Skip to main content

2025-10-12 God Created People to Enjoy His Glory

Introduction

The primary goal of this lesson is to teach that God created the world, not because He was lonely or needed anything, but because of His "overflowing happinesspeople in His incomparable greatness and worth." The lesson uses the visual of an overflowing bowl of balls, each representing an attribute of God, to illustrate that God is so special, He hadimage to show it. Through reading portions of Genesis 1 and using Creation pictures (Sun, Water, Land, Plants, Animals), students learn that creation is a "show-and-tell" display ofreflect God's greatness and glory,worth. allowingAdam usand Eve were created to see, feel, touch, hear,show and smell how special He is. The memory verse is Psalm 19:1 ("The heavens declare the glory of God"), reinforcing the core idea that all of creation revealsreflect God's greatness,greatness whichby shouldloving, leadtrusting, peopleobeying, enjoying God, and being more satisfied in God than anything else. People were created to echo back praise to God, acknowledging His greatness and trustincomparable Him.glory.  

 

Praise and Worship (15 mins)

Parents: The parent and child scheduled for this week will lead us in singing on Sunday. Please take time to practice the songs together at home, helping your child feel confident and joyful as they prepare to lead.

Prayer and Offering (5 mins)

Parents: Please encourage your children to bring an offering to church. You may help your child prepare by setting aside a coin for them to bring on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to teach them about giving to God with a thankful heart and trusting Him to provide.

What is Offering?

Offering is when we give something to God to show our love and thankfulness. In church, we often give money as an offering, but we can also give our time, talents, and kindness to God and others.

Why Do We Make an Offering?

To Thank God – Everything we have comes from God! Giving back is a way to say, “Thank You, God!”
To Trust God – When we give, we show that we trust God to take care of us.
To Help Others – Offerings help the church teach about Jesus, help people in need, and share God’s love.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,
"God loves a cheerful giver!" That means God is happy when we give with a joyful heart!
Prayer for Offering
Dear God, thank You for giving us everything we need. We want to give back to You with joyful hearts. Please use our offering to help others and share Your love. Help us to always trust You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Review Verse from Last Week

 Isaiah 46:9b —"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."

  • I am (point to self)
  • God, (God in American sign language: with your right hand, make a flat, open-handed shape and bring it to your forehead, then make a downward arc motion towards your chest- the arc movement signifies God’s presence or reign from above)
  • and there is no other; (shake head and wag index finger sideways)
  •  I am (point to self)
  • God, (with your right hand, make a flat, open-handed shape and bring it to your forehead, then make a downward arc motion towards your chest)
  • and there is none like me. (for each hand, curve the fingers and thumb to form an “O” so there are two “O”s, move the two “O”s outwards)

Bible Story (10 min): God's Creation

Introduction (1 min)

Props Needed:

  • Empty Bowl
  • Balls with Attributes on them
  • Bag for the balls

Teacher:
“Last week we learned some words that tell us about God. Who remembers one of those words?”
(Take responses. As each child answers, hand them a ball with that attribute written on it and let them put it in the bowl. Keep going until the bowl is overflowing and balls spill out.)

Teacher:
“Wow! Look at this—our bowl is so full it can’t even hold all the balls! That reminds us of something very important about God. God is so wonderful, so full of greatness, that He is overflowing with goodness. There are so many ways the Bible tells us how special He is—more than we could ever count!”

(Pause, point to balls spilling over.)

Teacher:
“Now, we can’t really see words overflowing. But do you think God has a way to show us with real things—things we can see, touch, hear, and feel—just how great and special He is?”

(Let children respond: “Yes!”)

Teacher:
“Yes! God shows us His greatness through what He made. The Bible tells us in the very first verse, Genesis 1:1: ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’ God made everything—sun, water, land, plants, animals—not because He needed to, but to show us His glory, how very special He is.”

Story Telling (5 min)

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-25; Psalm 19:1

Props / Visuals Suggested:

  • Bible
  • Pictures of Sun, Water, Land, Plants, Animals

—"(Hold up your Bible and open to Genesis 1:1. Point so the children can see you are reading from the Bible.)

Teacher:
“The Bible says, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’ Before anything else existed, who was there?”

(Wait for children: “God.”)

Teacher:
“That’s right! God was always there. He is eternal—He never had a beginning and He will never end. Then, God began to create. Let’s look at some of the wonderful things He made to show us how special He is.”

Sun (Genesis 1:16–17)

(Hold up the Sun picture.)

