The Snake in the Garden (Genesis 3)

Lesson: The Snake in the Garden, Genesis 3

Adam and Eve ruled over the creatures in the Garden of Eden, but the snake was very sneaky. He took Eve to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and asked her, "Why won't you eat the fruit from this tree? It tastes so good." (Do you know what the snake was doing? [Tempting Eve])

Eve answered, "God told us not to eat that fruit."

The snake climbed up into the tree and hissed, "But this is the best fruit in the whole garden. It will make you wise like God. How could that hurt you?"

Eve looked at the fruit. It looked so tasty. She wanted to be wise, so she ate some of the fruit. She gave some to her husband, Adam too. Adam knew he shouldn't eat it, but he did anyways.

Suddenly, Adam and Eve felt so ashamed and they hid from God. (Why do you think they were ashamed? [They had done something they weren't supposed to, now they knew what good and evil is so they knew they had done something very bad, etc]) When He found them, He was sad that they had not obeyed him. He was furious with the snake for tempting Eve into eating the fruit. He told the serpent, "I know you tempted Eve. Because you did that, you will slither on your belly and eat dirt for the rest of your life."

God made Adam and Eve clothes from animal skins to cover themselves. He made them leave the garden to punish them. Life would be difficult for Adam and Eve, life in the Garden of Eden had been so easy and peaceful.

God sent angels to guard the gate with a sword of fire. No one would ever enter the garden of Eden again.

Review Questions:

1. What kind of animal tempted Eve?
2. What would happen if Eve ate the fruit?
3. Who did Eve give the fruit to?
4. How did Adam and Eve feel once they had eaten the fruit?
5. What did God do when he found them?

Word of the Day:

Temptation: noun: the desire to do something, even if it is wrong or unwise

Prayer:

Lord, grant us the strength resist temptation.
You know that we may stumble and fall,
But help us to get back up again,
And keep on the path You have made for us.
Amen.

Activities:

Word Search
Crossword
Coloring Page

Songs:

The Adam and Eve Song
Adam and Eve

Craft:

Snake Paper Chain

God's Garden (Genesis 2)

Lesson: God's Garden, Genesis 2

In the east, God planted a garden and He called it Eden. He made many kinds of trees, bushes, and flowers for the garden. The trees were beautiful, and full of fruit to eat. God took Adam, the man he had made, and put him in the garden to look after it. (What are some different kinds of trees, bushes, and flowers you can name? [Maple, rose, daisy, oak, etc]) (What are some foods that come from trees or bushes? [Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, nuts, etc])

In the center of the garden were two special trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam, "You must never eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but you may eat the fruit from any of the other trees in the garden. (Why do you think God didn't want Adam to eat from that specific tree?)

God saw that Adam was not happy being alone so He filled the garden with every kind of animal and Adam named them all. But non of those animals were a good partner for Adam, so God made a woman. Adam named her Eve. Eve is the English version of the Hebrew name Havva, which means "living."

Review Questions:
1. In which direction did God plant His garden?
2. What did He call this garden?
3. What were the two special trees called?
4. Which was Adam not to eat from?
5. Who did God make so Adam would not be alone anymore?

Word of the Day:
Havva: proper noun: Eve's name in Hebrew, close to the Hebrew word for 'living'

Prayer:

Lord, give us the ability to respect your creation.
From the tiny ants that crawl on the ground to the giant whales that swim in the sea,
From little flowers to tall trees,
From children to adults
Grant us the grace to nurture what you have made for us.
Amen.

Activities:

Crossword
Word Search
Coloring Page

Songs:

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

Craft:

Garden of Eden Flower Pots

Creation (Genesis 1)

People have an attention span of about 30 seconds before their minds start to wander. Kids have even less time. I've taught first grade, I can barely get them to sit still for five minutes, let alone pay attention for very long. So, in my opinion, keep to the basics for the younger ones.

Lesson: Creation, Genesis 1

In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. All was dark and empty. So God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (Do you know what He called the light? And the darkness?) He called the light day and the darkness night. That was the first day.

Then God said, "Let there be bodies of water and a sky above them." And it was so. That was the second day. (What do we call the bodies of water? [Seas, oceans, lakes, rivers, etc])

On the third day, God said, "Let dry ground appear." (Do you know what he called the ground?) He called the dry ground land. And God saw it was good. He said, "Let plants and trees grow up all over the land. Give them seeds to make more plants and trees." And it was so. (What are some types of plants/tree that God made?)

On the fourth day, God made two great lights: the larger one to rule the day and the smaller one to rule the night. He also made the stars. He set them all in the sky to give light to the earth both day and night. (What do you think the two big lights are? [Sun and moon] Which rules the day? The night?)

Then God said, "Let the waters be filled with sea creatures and let there be birds with wings to fly above the earth." And that was the fifth day. (What are some sea creatures that you can think of? Kinds of birds?)

On the sixth day, God made animals to live on the land. He made sheep and cattle. He made creatures that move along the ground. (Can you name some animals that move along the ground? [Snakes, frogs, etc]) He made wild animals of every size and shape. (Can you name some wild animals? [Elephants, wolves, lions, etc]) And then He said, "Let Us make people in Our likeness and let them rule over the fish and the birds and all other living creatures." So He made man. He called the man Adam.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. On the seventh day, He rested. (Do you know what that seventh day is called? [The Sabbath] What day of the week is it for us? [Sunday])

Review Questions:

1. Can you name some of the things God made?

2. Do you remember what He made first?

3. Do you remember what He made last?

4. What are two of the lights He made called? Which one is brighter and rules the day?

5. What did He do on the seventh day?

Word of the Day:

Sabbath: noun: first day of the week, Sunday, the day God rested after creating everything

Prayer:

Lord, grant us the grace to respect and care for Your creation.
Bless all of your creatures as a sign of Your wondrous love.
Help us to bring healing to all of Your creation.
Help us to use our inventiveness to sustain Your gift of nature.
Amen.

Activities:

Crossword
Word Search
ABCs
Coloring Page

Songs:

He's Got the World in His Hands
Seven Days of Creation Song
The Creation Song

Craft:

7 Days of Creation Disks