The Creation of the World

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen. 1:1

God made the earth that we live on. Sunday is the earth's birthday because it was on this first day of the week that creation began. The world was a mass of darkness, empty and shapeless, until God made light by His Word and said the light was good. 

Without light we couldn't live. Even trees and flowers would die. 

Do you remember being in a dark place and how glad you are to see the light come back, even if it's only one gray line in the sky. This shows how blessed this gift is. It was good, too, that we have a dark and quiet night for rest. 

The second great change wrapped the earth in a ball of air which we call the sky or firmament. This is the deep blue we see when we look up. The water rises from the earth and makes the clouds. The clouds are sometimes white and puffy and in funny shapes. Sometimes they are dark and full of rain to water the earth. Sometimes they are pink or gold in the sunlight. 

The third great change was the water filling the deep hollows in the earth and the hills that rose above. Rivers and streams ran down their slopes into the sea below. 

God didn't leave the earth bare. He clothed it with green plants and herbs with leaves and flowers, and trees to give us fruit or wood, and filled even the sea with plants to live under the water. 

Next, God allowed the rays of the sun to brighten the earth, and the moon was lit by the sun,  and the stars far beyond our own sky. We count the months by changes in our moon and the earth's journey around the sun marks years and seasons. We're all glad for a bright, sunny day, even though the sun is too bright to look at. Our moon is lovely, whether it's a crescent moon or a beautiful full moon rising over the horizon. 

The water began to fill with living things that swam and crept and flew - fish, birds, and insects. By this time the world was nearly as we see it and was a beautiful  home for us to live in. 

Then God made the four-footed animals - sheep, cows, horses, dogs, cats, elephants, lions - all that becomes our pets or that we admire from afar. Last of all, when he'd made this earth a happy and healthy place, He planted the Garden of Eden. He put the first man and woman in his garden. They were the best he'd made, even though their bodies were of dust their souls were from the Breath of God. They could think, speak, pray and know what was seen and unseen. 

Let the ground below, the sky above, the sun, moon, stars, flowers, trees, plants and animals and His day of rest remind us that they are all gifts from Him and be thankful for such good things. 

QUESTIONS

1. Who made the world?

2. Which Commandment tells you about God's making the world?

3. What is in the sky that God made?

4. What is on the earth ?

5. What do you see around you that He made?

6. Can we make birds, or beasts, or flowers?

7. Could we make them live?

8. Who makes them and us live?

9. Where does all our food come from?

10. Who gave us corn?

11. What must we ask God to do for us?

12. What must we thank Him for? 

13. When you see a pretty flower, or a beautiful sky, or when the sun shines bright and warm, can you say, "Thank you, God, for being so good to me"?