Through the Bible in KIDS CHURCH

Through the Bible in KIDS CHURCH Lesson Title: POOF! From Nothing to Everything Lesson Aim: This lesson is a review of creation, but more importantly, the purpose of this lesson is to excite kids about the fact that the God who made everything also loves and wants to know them. By grade school children may be tired of creation lessons. It is important to approach it as a review of creation and then focus on God s love for them. Kids often feel very small, the scope of creation can make them feel even smaller. Help them see that the point of creation was us that God wanted to create a wonderful place for people, so that we could know and love Him. MAIN POINT: Your Creator, who made everything LOVES YOU! ELEMENT DETAILS MATERIALS Singing ON TIME! PP:109 Power Points Great and Mighty PP: 54 Jesus is the Rock PP: 102 Taste and See PP: 118 *PUPPET APPEARS (see below) Don t You Wonder Why? PP: 35 In the Stars His Handiwork I See (offering song) PP: 78 *Puppet Intro Krew puppet telescope Intro Gus *Puppet pops out of chimney with telescope searching sky. Sees a moving star probably a satellite. Puppet asks: Do you think someone had to make that satellite? Leader: Yes, it can t just be there. Someone had to make it and put it there. Puppet: Then there must be a God. Leader: What do you mean? Puppet: Well, if someone had to make the satellite and put it there, then Someone had to make the stars and put them there too! Magic Trick: Snake Can Trick. Needed: 2 identical snake cans but one needs to be empty, a silk, and optionally, a pillow case full of stuff with a magic wand inside. Show a can of nuts. Most kids will recognize it as a snake can. Choose a volunteer to come up and open it. Act nervous, and the kid may suspect that a spring snake will pop out, but when he opens it, it will have nothing inside. Have him show the audience and confirm it is indeed empty. THEN THE HARD PART but easy if you do it casually, you need to switch the snake cans! This is done by holding the snake can in your hand and going to get the magic wand you struggle to remember where it is, or to find it in a bag of stuff and when it is out of sight for a moment (in a box, below a visual barrier, or in a bag) switch for the snake can with the spring snake inside. The secret is to do it smoothly and boldly and the audience will not notice. If you are nervous they will see it, if you are distracted so they will be. After you find the wand (or other magic device) give the snake can back to the kid but in order to prevent him from opening it again before it is time, stand it on his head and place both his hands over the top to hold it secure. Now show the silk and say you will make it disappear and reappear in the snake can on the kids head. Choose a second volunteer and have her hold the silk in her hand or in an envelope. Wave the magic wand and declare that the silk has gone to the can on his head. Have her look in her hand/envelope and it is still there. (or vanish with envelop switch!) and have him open the can the spring snakes will pop out and surprise him and the audience. THEN: Explain how you did the trick, and explain that a magician can only make it LOOK like he does the impossible, but GOD REALLY CAN he made everything that exists appear from nothing, and we are going to study that today. Gus comes out and says that he is reading the Bible every day (because of last week s lesson) and will read through the entire Bible! Leader asks, How far have you gotten? Puppet says the first verse. Leader, Only the first verse? Puppet: Yeah, I am going to read one verse a day, so that by the time I am 212 I will have read the entire Bible! Ask what the first verse is, and then talk about how awesome God is to have made everything. Puppet says he knows where God got all the stuff He made everything with where? SpaceMart. Ask, then where did God get the stuff for SpaceMart? Puppet says, CosmosMart? Ask, then where did God get the Snake Cans

