Rev. Daniel M. Pfaffe
Teacher’s Guide
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON, Number: 1
“THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE!”
Genesis 1-2:3, (Series #1)
For the teacher: The MAIN THINGS in our lesson today are: (1) To learn that there is only one true God – the Triune
God; (2) To learn that God created the heavens and earth out of nothing – by the power of His Word alone; (3) To learn
that God made a “grown-up” universe so that living creatures could produce young after their kind; (4) To learn that God
has always taken care of His creation since the beginning; (5) To rejoice that the most important work of God was to
create mankind in His own image for him to rule over God’s creation by taking care of it; and (6) To learn that God
marked the seventh (or “Sabbath”) day as holy because on that day God rested from the work He had done creating the
heavens and the earth.
To begin class…
[Warmly greet students and begin with prayer:] “Dear Father in Heaven, as You were pleased to give us life and to
save us from our sins through Your Son Jesus Christ, help us by Your Spirit’s power to listen carefully today to Your
Word so that we may grow stronger in faith, trusting in You alone until we see You in heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
[Ask:] Have you ever made anything? [Let the students offer answers. Perhaps they made something out of wood,
paper, blocks, or other materials.] [Say:] “What is it about all these things that is the same?” [Answer:] “All these
things we made out of materials which we already had. In today’s lesson we will learn how our God made everything out
of nothing by the power of His Word! We now listen to God’s Word from Genesis chapter one:”
Genesis 1:1-2
[Read:] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.
[Say:] “There is only one true God which the Bible teaches, and He is three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We
call God “Triune” because of His three-in-one nature. Several thousand years ago, the Triune God created the heavens
and the earth.”
[Ask:] How does the Bible describe the earth ‘in the beginning’? [Let the students think about, and try to answer.
The answer is:] “The Bible says the earth was ‘formless and empty’ – that is, there was nothing on the earth except water
and darkness because there was no light.” [Then ask:] Though all three Persons of the Holy Trinity worked
together creating the heavens and the earth, which Person is mentioned in the verse just read? [Answer:] “It was
God the Holy Spirit who was ‘hovering over the waters’. This is the same Holy Spirit who created in us saving faith to
trust in our Lord Jesus Christ as He worked through the water in our Baptism. The Spirit’s ‘hovering over the waters’ in
this verse shows God’s great care over His creation and what He was about to do next!”
Genesis 1:3-5
[Read:] And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated
the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening,
and there was morning – the first day.
[Ask:] What was the first thing God created for the earth? [Answer:] “God spoke His Word: ‘Let there be light,’
and there was light. Remember, there was no sun, moon, nor stars yet. God created light and separated it from the
darkness.” [Then say:] “The Old Testament people thought of evening as the start of the new day.” [Ask:] Why do
you think they looked at it that way based on these verses? [Answer:] “That is how God began each new day once
light began to shine on the earth with evening, and then morning until the next evening came.”
Genesis 1:6-8
[Read:] And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the
expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse
“sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.
[Ask:] What did God create on the earth’s second day? [Answer:] “God created the sky.” [Ask:] How did God
make this? [Answer:] “God separated the water to make two layers of water: the ocean below, and a firm band of water
high above the earth with the sky in between. This firm band of water above protected the earth from extreme heat and
cold and made it very comfortable to live for the creatures God would soon make. This firm band of water above would
also protect people from the strong rays of the sun – which had not yet been put in the heavens.”
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Rev. Daniel M. Pfaffe
Genesis 1:9-10
[Read:] And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was
so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
[Ask:] What did God create next, using His all-powerful Word? [Answer:] “God spoke, and the waters under the
sky were gathered into one place and dry ground came up.” [Then ask:] Would you say that God was creating His
earth in a “jumbled-up” way, or in a neat and well-ordered way? [Answer:] “God was definitely creating His earth
and universe in a neat and well-ordered way! Our God loves order. That is why He also wants order in our worship – as
in the liturgy when we confess our sins, receive forgiveness from God through our Pastor, hear God’s Word read and
preached, pray to God, sing hymns, and receive the Lord’s true Body and Blood in Holy Communion. [Then ask:] What
did God think of His creation so far? [Answer:] “God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:11-13
[Read:] 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 the various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed
according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed it in according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning – the third day.
