Creation Story

Video Workshop: "PRAY-PER-VIEW"

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Scripture Reference:

Objectives for the workshop:

• know the order in which things were created and on which day they were created.
• learn that we are responsible for the care and management of creation.
• know that the earth is well made & good, that we are unique & that He sustains all life.

Teacher preparation:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ....
• Prepare an opening & closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Watch the movie so that you know when to pause/are familiar with the content.
  
  

Materials List:

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Open with prayer and introduce today’s lesson. Tell the children that they will be watching a movie which beautifully illustrates the story of creation in picture, Word and music. They are to pay close attention to the movie as you will be pausing and asking them to reflect on what they see. Then they will make “Creation Mix” as a way of remembering and retelling the story in Genesis 1.

Dig:

Read the story in Genesis. If this is the first week, dig deep and make sure they understand or ask any questions. You may have some who ask about evolution. We will deal with this in our Bible Study/planning.

The children will need their journals or paper for watching the movie – they may have to write or draw!

Start the movie. It lasts approx. 30 minutes. Take care to pause as directed in the lesson and ask the questions.

1. Pause when you see how God is represented – do they notice it? Why do they think the artist chose this (eye) and not a human face/body?
2. Question: What is God “before”? (everything!) Give egs.
3. What musical sounds do you hear during the creation of the sun/moon/planets? (percussion).
4. Draw (in your journals) what the spirit of God looks like.
5. What do you notice about how the eye (God) is creating (they should see the hand of God in the images). What does this hand tell us about God? (He is in control. He makes it all. He is over and in everything)
6. Point out how the idea that “God is over and in all” is suggested by the eyes on his fingers, the animals and man too.
7. What was Adam made from? (clay of the earth & the spirit of God)
8. Draw the two trees – tree of life, tree of knowledge of good & evil.
9. What happens when the narrator says “on the day you eat it you will die”? (fruit turns into a skull).
10. Why does Adam need Eve? (We are told that although the animals reflect God’s glory in their own way, none of them were like Adam and that he longed for someone with whom to share the pleasures of the garden.) What does Genesis say?
11. Describe the image of the “making of Eve”. (The pink rib ‘flows” out through God’s hand into womanly form.)
12. Freeze the frame of Adam & Eve together, their four legs are the fingers of God’s hand, their faces “entwined” under the eye. Have the children draw this picture in their journals. What do they think the illustrator is trying to “say”? (God and his creation are in harmony. We are under God’s protection.
13. The picture of harmony extends out to enclose the whole earth – draw this picture too as it pans out to the seventh day when God rested. What music do they hear? (Holy, Holy, Holy) When have they heard/sung this before? (In church. Especially on Trinity Sunday!)
14. What do they notice about the serpent? (At this point he has wings! He can get around quickly – and speak directly in A & E’s ears!) How do we see the serpent invading Eve’s thoughts? Is that an effective picture? What does it tell us about the devil?
15. What do the two sets of eyes suggest? (Now they see and are separated from God.)
16. Now that they fear God what do they do? (they sin, blaming each other and God.)
17. What has happened to the serpent? (No longer winged. Loss of power?) What happens to the earth? (Not in perfect harmony/relationship with God – shown by barren landscape.)
18. What is the narrator saying now? (Quoting Psalm 51) Do you know what that is from?
    
    “Cast me not away from thy presence…Restore to me the joy of thy salvation…Renew a right spirit within me.”
    
    Point out that God cast out Adam & Eve but longs to restore us, to bring us back – that’s why he sent Jesus.
19. What do they make of the last image on the screen? Is this the Body of Christ, the Church, restored again? What hope does that give us?
20. Closing question: Did God create the world because he was lonely? No! The Trinity was always there! Holy, Holy, Holy….

Other posts previously posted using the above movie by Rabbit Ears.