Molly Toybox Tale Lesson Game Skit Lesson Puppets Object Lesson stuff for CosmosMart? (repeat w/ GalazyMart then end with a small town in your town) Explain there is no store where God got everything, he just made it appear! Puppet asks, then where did he get everything? Answer: from nothing. Puppet leaves baffled and amazed, mumbling, from nothing. everything. no SpaceMart. amazing.. mind boggling Dear Miss Molly, Sometimes I don t like the way God made me. What should I do when I am feeling like I do not like myself? Molly gives advice, uses verse below and emphasizes that God does not make mistakes. We are all created special for a special purpose. Verse: PS 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Magician Tries to make something out of nothing when he fails, he decides instead to make something into nothing by destroying it. Use the objects from the game (below) and read through Genesis chapter one showing the objects as you review creation. THEN do the game. Needed: a light bulb (if possible a toy or foam one); blue piece of paper (with clouds on it); baggie filled with dirt, a vegetable (or VeggieTale character like Bob and/or Larry!); an orange, bird house (or bird), toy water animal (like a shark/whale); action figure of a person, and a small pillow. Also, seven bags / totes / or boxes that these items can go in, or just number signs that stand. The Game: Choose some kids from the audience. They will race to put the items in order of creation either in front of the number signs or in numbered bag/totes/boxes. Time them. They may use their Bibles, or you may put the Days of Creation up on a bulletin board somewhere in the room that they can run and look at. Option: Have two of everything and have two teams compete to put in order first. Instant Skit: Scientist invents a robotic fly swatter. Uncovers a robot (actor) and turns it on (switch on back) and then gives it a fly swatter. Just then an imaginary fly enters the room and the scientist instructs the robot to attack the fly, but instead, the robot attacks the scientist and chances him around the room swatting him with the fly swatter. Finally leaves via the back exit to the room. The Point: If you created something that turned on you, what would you do? Destroy it? God created us! And even though we turned on him, he still loves us. TWO PASSAGES TO UNFOLD and talk about: ISA 45:18 For this is what the LORD says-- he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited-- he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other. ISA 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. STAR DATE ZERO Needed: 4 puppets in Star Trek outfits and the theme to Star Trek. See script separately (below) Lego Kit: See this awesome Lego kit (Star Wars ship) I am going to assemble it by simply shaking the box. How long will it take? Forever? Will it EVER go together by chance? No, of course not. That is silly. NOT ONLY THAT but someone had to design this Lego kit and make the pieces. That is obvious to us on this small scale, and yet the things of creation are so much bigger and so much more complicated, that makes it MORE SO that they too must have had a designer, could not have happened by chance even over millions of years, and someone had to make something out of nothing as some time in the past. Someone did OUR CREATOR. See at: www.toyboxtales.com Bible Objects below 1 Light bulb 2 Blue paper w/ clouds 3 Bag of Dirt 3 Veggie Tale 4 Orange 5 Bird 5 Water animal 6 Adam/eve/animals 7 Pillow 1-7 Numbers Stop Watch Fly Swatters Giant Bible SWORD DRILL 4 Puppets Star Trek Outfits UNOPENED LEGO KIT

Verse I Timothy 4:3 For everything God created is good. Kid James OR: Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Story Matthew the Marvelous Magician s Miracle (see below) A magic trick Assignment DRAWING CONTEST: Draw a picture of God s Creation the best ones will win a prize and be scanned and posted on the vcbkids website! Try to include the days of creation or just a beautiful scene Take Home Drawing Sheet (see below) Closing Song IM JUST A KID PP: 86 Power Point Some Pictures: Fly-Annihilator Skit Lego Puppet Script Puppet looking up out chimney Seven Days of Creation set out as reading Genesis Chapter One, then Game to put in order. NOTE: Frogs at the far left are not part of the Game, they are from a pre-kid s Church welcome game not included in the lesson above. Those are finger jumping frogs and kids took turns (like in minigolf) trying to move them down table and off far end. If they went off the side they went back to the start. First kid off the end won, but each got the same number of turns. In other words, if a kid made it off the end in four turns, those who had only gone three turns so far got one more turn to try and get it off, so the the kid who went last has the same chance as the one who went first. Not included in the lesson since it is dependant on being able to find the shooting/jumping frogs. MAY be available at: www.orientaltrading.com

