Key Verse: Rev. 22:13. Other verses used in lesson: Genesis 1:1-5; Verses used as reference: Psalm 89:1; Psalm 90:2; Psalm 100:5; Isaiah 40:28, 44:6; Psalm 103:17; Psalm 145:13; Romans 1:20.

Printable Pictures: Please note: Some pictures in color are only available on the Members' area. Join/Order here 1bw, 1color, (use with dark blue or black sheet of 8-1/2 X 11" construction paper), 2bw, 2color, 3bw, 3color, 4bw, 4color, 5bw, 5color, 6bw, 6color, 7bw, 7color, 8bw, 8color, 9bw, 9color, 10bw (The wheel is for toddler craft 11).

Intro: (1) Let's all look at this picture of our beautiful world! Its a puzzle, and we will each get to make one later. We have lots of wonderful things in our world, don't we? We have the bright sunshine to shine down on us (Point to sun). We have beautiful trees that sway in the wind. (Point to tree). There are animals to love! (Point to puppy). And, let's not forget the pretty blue sky with the fluffy clouds! (Point to clouds). And, there are sparkling lakes and pretty fish that swim in them. (Point to fish). And best of all, there are many wonderful people! (Point to children). But did you know that in the very beginning there was no warm sunshine. (Take away sun puzzle piece). There were no people. (take away the children puzzle pieces). There were no fish or lakes. (Take away fish/lake piece). There were no trees. (Take away tree piece). There wasn't even any clouds or sky! (Take away sky piece). (Black sheet of construction paper by itself) So what does that leave us? (Let children answer). Right. Nothing! At the very beginning, the earth was not formed yet. It was empty. There was only darkness all around. I'll show you what it was like. Let's all close our eyes. (Turn off classroom lights). While your eyes are closed, can you tell me what you see? (Let children answer). That's right. We don't see anything. All we see is black. O.k. You can open your eyes now. That's what it was like at the very beginning. Just dark and empty.

(Black sheet of construction paper by itself with eyes from p. 10) But did you know that someone was there in the darkness? The first verses of our bible tell us someone was there. (Read Genesis 1:1-2). Can anyone tell me who was there at the very beginning? (Let children answer). Yes. God's Spirit was there! Our wonderful, loving God was there! God was the very first one — he was there at the very, very beginning...before anything else! Even though God doesn't have eyes like us, we'll put these eyes on the picture to show us that he was there. (Place sticker eyes on the black sheet of construction paper, Be careful not to use foam stickers with young children, as they could be a choking hazard).

(2-6) I have an activity that will help us understand. I need two helpers. (Open up the accordion booklet, ask the two child volunteers to come up to the front of the class. Ask one to hold the beginning of the book, one to hold the end). Here's another verse that tells us that God was there in the beginning. (2 - 6) Its what God said about himself: (Read Rev. 22:13). Alpha (Point to alpha) and omega (Point to omega) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. They are like our letters A and Z. Who can show us where the A is in our alphabet? (Let child point to A). Yes! Thank you for showing us the A, ____ (child's name). A is the very first letter of our alphabet, just like alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Who knows where the Z is? (Call on a child to point to Z). Yes! Thank you ____ (child's name). We see that Z is the very last letter, just like omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. So, God is telling us that he is the beginning (point to A again) and the end (point to Z again); the first and the last. God was there before anything else, and he will be there until the very end! He will last longer than anything else! God is everlasting!

(7, hearts from p. 10) And, God's love is everlasting too! It will never run out. Jer. 31:3 says, (Read Jer 31:3). His love is forever! God's love goes on...and on...and on. God has loved you since the day you were born. He's the one who made you! He decided what color of hair you would have, and how tall you would be, even before you were born. God loved you from the beginning of your life. We'll put these hearts on the picture to show God's love. (Place heart on top of baby). And, God still loves you. Who wants to put the heart by the young child? (Show a child where to place heart by the small child picture). God will love you every single day as you grow up. Who wants to put the heart by the children? (Let children place heart by children in picture). God will still love you when you have children of your own. (Let children place hearts by parents). And, God will love you when you when you are older than your grandparents, even to the very end! Who wants to put this heart by the grandma? (Let another child place heart by the grandma). Yes, God loves the puppy too. Let's put a heart by him too. (Let child place a heart above the puppy). Let's take a break, then we will learn about the very first thing that God made!