Teacher:
“Here is the sun. Is the sun just a word, or is it real?”
(Children answer: “Real!”)

“Can you see the sun in the sky? What do you feel on your skin when the sun shines?”
(Children: “Warmth.”)

Teacher:
“Yes! God made the sun to give us light and warmth. It shows us His power and care. Genesis says: ‘God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day… And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.’ God created the sun to show how powerful and special He is.”

Water (Genesis 1:9–10)

(Show the Water picture.)

Teacher:
“Now look at water. Where do you see water every day?”
(Children respond: sinks, rivers, oceans, rain.)

“Can you touch and splash it? Can we live without water?”
(Children: “No!”)

Teacher:
“Exactly. The Bible says: ‘And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together… And God called the dry land Earth, and the waters He called Seas.’ God made water to give us life and to remind us He provides everything we need.”

Land (Genesis 1:9–10)

(Show the Land picture.)

Teacher:
“God made the land—mountains, deserts, fields. What kinds of things do we find on land?”
(Children respond: houses, trees, animals, people.)

“Imagine if there was no land—where would we live?”
(Children: “Nowhere!”)

Teacher:
“Right! God made the land so people, plants, and animals would have a place to live. Land shows us God’s wisdom and goodness.”

Plants (Genesis 1:11–12)

(Show the Plants picture.)

Teacher:
“Look at these plants. What are some of your favorite plants or foods that grow from plants?”
(Children respond: apples, flowers, bananas, corn, etc.)

“Why do you think God made plants to give food?”
(Children: “So we can eat!”)

Teacher:
“Yes! The Bible says: ‘And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit.’ God made plants to feed us and to show His kindness. He even made flowers just to show beauty and make us smile!”

Animals (Genesis 1:20–25)

(Show the Animals picture.)

Teacher:
“God made animals too—big and small. What’s your favorite animal?”
(Let children share.)

“Think about how amazing animals are. Huge whales in the sea, tiny ants on the ground, fast cheetahs, colorful birds. What do these animals show us about God?”
(Children: He is creative, powerful, wise.)

Teacher:
“Yes! The Bible says: ‘And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds… and God saw that it was good.’ Animals remind us of God’s strength, wisdom, and creativity.”

Psalm 19:1 (Creation Proclaims God’s Glory)

(Hold up your Bible again.)

Teacher:
“The Bible also tells us something amazing in Psalm 19:1: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaimsproclaim Hishis handiwork.’”

"(Point upward or gesture to the sky.)

“Do the skies use words to tell us about God?”
(Children: “No.”)

Teacher:
“That’s right—they show us with pictures: stars, clouds, rainbows, birds, and sunsets. Everyone in the whole world can ‘hear’ the message of the sky. Creation is like God’s giant show-and-tell, reminding us every day that He is the most special of all.”

That's a powerful verse, but it uses some words we might not use every day. If we understand these three words—declare, proclaim, and handiwork—we'll grasp the heart of this lesson.

1. Defining "Glory"

  • Teacher:Glory  Let’s start with the most important word in the verse:means Glory. In this context, when we talk about God's glory, we mean God is very special—He is great, important, and has immense, visible worth. Think back to the overflowing bowl of balls: His glory is all of those wonderful attributes—His power, His wisdom, His goodness—all shining out for everyone to see. Everything God creates is a window into His specialness.

2. Defining "Declare" and "Proclaim"

  • Teacher:Declare  The verse says the heavens declare and the sky proclaims God's glory. What does it mean to declare something?

  • (Wait for a few student responses, like 'announce' or 'tell loudly'.)

  • Teacher: Exactly. To declare means to make known publicly, clearly, and loudly. To proclaim is very similar; it means to announce something important to everyone. 

  • Teacher:Handiwork Since the skies don't have a mouth, how do they declare God’s glory? They do it by their very existence! The sheer size of the sun, the perfect cycle of the tides, the vastness of the stars —they are shouting, without words, "God is mighty! God is brilliant! God is special!"

3. Defining "Handiwork"

  • Teacher: Finally, the verse says the sky proclaims God's handiwork. What is handiwork?

  • (Wait for responses, like 'something made by hand' or 'craftsmanship'.)

  • Teacher: Handiwork is simply something made by a person, showing off their skill, effort, and design. If you see a beautiful, intricate quilt, you say, "Wow, that's incredible handiwork."

