You can explain that God made the first man and woman, and that people today are also made by Him, without suggesting that this girl is Eve.

Making a picture offers another useful opportunity to talk. We work with paper, crayons and other materials already available to us; God is the source of the world from which those materials come. If a child asks whether God made their house or toy, you can explain that people make these using things God made. This lets you welcome the question while helping the child understand the difference.

Getting ready to lead

Use the whole teaching pictures on pages 1–3 of Printable Resources. Page 4 is the colouring backup, page 5 supports the paper activity, and page 6 is the optional take-home sheet, also supplied as a separate PDF. The church session is complete without work at home.

Prepare only the option you choose. The Lesson gives separate quantities, setup and child steps for colouring, paper making and play. Read those directions before choosing materials; use large pieces suited to the youngest children and prepare adult cuts beforehand. No child needs to complete all three alternatives.

A child may point to a tree, name an animal or begin a thank-you. Ask, “Who made the real tree?” Help with “God made it.” If a child shows you a toy, explain that people made the toy using things God made.

Ask, “How is our paper picture different from the world God made?” Help the child distinguish making with existing materials from God giving the world its existence. Allow time for a response, supply words when needed and welcome a familiar language. A child may watch, point or work beside you. These observations help you teach; they do not establish faith, forgiveness or God’s favour.

The Focus summarises the teaching; the take-home Bible verse is a separate, attributed quotation. Keep both connected to the passage. Familiar play remains available for children who finish, and the activity period includes cleanup. Follow the church’s arrangements for care and supervised collection.

Read the teaching aloud once, look through the pictures and pray for patient attention to the children. The quiet and no-print choices are full ways to participate, not lesser work.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.