CIRCLE TALK TIME: (What does this mean for me?)

(Note: See Toddler lesson if you think the children in your class might also enjoy the Day/Night Wheel, p. 10).

(Use page 8 with eye stickers on it, p. 10). Here is the beginning of the world, before God made anything. And, remember, (Point to eyes), even though God doesn't have eyes like these, God was there at the beginning in the darkness. Then God said something: God said, "Let there be light!" And right then, the light did what God said! (9). Beautiful, bright light came bursting through the darkness! Woosh-sh-sh-sh! (Swing your hand across in front of you). And, how wonderful the bright light was! Before that, there was nothing but darkness. But, now there was God's warm, loving light! And God saw that the light was good! So God put the light in one place; and he called that day. Who can tell me some fun things you like to do during the day? (Let children take turns answering). And, God put the darkness in another place, and called it night. What do you like to do in the evening, or at nighttime? (Let children answer. Some possible answers to add: pray, read my bible, get ready for bed, listen to bedtime stories, say goodnight to everyone, listen to music, watch a movie, sleep). Now when we go to bed at night, we can sleep peacefully because we know that God is our everlasting God who loves us with his everlasting love! I hope you can all come back next week to learn the next thing that God made, and to learn more about our great God!

© copyright Virginia Sigle / biblekidsfunzone.com

Key Verse: Genesis 1:3 Other verses used in lesson: Jer. 31:3, Genesis 1:1-3. Verses used as reference. Genesis 1:4-5; Psalm 89:1; 90:2; 100:5; 103:17; 145:13. Isaiah 40:28, 44:6;Romans 1:20.

Printables: Print the b&w or color illustrated story pages. Please note: Some pictures in color are only available on the Members' area. Join/Order here. Printable Pictures: 1bw, 1color, (use with dk. blue or black sheet of 8-1/2 X 11" construction paper), (Pages 2-6 are used for preschool lesson only) 7bw, 7color, 8bw, 8color, 9bw, 9color, 10bw, 10color, 11bw)

Intro: (1) Let's all look at this picture of our beautiful world! We have lots of wonderful things in our world, don't we? We have the bright, warm sunshine! (Point to sun). We have beautiful trees. (Point to tree). Let's all stand up and pretend to be tall trees. (Place your hands together above your head to make a tree). There are animals to love! (Point to puppy). Who can tell me what sound a puppy makes? (Let children participate). We have the pretty blue sky and fluffy clouds! (Point to clouds). There are lakes with pretty fish in them. (Point to fish). Who can show me how fish swim? (Weave hand back and forth in front of you). Very good. And best of all, there are many wonderful people! (Point to children in picture).

But did you know that in the very beginning there was no warm sunshine. (Take away sun puzzle piece). There were no people. (Take away two children puzzle pieces). There were no fish. (Take away fish/lake piece). There were no trees. (Take away tree piece). There wasn't even any sky! (Take away sky piece). (Show black sheet of construction paper by itself). There was nothing at all! At the very beginning, the earth was empty. It was very dark all around. I'll show you what it was like. Let's all close our eyes. (Turn off classroom lights). While your eyes are closed, can you tell me what you see? (Let children answer). That's right. We don't see anything. All we see is black. O.k. You can open your eyes now. That's what it was like at the very beginning, before anything was made -- It was just dark and empty. (You will use black sheet of construction paper, with eyes from p.11)

But did you know that someone was there in the darkness? The first verses of our bible tell us someone was there. (Read Genesis 1:1-2). Can anyone tell me who was there at the very beginning? (Let children answer). Yes. God's Spirit was there! Our wonderful, loving God was there! God was the very first one . He was there first, before anything else! Even though God doesn't have eyes like us, we'll put these eyes on the picture to show us that he was there. (Place sticker eyes on the black sheet of construction paper. Be careful not to use foam stickers with young children, as they could be a choking hazard).