PUPPET SHOW: STAR DATE ZERO Needed: 4 puppets dressed in Star Trek outfits and music theme from Star Trek. (preferably old TV version) Summary: Puppets face audience as though they are outside the view screen that the puppets are facing. A two level puppet stage is probably best. The puppets hit an anomaly and go back to star date zero and see a formless void. Then the anomaly hits for each day of creation changing there star date computer to Day 1, Day 2, etc., and they describe what they see to the captain The funny part will be when the puppets are flying all about during the anomalies that they hit! MUSIC STARTS Announcer: And yet again, the fearless crew of the U.S.S. Erroneous ventures into space going where no man, er, puppet, has ever gone before. What will confront them this week? Only the vast mysteries of space know. Crew Mate 1: CAPTIAN! CAPTAIN! We have something mysterious coming up on radar! Captain: Put it on the view screen. Crew Mate 2: Coming up on the view screen now, Captain. Captain: Thank you, what is it. Crew Mate 3: It seems to be some kind of anomaly, Captain. I hate anomalies. Captain: Imagine that! An anomaly! Crew Mate 1: What should we do captain? Should we avoid it? Captain: We probably should, that would be the safer option. Crew Mate 2: But then the show would be over captain. Captain: Point well taken. (point ahead) Toward the anomaly then! Crew Mate 3: Are you sure that is a good idea, Captain. Captain: Of course not, but I like anomalies. FULL SPEED AHEAD! Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies. Crew Mate 1: We are entering the anomaly, Captain. ALL START SHAKING VIOLENTLY. (coordinate actions to go same direction) Crew Mate 2: Our computers are going wild. Crew Mate 3: The ship is pulling apart, Captain. THIS is why I hate anomalies!!!!! (yelling) Crew Mate 4: I m not sure how long she will last, Captain. Captain: Hang in there she ll hold. SHE LL HOLD! She BETTER HOLD! (desperate) SUDDENLY STOP SHAKING! Crew Mate 1: We have come out of the anomaly. Crew Mate 2: No kidding. Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies. (muttering to himself) Captain: What is our status? Crew Mate 1: Captain, our computer must be broken, it is showing Star Date Zero. Crew Mate 2: Confirmed, Captain, the chronometer is reset to zero point zero. Crew Mate 3: But that s impossible! The anomaly must have erased all the data. See why I hate anomalies? Captain: Check for yesterday s log Crew Mate 1: Still there captain, (looking) in fact, all of our logs are intact. Crew Mate 2: Yes, everything seems to be in perfect operating condition

Crew Mate 3: But the Star Date is still showing zero point zero (0.0) It s the anomaly s fault! Captain: Hmmmmm, I wonder what that could mean. Crew Mate 1: WAIT! LOOK! Crew Mate 2: What, another anomaly? Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies. Captain: No, there are no stars! Crew Mate 1: And no space plasma! Crew Mate 2: All I see is darkness. Crew Mate 3: It s like a formless void Captain: We must really be at Star Date Zero point Zero (0.0) Crew Mate 1: Could it be? Crew Mate 2: Yes, it must be! The anomaly must have sent us back! Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies. Captain: Wait! What is that? Crew Mate 1: It s. It s light. Appearing out of nowhere! Crew Mate 2: Amazing! Crew Mate 3: I hope it s not an anomaly. Captain: No! Look! Now land it forming down there, the expanse is separating from space. Crew Mate 1: Is that water appearing?! Crew Mate 2: It is? Crew Mate 3: I m getting thirsty. Captain: Wait, look at the water. Crew Mate 1: Land is appearing out of it. Crew Mate 2: And now plants are growing. Crew Mate 3: LOOK! The Star Date Computer is up to THREE POINT ZERO we must be in Day Three of Creation! Captain: Hey! (pointing other way) LOOK! Stars are appearing! Crew Mate 1: Uh, oh. Crew Mate 2: What? Crew Mate 1: Looks like the anomaly is back! Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies!!!!! SUDDENLY SHAKING BEGINS ALL PUPPETS YELLING! Captain: It s over! Crew Mate 1: I think I m getting used to those. Crew Mate 2: Kinda fun. Crew Mate 3: I hate em. Captain: LOOK! Crew Mate 1: Woooooowwwwwwww (awe inspired) Crew Mate 2: It s beautiful.. Crew Mate 3: Star Date Computer says we are at Seven point zero. Captain: This must be the day God rested. Crew Mate 1: Look at all those animals. Crew Mate 2: This must be earth. Crew Mate 3: It s so. New and fresh. Captain: This is the beginning of our world Star Log, we are witnessing the birth of creation Crew Mate 1: I see the anomaly off to the left again. Should we head back? Crew Mate 2: Wait, lets look a bit more.

