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Themes: God prepared the world in a certain order God culminated His creation by creating people God created people in His image for His glory People are to show the greatness of God God desires that we see, understand, and delight in His glory

Scripture: Genesis 1:26a, 27; Isaiah 43:6b-7; Psalm 139:13-15a; Psalm 86:9-10; Isaiah 46:9b; Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 10:31;Psalm 8:5-8

Key verse: Psalm 139:14 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Yourworks are wonderful, I know that full well.

Visuals: Unfrosted cake or cupcake Frosting Candy sprinkles Birthday candles “God’s Creation” picture book (from previous lessons) A rock, plant (or picture of one), glass of water, and a picture ofan animal Mirror GOD IS GREAT sign (resource pack: piece A) Knitting needles, yarn, and knitted object (optional)

Application: Picture of baby in the womb or a newborn baby(optional); a human anatomy drawing showing the inside of thebody (optional)

HE HAS BEEN CLEARLY SEENLesson 19

DAY SIX – GOD CREATED PEOPLEIN HIS IMAGE

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NOTES

Show the children the unfrosted cake or cupcake. Have them pretend thefollowing:

What if I were having a birthday party for my (son/daughter/other). Wouldthis cake be ready for the party yet? No. It needs to be frosted anddecorated. Quickly spread some frosting on the cake. Ask: Is it ready for theparty now? No, it needs some decorations. Place some candy sprinkles onthe cake. Is the cake ready now? No, it needs one more thing to be a truebirthday cake. Place the candles on the cake. Now the cake is ready for theparty.

Ask the children if the cake would have turned out the same way if you hadskipped some steps. For example, what if you had placed the candles on the cakebefore the cake had been frosted and decorated. Would the cake have beenproperly prepared for the party? No. There is a right order for preparing things. Point out that there is also a right order in God’s creation. God had a special planand purpose for His creation so He created the world in a certain order. Use thepicture book (pages 1-25) to quickly review the order of God’s creation. After everything was prepared, in just the right order, God decided the time wasright for His best creation. Read Genesis 1:26a, 27:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He createdhim; male and female He created them.

Explain that all of creation was good and wonderful, but God wanted to createsomething that would be very different from anything else in His creation —different from stars, water, rocks, plants, fish, birds, livestock, and creeping andwild animals.

Comment: God created many, many different things. But only one kind ofcreature was made in God’s image and likeness — people. That makespeople — you and me — very different from any other part of God’screation. What do you think it means to be created in the image andlikeness of God?

Lesson Presentation:

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NOTES Use the following illustration to explain this concept: Choose six children to comeup front (or place the objects on a table and choose one child). Have five of thechildren hold one of the following objects: a rock, a plant, a glass of water, and apicture of an animal (the last child is representing a child). Tell the children that youwould like them to choose the object that would best represent what their father ormother is like. Which object has the most things in common with their parents as tohow it looks, moves, eats, speaks, thinks, feels, and acts. Briefly discuss eachchoice. For example:

Is a rock most like your mom or dad? Do rocks look, move, eat, or speaklike your parents? Do rocks ever think about things? Do rocks act in thesame kinds of ways that your parents do? Can rocks laugh and cry and prayand sing and read the Bible? (Continue with each object and save the childfor last.)

Emphasize that the child is most like your parents. Children can be said to be likeor be images of adults. Children are not adults, but they are like adults in manyways. Point out that when God created people, He created us in His image andlikeness. That means that He created us to be like Him in many ways. We are notGod — we are not eternal, creator, all-powerful and all-knowing. However, we havebeen created to be like God in certain ways — in the ways we think, feel, and actso that we could have a very special relationship with God.

Ask: Why did God make us in His image? Read Isaiah 43:6b-7:

Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory,whom I formed and made.

God created us in His image for His glory. That means that people were created toshow the greatness and worth of God. We are to show God’s greatness and worthin everything that we think, feel (desire), say, and do. Show the children a mirror. Point out that mirrors “show” things also. They showimages (reflections) of people or objects. People were created to be like mirrorsthat show God’s greatness and worth — His glory (display the mirror and place itagainst your own heart). People were created to show how great God is (have achild hold up the GOD IS GREAT! sign and stand so that the sign is reflected inthe shiny mirror). Point out that when God created people for His glory, He created us in a wonderfulway. Read Psalm 139:13-15a:

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NOTES For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’swomb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Yourworks are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hiddenfrom you when I was made in the secret place.