God was there in the beginning, and he will always be there! (7 with hearts, p. 10) And, he will always love us! Jer. 31:3 says, (Read Jer 31:3). His love is forever! God has loved you since the day you were born. He's the one who made you! He decided what color of hair you would have, and how tall you would be, even before you were born. God loved you from the beginning of your life. We'll put these hearts on the picture to show God's love. (Place heart on top of baby). And, God loves you as you grow up. Who wants to put the hearts by the children? (Show children where to place heart by the children in the picture). God will still love you when you have children of your own. (Let child place hearts by parents). And, God will love you even when you are older than your grandparents, all the way to the very end! Who wants to put this heart by the grandma? (Let another child place heart by the grandma). Yes, God loves the puppy too. Let's put a heart by him too. (Let child place a heart above the puppy). Let's take a break, then we will learn about the very first thing that God made!

CIRCLE TIME: (What does this mean for me?)

(Use page 8 with eye stickers on it from p.10). Here is the beginning of the world, before God made anything. And, remember, (Point to eyes), even though God doesn't have eyes like these, God was there at the beginning in the darkness. Then God said something: (Read Genesis 1:3). When God said, "Let there be light!" the light did just what God said! (9). Beautiful, bright light came bursting through the darkness! Woosh-sh-sh-sh! (Swing your hand across in front of you). And, how wonderful the bright light was! Before that, there was nothing but darkness. But, now there was God's warm, loving light!. And God saw that the light was good! So God put the light in one place; and he called that day. (10,11) Show 'Day' on the craft wheel). Who can tell me some fun things you like to do during the day? (Let children take turns answering). And, God put the darkness in another place, and called it night. (Turn the wheel and point to 'Night'). What do you like to do in the evening, or at nighttime? (Let children answer. Some possible answers to add: pray, read my bible, get ready for bed, listen to bedtime stories, say goodnight to everyone, listen to music, watch a movie, sleep). Now when we go to bed at night, we can sleep peacefully because we know that God is our forever God who loves us with his forever love! I hope you can all come back next week to learn the next thing that God made, and to learn more about our great God!

© copyright Virginia Sigle / biblekidsfunzone.com

Toddler / Preschool Creation Activities

Week 1 Creation - God Made Light / God is the Alpha and Omega

Prep: Print and make copies of craft pages (all 5 for each child). Use color-illustrated craft pages for teacher's copy for use with lesson, if desired. (Copy at 1/2 size for smaller booklet to save paper). Cut construction paper to fit over booklet folded. Shape will be dermined by whether booklet will be stapled at top, or left. On cover write: My Greek Alphabet, or God is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End! Craft: Children color pictures. Help children cut out pages of booklet. Organize pages of booklet, fold cover over booklet and staple at top or left. Concepts: Discuss with children the concepts of the lesson: God is the alpha and omega, beginning and the end, everlasting. And, his love is everlasting too!)

Prep: Print and make copies of craft page. Print on heavier paper if using the painting option. Use color-illustrated craft page for teacher's copy for use with lesson, if desired. Craft: Children color or paint pictures with glow-in-the-dark crayons, markers or paint. When glue is dry, help children cut apart pieces. Concepts: Discuss with children the concepts of the lesson as children work. Activity: Turn off lights in classroom and draw drapes/blinds closed. Talk about how God just said, "Let there be light" and there it was! as you shine the light on children's pictures. See links below for inexpensive, non-toxic, Glow-in-the-Dark art supplies. Option 2: Use gel markers on black or dark blue construction paper to let children draw their own picture of light.

© copyright Virginia Sigle / biblekidsfunzone.com