Welcome

• Thank kids for coming.
• Just for fun, have kids high-five three of their friends.
• Make announcements.
• Introduce new kids.
• Celebrate birthdays by having kids whisper the “Happy Birthday” song.
• Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

• Say: Today we’ll learn God is the Creator. That means he made the whole world and what we see in the sky. From the stars and sun to the birds, trees, water, and animals—God made it all. He even made you and me.

Share

• Share about your favorite part of nature.
• In small groups, have kids share about their favorite part of nature. Steer them to plants, animals, or landforms. If kids mention things such as robots or rockets, affirm their answers and point out that God created people who made those things.
• After small groups have discussed, have a few kids share with the whole group what they talked about in their small groups.

Summarize

            Open a Bible, and say: I’m so glad God made all those things—and that he made you and me! Let’s dig in to what it means that God is the Creator.

            Pray, thanking God for being the Creator.

Tip

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can choose your own worship songs from our Best Of Dig In Music DVD here. 

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Investigate God’s Creation

            Say: Today we’ll find out God is the Creator. Show the Bible. The Bible says God made the sky, the animals, and even you and me. Show the living plant. He even made this plant. We see plants every day, so it might not seem that neat; but God made even this plant in a special way for a reason. Let’s find out more about it.

            Lead kids in observing the following aspects about the plant:

• color
• size
• scent
• age
• feel of the leaves, stems, or petals
• noises it makes when you blow on it

            Say: There are so many things to find out about this plant! God made it for a reason. Plants give us something in the air called oxygen so we can breathe. And plants help fill our world with beauty!

            Share a few examples of ways you interact with plants. Maybe you liked to climb trees or swing on a tree swing as a child. Or maybe you enjoy picking flowers from a field or sitting under the shade of a tree.

            Ask: • Tell about a flower or plant you enjoy like that.

            Say: God made plants for many reasons!

Take it a Step Further

            Say: God also made so many other things in the world besides plants! And every single thing he made is special and complex in some way. God is the Creator of all! But what does that mean?

            Ask: • Think of something on this earth—anything. Invite kids to share what they’re thinking of, whether it be a bike, a pet, or a video game.

            Say: God is behind everything on this earth. Let’s try to backtrack from the things we thought of to how they were created by God. Invite kids to think about the elements of each thing and how it was made on earth. For example, the rubber that tires are made out of came from the earth—often in Africa. The tires were also made in a machine that was thought of and made by people, and God made people to have thinking brains.

Talk About It

            Say: God is the Creator; he’s amazing! He made so many great things, and he made us to take care of all the wonderful things he made (show the plant), like this plant. He wants us to care for the plants and animals and fish and birds and everything!

            Share one way you can treat the plants God made with kindness. You might say give them water, not stomp on them, or plant some more seeds.

            Ask: • What’s a way you can take care of plants God made? Kids might say they can be gentle with them, make sure they’re in the sun, or water them.

            Say: Let’s practice some ways we can take care of God’s special creation. Have kids act out the following prompts.

• Pet a dog or cat gently.
• Throw garbage in a trash can, not on the ground.
• Water a plant.
• Step over a flower instead of on it.
• Treat other people with kindness.

            Say: God put us in charge of caring for all he made, but he’s the Creator of all! God is so amazing; let’s tell him that now. Lead kids in a brief prayer, acknowledging how amazing God, the Creator, is.

To use this feature, please ask your DIG IN Director to create a One Room classroom. For instructions and tips on creating a classroom for at-home lessons, click here.

Tip

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can download the videos before class using the “download” button at the link provided, or purchase DVDs here. 

Discuss and Watch “Big and Small”

            Say: We’re learning that God is the Creator.

            Ask: • What’s your favorite thing God created?

            Say: Those are all amazing things God made! Let’s watch a video with a lot of things God created…maybe you’ll see your favorite thing!

            Watch “Big and Small.”

            Ask: • Which part of creation in the video was most amazing to see?

            • What can the big parts of creation show you about God? What about the small things?

            Say: Big and small, God made it all! From the tallest mountain to the tiniest microorganism, God is the Creator of our universe…including you!

Not available for this age level.

Combine DNA

            Say: We’re learning that God is the Creator. He made the moon and the stars, all the animals, and even the weather. But let’s explore something really cool about how God made you.