If available, show the children a pair of knitting needles, yarn, and a knitted item.Explain that when something is knit together, every stitch must be carefully woventogether in just the right way. The Bible says that when God created each of us, Hecarefully put together every part of us — our bones, muscles, legs, arms, eyes,heart, and mind — in just the way He wanted each of us to be. We have beenwonderfully made by God to show His greatness and worth. Display the five objects from the earlier illustration. Remind the children that Godwisely and wonderfully created each of these things. But none of these objects wascreated in the image of God. Only people have been created in the image of God.That means that we are to have a different relationship with God than rocks,plants, and animals do.

Read Psalm 86:9-10:

All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, OLORD; they will bring glory to Your name. For You are great and domarvelous deeds; You alone are God.

Point out that God created people to be like Him so that we could show thegreatness of God in ways that rocks, plants, and animals never could. People cansee, understand, and delight in God’s greatness and worth — His glory. Worship iswhen we show and express to God the delight we have in His glory! Emphasize that God made the heavens and earth and everything in them in justthe right way. God carefully planned and prepared His world and saved His specialcreation for last — people. People have been created in God’s image, for His glory,in order that we might see, understand, and delight in His greatness and worthmost of all!

Have the children turn to Lesson 19 in their workbooks. In the frame have the

children begin to draw a picture of themselves. Read Isaiah 43:6b-7. Remind

Application:

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NOTESthe children that people were created for God’s glory — to show the greatnessand worth of God.

Read Genesis 1:26a-27 again. Emphasize that people were the only creaturesthat have been made in the image and likeness of God. That means that wewere created to be like God in many ways. People can think, feel, and act inways that rocks, water, plants, and animals cannot. For example: Can rockspray to God? Do plants come to church and worship? Are stars able to lovepeople? Can monkeys write books? Can huge oceans invent machines to helppeople? Why did God make us to be like Him in many ways? Did God make usthat way so that we could think about how great we are? NO! God made us likeHim so that we could think about, understand, love, and treasure how great Heis.

Point out that although we have been made to be like God in certain ways, weare not God. Name some of the ways in which we are not like God. Forexample: Only God is eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect, creator of allthings, etc. Read Isaiah 46:9b.

If possible show the children a picture of a baby inside its mother’ womb (or apicture of a newborn baby). Point out how wonderfully made each part of thebaby is — each finger and toe, the folds of the ear, etc. Read Psalm 139:13-15a again. Also show the children a drawing of the inside of the human body ifpossible. Explain what some of the parts do — bones to give us support,muscles so that we could move and play, skin to protect our insides, hands thatcan hold things and write, etc. What does it mean that we are fearfully andwonderfully made? Who deserves the praise for how we are made, us or God?

Remind the children that everything that God made, He made to show howgreat He is. God created different colors, smells, tastes, sounds, and texturesto display His greatness. When God created people He created us with eyesthat can see His greatness, ears that can hear His greatness, etc. Every personin the world has been created with the ability to sense God’s greatness. Forexample: When we look at a cute, furry puppy, we have been created with theability to see and understand that God created that puppy to show us how greatHe is. Do people always see and understand this when they see puppies? Whynot?

Explain to the children that as important as our visible bodies are — with eyes,ears, hands, nose, and mouth — there is something that God created in us thatis even more important: our mind (thoughts) and our heart (desires). All of ushave a soul (a spirit). These are things that can’t be visibly seen but they arethe most important things about us. How can we show the greatness and worthof God with our thoughts and desires? Read Matthew 22:37 to help direct thechildren’s thinking. (Other responses: Trust God, think about Him, desire toread the Bible and pray to God, etc. Also, we display the greatness of God by

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NOTES how we act toward other people. Read Matthew 5:16.) Do we always show thegreatness of God in everything we think and desire?