  • Teacher: So, when the verse says the sky above proclaims God’s handiwork, it means everything up there—the clouds, the air we breathe, the moon—is a masterpiece made by God. The design and complexity of nature prove the Master Designer exists and show off His incredible skill.

Summary

  • Teacher: Let's put it all together. Psalm 19:1 means: Everything in creation is loudly announcing the specialness, greatness, and unmatched skill of the God who made it.

Bible Story (10 min): God Created People to Enjoy His Glory

Introduction (2 min)

Let’

Props Needed:

  • Rock
  • Small potted plant/ or a bunch of leaves
  • Stuffed animal

Teacher:

“It’s going to be my birthday soon, and I’m so excited. I’m going to have a big party so I can share how happy I am. It’s going to be a wonderful party: there’s going to be cake, a lot of fun games, and so many presents! I need some help deciding who I should invite to my party.”

(Pull out the rock)

Teacher:

"Should I invite rocks to my party? Do you think they would enjoy cake and games? Why not?”

(Pull out the plant)

Teacher:

"What about this plant?"

(Let children respond: “No!”)

(Pull out the stuffed animal)

Teacher:

  • “Hmm… the animal might enjoy sharing the birthday cake, but do you think it would enjoy the cake the same way we do? No, because the animal doesn’t think or feel in the same way you and I do. So who do you think I should invite to my party? Who would REALLY enjoy the cake and games? Yes, people! Boys and girls like you could enjoy my party with me! People would be able to say how much fun the memorygames verseare, oneand morethey timecould together,tell keepingme thosehow definitionstasty inthe mind.cake is. Only people could tell me whether they liked my party or not.”  

Wrap-upStory & DiscussionTelling (48 min)

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-25; Psalm 19:1

Props / Visuals Suggested:

  •          Paper doll cutouts of a man and woman (to represent Adam and Eve) with no eyes, mouths, etc. drawn in 
  •      Marker
  •           Large piece of paper with Garden of Eden (flower, bushes, animals, etc.) drawn. Leave room in the middle to draw a large tree
  •           Sign saying “Eternal Life”

Teacher:

“Wow,Just boyslike andI girls—weam justexcited learnedabout my birthday party, there is someone in the Bible that was so happy, He wanted to share His happiness with someone who can really enjoy it. This person is God."

"Do you remember what God created?”

(Let children call out their answers)

Teacher:

“After God made the sun, water,the land,moon, the stars, the oceans, plants, and animals.all Andthe animals, He madewanted to share with happiness with someone. But He couldn’t do that with all ofthe these to show us how special He is. Let’s think about what this means for us.”

Discussion Questions

Question 1 – Favorite Creation
Teacher:
“What is your favorite thing that God made?”
(Let children share—accept multiple answers. Encourage excitementstars, and wonder.)
Teacher:
“Every one of those things points us back to God, the Creator.”

Question 2 – Seeing God’s Greatness
Teacher:
“When you see a mountain, a flower, or even a little puppy, what does that show you about God?”
(Children: He is strong, kind, creative, wise.)
Teacher:
“Yes! Creation is like a big picture that tells us about God.”

Question 3 – Our Response
Teacher:
“What should we do when we see something beautiful that God made? Should we just say, ‘That’s nice,’ and walk away?”
(Children: “No! Praise God!”)
Teacher:
“That’s right—we should thank Him, praise Him, and tell others about Him.”

Question 4 – Help from God
Teacher:
“Sometimes we forget to see God’s greatness when we look at creation. Who can help us understand how special God is?”
(Children: “God can! Through the Bible and His Spirit.”)
Teacher:
“Yes! God Himself helps us see His glory.”

Question 5 – God’s Glory
Teacher:
“Why did God make everything? Was it because He was lonely?”
(Children: “No!”)
Teacher:
“Exactly! God was already perfectly happy. He made everything to show His glory—that means to show how very special and great He is.”

Closing Thought & Prayer

Teacher:
“So, boys and girls, whenever you see the sun shining, water splashing, flowers blooming, or animals running, remember: God made it all to show us His greatness. Creation is God’s way of saying, ‘Look how wonderful I am!’”

(Pause, fold hands for prayer.)

Prayer:
“Dear God, thank You for making the world so beautiful. Thank You for the sun, the land, the water, the plants, and the animals.fish, Mostand the animals that He made.”

“What do you think God did?

(Wait to see if a child will say "people", bring out paper dolls)

Teacher:

"That’s right, he made people. All the boys and girls, mommies and daddies. God made everyone on earth. People would be able to share in God’s happiness.”