Crew Mate 3: Yes, the anomaly can wait. Captain: Hey, I see people. Crew Mate 1: Yes, I see them Crew Mate 2: Two of them. Crew Mate 3: Um, why aren t they wearing any clothes? ALL YELL, and COVER EYES Captain: It s before they sinned, let s get out of here! Crew Mate 1: Turing toward anomaly. Crew Mate 2: Full Speed Ahead! Crew Mate 3: I hate anomalies. Captain: Hang on! ALL PUPPETS SHAKING THROUGH ANOMALY AGAIN. Crew Mate 1: Ah, glad that is over. Crew Mate 2: Me too. Crew Mate 3: Me three. Captain: Star Date Computer? Crew Mate 1: Back to normal, Captain. Crew Mate 2: That was cool. Crew Mate 3: Except for the anomaly. Did I mention, I hate anomalies? Captain: Yes you did, and you d better not mention it again! (pause) Anyway, It was fun to see how God created the world, and how fresh and new and clean it all was. We sure have an awesome God! And to think that the God who made all that made and loves us too. Crew Mate 1: Yup, awesome God. Crew Mate 2: Amazing God! Crew Mate 3: But why did He have to make anomalies? I hate (cut off) ALL: CHANCE 3 OFF STAGE: Captain: Enough with the anomalies!!!!!!! THE END

ILLUSTRATIVE STORY: Matthew the Marvelous Magician s Miracle Matthew got his first magic kit when he was a very small boy and ever since he had been putting on little magic shows for his family and friends. But he had never really done a real show for a real audience. He couldn t wait, but he kept practicing. Then one day, a real professional magician named Mr. Taylor moved into the neighborhood and they quickly became friends. This old man had once been on television with his magic bird, and had even had his own magic kit made and gave one of his last ones to Matthew, autographed. They would watch magic shows together and Mr. Taylor would help Matthew figure out how the magicians had done their tricks. But he would often say, There s always a trick, Matthew. Only God can do real miracles. Then one day, he finally got his big chance to do a REAL magic show, for the entire school and all the parents! His school has going to have a student talent show, and Matthew was the first to sign up he named his act, Matthew the Marvelous Magician s Miracle Show. He ran all the way home, well, actually, past his home, and straight to Mr. Taylor s house. He burst through the front door without knocking yelling, Mr. Taylor, you gotta help me! I need a miracle! His old friend came out of another room, and said, Well, come on in. What do you need a miracle for? Are you in trouble? Matthew explained that he was going to do a magic show for the entire school and all the parents and he needed a BIG trick to end the show. All his little tricks were O.K., but he had no finale. Mr. Taylor smiled and said, I have the perfect trick, and I d be honored to have you borrow it for your first real show! Call you mom, and tell her you are here, and then come down to the basement. Soon Matthew was in the basement and found Mr. Taylor in front of a shinning metal box. It had red velvet lining and a giant lock on the front. He opened the box and asked Matthew what was inside. Nothing? answered Matthew. Then he watched as the old man closed it, and waved his arms all around it humming a silly tune. He then opened it again and asked Matthew to look inside, and to his amazement it was filled with candy! He reached in and took a handful! I thought maybe you could end your show with this, and then throw out the candy to all the kids said Mr. Taylor. Oh, yeah! That s great! They will love the trick, and they will love the candy even more! Thank you, thank you! How does it work? Oh, it s quite simple, it just has a secret compartment that only opens the second time you open it. The first time is looks empty because of a mirror, and the second time it looks filled with candy, though it is only half deep. I ll tell you what, this box is very valuable and very special to me, I will bring it to the show all ready to do. All you will have to do is open it once to show it empty, and again to show the candy, after waving your arms and humming a silly tune of course! said the old man laughing. Oh, of course! replied Matthew smiling. Now, you get home and practice your other tricks! It seemed like forever, but it was only three weeks later when the day of the big magic show came. The school auditorium was filled with students and parents and many where excited to see Matthew s first real magic show. After the dancing hamsters, a juggler, and several solos and instrument recitals, they would finally get to the finale of the whole program, Matthew the Marvelous Magician s Miracle Show! The teachers had put his show last as the final presentation! Mr. Taylor brought the shining magic box and put it back stage and told Matthew it was all ready to go. Just be sure to hit the reset button right before he did the trick to be sure the empty part showed first. What Matthew didn t know was that during one of the other acts, some kids that were waiting back stage saw the shining red box and wondered what it was. They opened it and saw that it was empty, but when another kid opened it they saw all the candy, and unfortunately, they were not very nice kids they took all the candy and stuffed it in their pockets and had just reclosed it when Matthew showed up. The kids ran to sit down and Matthew wondered why they were giggling, but he put it out of his mind and went out on stage. He had never seen so many people! And the lights were sooooo bright, but he quickly got his bearing and all the advice from Mr. Taylor came flooding into his mind. It s just like you re at home, practicing in front of the mirror.. Just perform for your parents, and the others will enjoy it too. He did his first trick with shaking hands,