Have the children study their hands for a moment. Point out that no othercreatures, have hands as wonderfully created as people do. Ask the children toname some of the things that they are able to do with their hands that someother creature, such as a monkey, could never do (draw beautiful pictures,make cookies, build a house, write a story, etc.). Why did God make us withsuch wonderful hands? To show how great He is! How can we use our hands toshow how great God is? (How can we use our voices, eyes, ears?) Read anddiscuss 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Read Psalm 8:5-8. Emphasize that because we were created to see,understand, and delight in the glory of God, God gave us a special place increation — a special way in which we are to relate to rocks, plants, andanimals. How can we “rule” over God’s creation in a way that shows thegreatness of God?

Show the children a picture book of the development of a baby inside the

mother’s womb. Talk about how God carefully forms the hands, feet, ears,nose, and eyes. Explain how the heart begins to beat and how the baby growsand starts to move around. Review Psalm 139:13-15. Emphasize the preciouswork of God from the very moment of conception.

Have the children do “hand” paintings with finger paints. Pour the paints onto

plastic plates and have the children fill in their paper with hand prints. AttachPsalm 139:14 to the dried paintings.

Make an “All Nations Will Worship You” collage. Have the children use old

magazines to cut out pictures of people from all parts of the world — includepeople of different races and ages. Make a sign of Psalm 86:9 to place over thecollage.

Read from a children’s picture book about the different structures and functions

of the human body. Give praise to God for His wonderful creation.

Additional Activities:

He Has Been Clearly Seen © 2007 Children Desiring God Lesson 19—A

LESSON 19LESSON 19LESSON 19LESSON 19 DAY SIX DAY SIX DAY SIX DAY SIX ———— GOD CREATED MAN GOD CREATED MAN GOD CREATED MAN GOD CREATED MAN

IN HIS IMAGEIN HIS IMAGEIN HIS IMAGEIN HIS IMAGE THEMES:THEMES:THEMES:THEMES: God prepared the world in a certain order God culminated His creation by creating people God created people in His image for His glory People are to show the greatness of God God desires that we see, understand, and delight in His glory SCRIPTURE:SCRIPTURE:SCRIPTURE:SCRIPTURE: Genesis 1:26-27; Isaiah 43:6-7; Psalm 139:13-15; Psalm 86:9-10; Isaiah 46:9; Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 8:5-8 KEY VERSE:KEY VERSE:KEY VERSE:KEY VERSE: Psalm 139:14 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. DID YOU KNOW . . .DID YOU KNOW . . .DID YOU KNOW . . .DID YOU KNOW . . . that when God started forming you inside your mother’s body, you were smaller than this dot . ? God made you start to grow bigger and bigger. When you had been in your mother for 24 days, God started your heart beating. Can you feel your heart beating now? After 90 days, God formed your fingernails. When you had been inside your mother for about 120 days, God put hair on your body. By 150 days, you were so big that your mom could feel you move around inside her body. When you had been inside your mom’s dark, warm body for 180 days, God opened your eyes! Do you think there was much that you could see yet? Then, after about 270 days you were born! Praise God, for you have been wonderfully made!

I was created for God’s glory!

Draw a picture of yourself inside the frame.

LESSON 19LESSON 19LESSON 19LESSON 19 DAY SIX DAY SIX DAY SIX DAY SIX ———— GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE

THEMES:THEMES:THEMES:THEMES: God prepared the world in a certain order God culminated His creation by creating people God created people in His image for His glory People are to show the greatness of God God desires that we see, understand, and delight in His glory

SCRIPTURESCRIPTURESCRIPTURESCRIPTURE::::Genesis 1:26-27; Isaiah 43:6-7; Psalm 139:13-15; Psalm 86:9-10; Isaiah 46:9; Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 8:5-8

KEY VERSE: KEY VERSE: KEY VERSE: KEY VERSE: Psalm 139:14 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

PARENT/CHILD ACTIVITY:PARENT/CHILD ACTIVITY:PARENT/CHILD ACTIVITY:PARENT/CHILD ACTIVITY: Make a list with your child of some of the things that people can do that apes and other animals cannot do. Discuss what it means to be created in God’s likeness and image. Read Psalm 139 together. What kind of relationship does God have with His people? How well does He know us?

Because we are made in God’s image, what kinds of things are we able to think about and understand? What types of desires and feelings can we have? What kinds of thoughts, desires, words, and actions would the show the greatness and worth of God in our lives? Read and discuss Psalm 86:9-12.

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