There is a wonderful video called The Creation, by Rabbit Ears videos, narrated by Amy Grant. 30 minutes.
It's hard to find and out of print, but I found a company that will watch for used or new copies for you: Great Tapes for Kids. Their website is: Great Tapes for Kids

I have recently learned that many videos from Rabbit Ears Radio are available to borrow from many public libraries through OverDrive Media. This one on The Creation is particularly good and there's a lesson plan for using it posted by Hilary here.

My local library allows me to download these videos for a week at a time. The copyright notice specifically states “public performance permitted” so I feel comfortable showing them in church. (You would not be able to charge for a performance, but that’s not what we do anyway.) I can download them to my computer and screen them with a video projector.

I love these videos because:
The illustrations are thoughtful and not really animated,rather the camera pans over these remarkable drawings, creating a sensation of motion.
The narrators are very talented artists with wonderful voices that they use exquisitely.
The musicial settings greatly enhance the story.
They are between 20 and 25 minutes long – allowing lots of time for questions and additional activities.

The Northern California Ecumenical Media Resource Center at 408-378-2532 or emrcvideos @aol.com has the Rabbit Ears Creation Story by Amy Grant. They are more than willing to UPS this video to you for a small fee. The catalogue number is: VCO-307.1
Donna Lindsay

Hilary S. - Posted July 02, 2005 08:00 PM (prior to her above lesson)
It's a good idea to see if your public library has these videos before you purchase. I was pleasantly surprised to find two of the movies we were looking at for Creation this fall. The library is also interested in ordering another title for its shelves! Then, of course, you are putting God's Story in the public eye!
Hilary

Editor's Note:
THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITY COULD BE SPLIT INTO A COOKING WORKSHOP

Now move to the tables in the Bistro and make: Creation Mix

Supplies:

• Whopper bars,
• Oreo cookies,
• Frosted Mini-wheats
• Sunflower seeds
• Fruit roll-ups,
• Yellow & Orange M&M’s
• Starburst candies
• goldfish
• animal crackers
• gingerbread people
• marshmallows,
• Fruit Breezers

Directions:

Form a big circle with each child having a plastic baggie/brown paper sack
• Pass around the “treats” as the story part is read (have everyone reach into the center of the circle to get the treat – or have the shepherd pass them out—each child should take enough of each item in order to share later.)
• After each “treat” is passed out - except the first one - the kids say in unison, “and God saw that it was good” (with maybe an extra emphasis on “good”.)

**Note: they will take their Creation Mix to share with someone after church and tell the story of creation as they share**

SAY THE FOLLOWING:

The Bible holds a “Whopper” of a tale (one whopper).

Day 1 - In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. He created the light and called it ‘Day’ and the dark He called ‘Night’. (Oreo cookie).
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 2 – God separated the waters from the waters. And the firmament He called Heaven. (Frosted Mini-Wheat’s cereal – for the clouds and the ground)
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 3 – God gathered the waters together to form the seas and the earth. And God let the earth bring forth seeds (sunflower seed)and fruit (‘fruit’ rollups)
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 4 – God created the sun (yellow M&M’s) and the moon (orange M&M’s). You can see the many stars He created in the Milky Way (Starburst candy)
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 5 - God made the birds and the fish. (Goldfish)
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 6 - God made man and woman and all the animals that creep on the earth. (Animal crackers and small gingerbread man cookie)
The kids say, “and God saw that it was good"

Day 7 – On the seventh day God ended His work and He rested (marshmallow ‘pillows' ).  God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. (Kids say, “and God saw that it was good")

Man and woman were created in the image of God. Life was a “breeze” (Fruit Breezers) in the Garden of Eden. We know that our God is an awesome God. There are “100-Grand” ways to show Him our thanks for the beautiful creation He made. (100 Grand candy bar)

(Inspired by Children's Ministry Magazine - July/Aug 2001)

Closing:
In their journals (providing time allows) have each child write an acrostic about creation using each letter of C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N as the first word of each line.

Pray, thanking God for the wonder of all that he has made and for the gift of music, word and picture, through which WE create things of beauty.

A lesson written by Hilary S. from: St. Mary's Anglican Church