“The Bible says God said ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ What do you think that means “in our image”? Do you think God has long hair like Evelyn? Or that he wears glasses like your dad? No!”

“It means the God created people to be able to think, feel, and act in special ways. Rocks and can’t see or smell"

(Draw in eyes, nose, mouth on the paper dolls)

"But people can. Animals can see or smell, but they can’t talk to God, people can. Plants can’t feel love, but people can. God made people to be able to enjoy Him in a way that the sun or rocks or plants or animals aren’t able to. God wants people to enjoy Him by thinking of all,all thankthe Youways forGod showingis usspecial, by loving how special YouGod areis, throughand everythingtelling Youour made.friends Helpabout usGod.”

Teacher:

“God also created a beautiful garden. This special garden is called the Garden of Eden.”

(Bring out Garden of Eden picture)

“In the Garden of Eden, there were flowers and animals. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden so that they could see, touch, smell, taste, and hear how wonderful and special God is.”

 (Stick paper dolls in picture)

Teacher:

“There were also a lot of fruit trees that Adam and Eve could eat from.”

(Draw fruit trees on the side)

“Now, in the middle of the Garden of Eden was a very special tree called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”

(Draw tree)

“God told Adam and Eve they can eat the fruit from any tree in the garden EXCEPT from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Every day, Adam and Eve would spend time with God. Adam and Eve were happy to alwaysbe seewith YourGod. greatnessGod was their friend, their creator, and praisethey You.God. InAs Jesus’long name,as Amen.they obeyed God’s command about not eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would never die and Adam and Eve can spend forever living with God. When someone never dies and lives forever, it is called ‘eternal life’.”

(Stick ‘eternal life’ sign in picture)

Teacher:

“And that’s what Adam and Eve have: eternal life with God. Adam and Eve loved, trusted, obeyed, and enjoyed God. They were showing God that they thought He was the most special person of all. Everything in God’s creation was just as it should be and this made God very happy.”  

Memorizing Verse: Psalm 19:116:11

Psalm 19:116:11
"TheYou heavensmake declareknown to me the glorypath of God;
life in your presence there is fullness of joy    the sky above proclaims his handiwork""

Teacher: We've

spent

“Our timememory seeingverse today comes from Psalm 16:11: ‘You make known to me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of joy'."

“This verse is saying God told Adam and Eve they would always live- and never die- as long as they did not eat from the tree that God istold sothem wonderfully great, He overflowed into creationnot to showeat from. Being able to spend time with God forever will fill us howwith specialjoy”

He

(Lead is.the Now,kids let’sin lookrepeating at athe verse from the Bible that sums up this entire idea perfectly. This is our memory verse for the week, Psalm 19, verse 1:slowly)

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."Teacher:

“To help us remember this Bible verse, we can pair it with some actions”

  • You make known to: Psalmpoint 19:1upwards to God
  • me: "Thepoint heavensto declareself
  • the glorypath of God;
    life: thetrace skya abovepath proclaimsforwards hiswith handiwork"your palms facing each other 
  • in your presence there is fullness of joy: raise your arms as if shouting "hooray"

 

Craft & Game (10 mins)

Game:Craft: Charadesrefrigerator magnets

Supplies:

  • Psalm 16:11a Handout (see supplementary information)
  • Coloured pencils/ crayons
  • Glue
  • Index cards
  • Magnet

Have children colour the childrenPsalm take16:11a turnspicture. comingGlue the picture to the frontmiddle to act out something that God has made. Children can act out animals or objects such as an elephant, alligator, lion, bird, fish, dog, pig, tree, flower, etc. Haveof the teacherindex indicatecard. Glue magnet to the childback what to pretend to be, so thatof the teacherindex cancard. give

the

 other students hints, if necessary, in order to guess correctly. When the children have guessed correctly, ask them: “And why did God create (name of animal or object)?” Children respond: “To show how special He is!”

Response Song

Closing Prayer & Snack Time (10 mins)

"Dear Jesus,God, thank You for beingcreating victorious over sin and death.everything. Thank Youyou for risingcreating from the dead and showing us that nothing can stop You.us. Help us to rememberget thatto whenknow weyou trustmore inand You,to we'reenjoy onYour theglory winningmore side.than Weanything loveelse. You!Amen"

Amen."


Now, let us thank You for the snack we’re about to enjoy.
We fold our hands.
We bow our heads.
We thank You, God,
for this daily bread.
Amen.

Free Time & Children Pickup (15 mins)

Back to top