[Ask:] What did God create on the third day by the power of His Word? [Answer:] “God created grass, flowers,
bushes, and trees of all kinds to grow on the dry ground He made.” [Ask:] Did God create these things as “babies” or
as “grown-ups”? [Answer:] “God created ‘grown-up’ grass, flowers, bushes, and trees with seed in them so they
could produce ‘baby’ grass, flowers, bushes, and trees just like themselves.” [Then ask:] What did God think of His
creation so far? [Answer:] “Again, ‘God saw that it was good.’”
Genesis 1:14-19
[Read:] 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, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the
earth.” And it was so. 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. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day
and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there
was morning – the fourth day.
[Ask]: What did God make on the fourth day of creation? [Answer:] “God spoke His Word and created all the
lights in the sky – the ‘greater light’ – the sun, the ‘lesser light’ – the moon, and - don’t forget! – ‘He also made the
stars’. ” [Then ask:] since God made all these great things after He made the earth, what does this tell you about
how important the earth is in God’s creation? [Answer:] “The earth is the first thing God made in the universe.
Everything else in outer space came four days later – even after there were grass, flowers, and trees on the earth! It sure
looks like God waited until the fourth day to prove to mankind that we are the most important creature in the universe
that He made!
Genesis 1:20-23
[Read:] And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse
of the sky.” 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. 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.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day.
[Ask]: What did God create on the fifth day? [Answer:] “God spoke, and by the power of His Holy Word the sea
was filled with creatures of all sizes including the ‘great creatures of the sea’, such as the ocean going dinosaurs. God
also made by the power of His Word ‘every winged bird’ that flies through the air.” [Then Ask:] What special
command did God give these creatures? [Answer:] “God said: ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ God wanted His creatures to fill His newly made earth.”
[Ask:] How do we know that God liked what He made? [Answer:] “God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:24-25
[Read:] And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: live stock, creatures that
move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 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.
[Ask]: What did God make on this, the sixth day of creation? [Answer:] “God spoke again, and by the power of
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Rev. Daniel M. Pfaffe
His Word the land produced ‘living creatures according to their kinds’ – like cows, lizards, the great dinosaurs, wolves,
and every other kind of animal that lives on land.” [Now ask the children this time to finish this sentence:] “And
God saw that it was _______________.” [The answer is: “Good”]
Genesis 1:26-27
[Read:] 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.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
[Ask]: What was the very last thing God created on His new earth? [Answer:] “God made mankind – both man
and woman.” [Ask:] How does the Bible tell us that human beings were different from the animals God had made,
and are in fact, the most important of all things God created? [Answer:] “God said: ‘Let us make man in our
image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish…the birds…the livestock…and over all the creatures’. The
image of God sets mankind apart from all other living things. It means that mankind was created without sin, with an
eternal soul, and the ability to think and reason and enjoy a relationship of talking with God. Mankind was made
perfectly free to choose whatever he wanted to do, and he was happy loving and obeying God. With this special image,
God put man in charge of the earth.
Genesis 1:28-31
[Read:] 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.” 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. 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.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.
[Ask]: What command did God give His human beings? [Answer:] “’Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it.’ That means: ‘Have lots of babies and tame the wild earth!’”
Genesis 2:1-3
[Read:] Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished
the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and
made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
[Ask]: What did God create on the seventh day? [Answer:] “Nothing! God’s world and universe were perfect at
the end of the sixth day.” So, what did God do on the seventh day? “’God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.’ From that day on, the seventh day (Saturday)
was set aside as a day when God’s people would receive spiritual rest, as God forgave their sins and fed them with His
holy Word. Since God’s only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away our sins, God has said that we
can worship Him on any day of the week AS LONG AS WE WORSHIP HIM! Our Savior Jesus is our rest from sin,
death, and the power of the devil. The Church now worships most often on Sunday to celebrate the day our Lord Jesus
rose from the dead so that we also will rise again on the last day!”
The Cross of Christ in Today’s Lesson
[Say:] “In today’s lesson, we learned how God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing – all by the power of His
almighty Word. We learn in the beginning of St. John’s Gospel that God’s only Son – our Lord Jesus Christ – is the
eternal Word of God who broke into our sin-darkened world with a new light – the light of salvation which He won for us
through His perfect life and innocent suffering and death on the cross. Through our Lord’s resurrection from the dead we
have already been made part of God’s new creation since His Holy Spirit has given us saving faith in Jesus beginning in
our Baptism!
LET US PRAY: “Dear Father in Heaven, Thank You for creating and taking care of me and my world. Thank
You especially for sending Your Son Jesus to die on the cross to take away all my sins. Strengthen me each day by
the power of Your Holy Spirit through my Baptism to trust in Jesus and live each day to Your glory in Jesus’
name. Amen.”
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