but the applause told him he was doing great, and by the third trick he didn t even feel nervous any more. So by the time he got to the hid finale, he was feeling great! He rolled the shinny metal box with red velvet lining out onto the stage with much fanfare. He looked down at Mr. Taylor and his parents in the first row, and saw the old magician wink at him. He smiled back. For my final act, declared Matthew the Marvelous Magician, and my greatest miracle, I will make something appear from nothing! With amazing grace and style he opened the wonderful looking box and showed it empty to the audience, and then reclosed it and asked for silence so he could summon something from nothing. The audience was silent as Matthew waved his arms around the box dramatically and hummed his silly tune, and then standing tall and proud he said, Behold, Something from Nothing! and opened the box. He kept his gaze on the audience awaiting the cheers and claps that had followed the other tricks, but there remained only silence, then a few chuckles, and then laughter started to break out everywhere. Matthew turned and looked at the magic box and saw that it was EMPTY! The candy was gone! He closed the box and turned back to the audience and saw all the laughing faces and felt like a total fool. He had trusted Mr. Taylor to have it all ready. What had gone wrong? He looked down at the old magician who seemed to be the only one who was not either laughing or looking embarrassed for him, and saw his mouth the words, open it again open it again. Matthew turned back to the box, and rather nervously waved his arms around it and tried to hum but the tune got stuck in his throat. Then he opened the box again, ignoring all the laughter and suddenly had to jump back! Out of the box flew what looked like an explosion of streamers and paper flowers. And as they burst out they continued to burst and unfold until the entire front of the stage was filled with beautiful and colorful flowers and streamers and even more streamers were still falling down from the air into the front rows of the auditorium. The audience jumped to their feet in wild cheers and he looked down through the streamers to see his mom crying and dad beaming and Mr. Taylor smiling ear to ear, and he winked again. Teachers and students would be talking for weeks about Matthew the Marvelous Magician s Miracle Show! Later that evening, back at Mr. Taylor s home Matthew asked his friend happened to the candy. I don t know, I think some kids must have messed with the box while it was back stage and took all the candy. I m just glad they didn t open it a third time! The box has another secret compartment that opens the third time you open it. But when you hit the reset button, you put it back to the first opening, so you had to open it three times to get the surprise I put in for you. I had planned for the streamers and flowers to be a surprise after you tossed the candy out. But it all worked out, didn t it? It sure did! I m sure glad that you had that third compartment, because when the other one was empty my miracle was about to be a flop, and in front of the whole school! And then as he usually did, Mr. Taylor thought of a way this experience shows us something about God. You know, Matthew, as I often say, Only God can do miracles, but today I think we learned that even when things don t go right, God always has something else up his sleeve, and he can always save the day. You thought the candy was a great way to end, but I had something even better planned for you, that you didn t even know about. Often god has something even better for us too than we can even think of or imagine. I sure am that both of us are trusting God everyday with our lives. Everyday is a miracle day with God! The End

GENESIS CHAPTER ONE 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. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--i give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. NIV