December 2nd: The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-5 and 26-27

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…

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

27 So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Our God loves to create! Loves to make stuff, loves to stand back and look at it and say “that’s good!”  Before there was time, there was God.  The spirit of God was there…waiting and thinking… “what shall I create?”  And then, in a blaze of creative genius and swirling artistic whirlwind, God spoke “Let there be” and God created!  Every creature and land feature, from the dinosaurs to those dang gnats; every rock, mountain and mushroom; every duck billed platypus and little puggle; every creek, every crack, every comet…God created it all and set it spinning amongst the cosmos just beside the moon and starts, but not too close to the sun.  

God set it all in place so that his greatest creation might delight in it all…that’s us!  Yes, human beings God created last and with the most love.  Everything was building up to the moment that God would create humanity.  And God didn’t just say “I’ll take a little of this and a little of that and make man and woman, no, God had something far more special in mind.  Instead God took a little of God’s own self to make us.  The Bible says that God created men and women in God’s image.  WOW!  If you want a little glimpse of what God might look like, just look in the mirror!  God made us in God’s image and then breathed in our first breaths filling our lungs and bringing us to life.  Every little face, finger, and toe from that day forward would look a little like God and every first little breath would be breathed in the delighted presence of the Almighty.

God made everything breathtaking in it’s own way…including you.

Is anyone else amazed by this?

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think God loves us so much?

2.  Why do you think God made us all different instead of all the same?

3.  Besides people, what is your favorite thing that God created?

Family Activity:  Decorate your second ornament!  Make it colorful and use all of your creativity.  Remember that no one else will have an ornament quite like yours, just like there is no one quite like you.  Just like you will create this ornament, God created you to be unique and amazing and do unbelievable things in the name of Jesus.

Create another ornament or even a few for someone that you know who needs cheering up, or a visit.  Make time this week to spend some time with that person.  If you need some help knowing who to give your ornament to, look at the prayer list on the back of your bulletin.

Prayer for the World:  Pray that the Princely People would recognize Jesus for who he really is, then repent and entrust their lives completely to him.  (Matt. 11:20-21)