            Every cell in your body is made up of something called DNA. DNA is like a code God wrote to make you you. DNA is made up of four things called chemicals, and scientists refer to these chemicals by their initials: A, C, T, and G. Those are the four letters that make up the code of who you are. DNA is something scientists study a lot.

            But how many different combinations can you really make with just four letters? Let’s see.

• Give each child four index cards and a marker.
• Each child will label their index cards A, C, T, and G.
• Then have kids work together to put all their index cards together in one line.
• Kids can rearrange the cards to make different combinations of the four letters.

Talk About It

            Ask: • How many different combinations do you think there might be with our cards?

            Count the number of kids in your group and multiply by four. Then say: We could make a ton of different combinations with our letters—and we only had [fill in number] cards to work with. Did you know that your body is made up of tiny little parts we can’t see called cells? Your body has around 37.2 trillion cells. And each cell in your body is made up of three billion of these letters. That’s a lot of possible combinations! God made you with a very detailed code. That’s why you’re unique!

            Listen to what David wrote about how God made people.

            Read Psalm 8:3-5.

            Ask: • What amazes you about the DNA code we just explored?

            • David was amazed at how God made people. How does exploring DNA change the way you think about how God made you?

            Say: Here’s another amazing thing about your DNA. All those letters are arranged together in a twisted strand—kind of like the lines you made with your index cards. If you could take all the DNA strands in your body and stretch them out end to end, it would stretch to the planet Jupiter and back 10 times! That’s how complicated the code is that God put in you. Sometimes you may feel small or unimportant, but remember how God made you so incredibly complex that your DNA could stretch that far. Wow! God is the Creator, and he put a lot of detail into his creation.

Set It Up

            Say: We’re learning that God is the Creator. But not everyone believes that.

            Ask: • What other ideas have you heard about how the world came to be?

            Say: Sometimes it seems like science and faith don’t get along—like maybe if we want to believe in God, we have to ignore science. And if we want to believe science, we have to say God didn’t create everything.

            But can we believe in science and God? Yes! God’s the one who made science, and we’ll explore how science matches up really well with what God said about creation. Let’s dig in to that.

Make Airplanes

            Say: Let’s start by making paper airplanes!

            Distribute paper, and let kids try to make the best paper airplane they can. Most kids will know a way to make them, but if any kids need help, have the kids who seem confident in airplane-building show others what to do.

            Then have a paper airplane throwing contest. You could also challenge kids to get their airplanes to land on a certain point or to fly for a certain length of time.

            Ask: • Why do you think paper airplanes fly?

            Say: Long before there were paper airplanes—or real airplanes—God made birds. Listen to this.

            Read Job 39:26-27.

            Say: God made a scientific principle called aerodynamics. That’s a fancy way to describe the wind currents that allow birds to fly. Much later, humans used this principle to create airplanes! But it was all based on God’s creation of aerodynamics—his perfect design that allows birds to fly. God is the Creator of aerodynamics, which is an important principle of science!

Control Tissue Tides

            Say: Here’s something else science teaches us: the moon controls the tides. Even though the moon is far away and doesn’t really seem like it would be connected to the ocean at all, it’s the gravitational pull of the moon that controls how far the tides come in. And here’s what God said about that.

            Read Job 38:8-11.

            Say: God perfectly designed the moon to control the tides. The moon is like his remote control telling the waves to stop and come no farther. Pretty cool! Let’s try it with some moon balloons and tissue tides.

            Have kids inflate the balloons and tear up scraps of tissue paper. Then have kids rub the balloons on yarn (or their shirts if they are wearing sweaters or fleece) to charge them with static. Kids can then use the balloons to pull the tissue-paper “tides.”

            As kids work, ask: • How does this remind you of the moon and the tides?

            • Knowing that God made the moon to control the tides, what does that tell you about God?

            Say: God is the Creator, and he made the moon—which isn’t even on the earth—to control the tides. Amazing! God created aerodynamics and the gravitational pull of the moon to work just right for birds and tides. That’s pretty cool!

            Ask: • After all we’ve explored today, how can science help you see God more?

            Say: Science and God don’t have to complete. God made science, and when we study science we can learn more and more about just how special God made his creation. God is the Creator.

Tip

• You can purchase downloadable music and other items to enhance your DIG IN program here. 

Impersonate Weird Animals       

            Say: Today we’re talking about how God is the Creator. Let’s see what insights we can gain about creating by doing a little creating ourselves!  

