Lesson 1
How Did the World Begin?
Genesis 1 and 2
In the beginning of time, God used six days to create the world. He created the world out of nothing. He just spoke words and created the world.
This is how it happened. On the first day God started with a ball of material that had nothing on it. He said, “Let there be light.” Light suddenly appeared. God divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.”
On the second day the world was covered with water. God told the water below to separate from the air above the water. It happened just the way He said. God called the air “sky.”
On the third day God gathered the water on the earth to one place so the dry land appeared. Then God told the land to produce plants and trees and things that grow in the earth. Each plant had seeds in it that would grow new plants when the first plant died. Today there are more than three hundred fifty thousand (350,000) species of plants. Every kind of plant we have on the earth today comes from the plants God created on the third day of creation.
On the fourth day God created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He made the sun to give light to the earth during the day. He made the moon to give light during the night. He used the sun and moon to give us seasons, days, and years. God made the earth and the moon to move around the sun at just the right distance and speed so that the earth would be the right temperature for plants, animals, and people to live on.
On the fifth day God made all kinds of fish to swim in the sea. He made birds to fly in the sky. God told the fish and the birds to reproduce and fill the sea and sky with more fish and birds.
On the sixth day God created animals to live on the earth. He made animals so small that people have to use microscopes to see them. He made huge elephants. God told the animals to reproduce and fill the earth with more animals. Today scientists have counted almost a million kinds of animals. Each year hundreds of new kinds of animals are found.
Vocabulary
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create (v) |
cover (v) |
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material (n) |
separate (v) |
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appear (v) |
gather (v) |
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darkness (n) |
produce (v) |
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reproduce (v) |
species (n) |
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microscope (n) |
elephant (n) |
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season (n) |
distance (n) |
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temperature (n) |
fly (v) |
Irregular Verbs
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Present |
Past |
Past Particple |
Future |
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fly |
flew |
has flown |
will fly |
Questions
1. How many days did God use to create the world?
2. What did God put in each plant so that new plants would grow when the first ones died?
3. How many species of plants are in the world today?
4. Why must the earth and moon move around the sun at the right distance and speed?
5. How many kinds of animals are in the world today?
During these six days God made the light, the water, the land, the plants, and the animals out of nothing. He just spoke and they appeared. On the sixth day, after God made the animals, he used a special method to make the first man.
God took some dust from the ground and made a man. Then God breathed into the man’s nostrils and the man became alive. All of the animals that God had made were wonderful. But the man God made was even more special. God made the man in His own image. This means God made man to be like Himself in many ways. Of course God is far greater than people in every way. But people are greater than any kind of animal. People can think and reason and figure things out far more than any animal could. People can feel love, sorrow, anger, and joy more than any animal. They can make decisions and do what they decide to do. The ability that people have to think, feel, and will to do things comes from God. Our ability to think, feel, or will is not nearly as great as God’s, but it is the way that people are like God. God gave these abilities to the first man who was made in God’s image. We get these abilities from the first man. God created people to be like Him and to have a need for Him.
God named the first man “Adam.” God told Adam to rule over the fish, birds and animals. God gave Adam the plants to use for food.
God put Adam in a beautiful garden called the Garden of Eden. God told Adam to take care of the plants in the garden. God also told Adam to give a name to all the different kinds of animals. Adam saw each kind of animal and gave each one a name. But among all the animals that Adam saw, he could not find one that would make a good companion for him.
God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper and companion for him.”
Then God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam’s ribs and made it into a woman. God brought the woman to Adam and they became the world’s first husband and wife. Adam named his wife Eve, which means “life-giver,” because Eve would become the mother of all people who live on the earth.
After the six days, God looked at all of the things that He had made. They were very good.
By the seventh day God had finished creating new things. He started the laws of nature working and kept the world running. But God was done with His job of creating things, so on the seventh day He rested. God didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested, or quit creating, because He was finished. Later He told people to use this same cycle: work for six days and rest for one. This is where people get the period of time called the “week.”
Vocabulary
Names of People
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Adam |
Eve |
Name of Place
Garden of Eden
Other
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method (n) |
joy (n) |
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breathe (v) |
decision (n) |
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nostril (n) |
ability (n) |
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image (n) |
companion (n) |
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greater (adj) |
deep sleep |
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reason (v) |
nature (n) |
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figure out |
rib (n) |
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sorrow (n) |
cycle (n) |
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anger (n) |
period of time |
Questions
6. What did God use to make the first man?
7. What can people do that animals cannot do?
8. What was the first man’s name?
9. What two jobs did God give Adam to do?
10. What does Eve’s name mean?
11. Did God rest on the seventh day because he was tired?
To Think About
The Bible says we should respect* our parents because we get our life from them. Where did our parents get their life? They got their life from their parents and passed it on to us. How can we show respect for our parents?
Parents pass on life that is given to them, but all life comes from God. Because God gives us life he deserves* our worship*, love, and obedience*.
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respect (v) |
worship (n) |
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deserve (v) |
obedience (n) |