• Divide kids into small leader-led groups. Give each leader a pencil and enough  index cards so there are three per child in their groups.
• In small groups, have each child tell the leader a name of an unlikely animal: One that’s extinct (dodo bird, brontosaurus), not native to your area (kangaroo, penguin), or fictional (unicorn, ankle-biting snark). Have leaders write down one animal per card so one card is filled out per child. Collect these cards and put them in a stack.
• Next, have kids name ways to move (running, dancing, hopping) as the leaders write them on cards—one movement per child, per card. Collect these cards and put them in a separate stack.
• Finally, have kids name “-ly” adverbs—words that describe actions (boldly, happily, loudly)—and have leaders write them on the remaining cards. Collect these cards and put them in a separate stack.
• Line kids up, side by side, against a wall.
• Explain you’ll mix and match the cards to describe the way kids will cross the room. For instance, you might say “boldly juggling unicorn” and that’s what kids will impersonate as they move to the far wall. Continue sending them back and forth as a different animal each time.
• If kids don’t provide many intriguing terms to string together, here are a couple of options to have handy: Silently Swimming Tasmanian Tigers, Happily Toe-touching Panda, and Blindly Backstroking Wooly Woodpecker.
• If you’d like, play music as kids cross the room.
• To keep this high-energy, don’t allow much time between rounds. Keep kids moving!

Talk About It

            Ask: • How did it feel being on the spot to instantly “create” an animal?

            • Which of the animals you acted out do you most wish was actually around? Why?

            • God included a lot of variety when he made animals. What does that show you about him?

            Say: Our silly creatures had a lot of variety—but not as much as God’s creation! He made everything from a platypus to an axolotl to a cuddly puppy. God is the Creator, and all the variety shows just how creative he is!

Talk About God’s Creation

            Say: Today we’re learning that God is the Creator. He made so many wonderful things, including us. We’re God’s best creation. And we’re all different and special!

            Share something special about you. Maybe you love cheesecake, you have two brothers, or you can run really fast.

            Ask: • Tell me something special about you. Kids may share physical characteristics, abilities, or favorite things.

Play I Spy

            Say: Let’s play a game where we look for things that make our friends different and special.

• Form leader-led groups, and help kids sit in a circle with their group and their leader.
• Encourage each leader to pick a child in their group to describe. Leaders can say: I spy someone God made who… [something about the child’s appearance; for example, “is wearing a green shirt”].
• Leaders can continue describing the child until someone in the group guesses who it is.
• After kids guess who’s being described, invite kids to take turns being the one to describe another person in the room while the other children guess.

            Say: God made so many amazing things. God is the Creator. He made all of our wonderful friends, too!

Talk About Creativity

            Say: Today we’re talking about all the wonderful things God made. God is the Creator of the moon, the fish in the oceans, and all the animals. When God created people, he put some of his creativity in us. He gave us the ability to make some pretty special things.

            Share about something you’ve created. It may be a cool craft project, a yummy dessert, or a special story you tell your kids.

            Ask: • Tell about something special you’ve created. Kids may say they’ve drawn a special picture, made something special out of blocks, or made up their own song.

Make Creative Creatures

            Say: Let’s use our creativity to make something special right now.

• Give each child a cup. Show kids each of the supplies you’ve collected as well as your sample craft.
• Encourage kids to use the supplies in any way they choose to create their own special creatures. They can use as many or as few of each thing as they’d like.
• If kids need help imagining what each supply could become, show them which supplies could be used as wings, antennae, etc. Then encourage kids to decide how many of each supply they want and where they want to place them.
• Have kids glue or tape the supplies to the cups, and let them color their creatures if they’d like.
• Praise their creativity and the uniqueness of each child’s creature.

            Say: You made some cool creatures today. God is the Creator, and he put some of his creativity in you! But as wonderful as our creations are, we can’t make them come to life and move around. Only God can do that! He created all the living things around us. God is the best Creator!

Make Motions

            Say: Today we learned that God is the Creator. Let’s thank him for some of the things he created using motions.  Share something you’re thankful God created, and make a motion to represent that thing. Invite the kids to take turns doing the same. If time allows, invite kids to try to remember everything that was shared by listing and showing all these things again.

Close in Prayer

            Say: God is the Creator, and we can take care of all God created. Let’s ask him to help us. Lead kids in a prayer asking God for help with taking care of God’s creation, and then close the prayer.

            Thank kids for coming, and invite them back next week.

            Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.