"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..." (Genesis 1:1)

< Back

 OUR LORD THE CREATOR 

All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(John 1:3)    


The more we learn about the wonders of creation, the more we comprehend how wise and loving the Creator is. Not only does He provide all these things for us to use, but He gives them to us in a way that leaves us in freedom to deny His very existence. The Lord our Creator knows that our happiness depends on freely choosing to acknowledge that everything is from Him and feeling gratitude for His blessings.

READ: "God the Creator" by the Rev. B. David Holm
This article provides an excellent introduction to the New Church perspective on the Lord as Creator.

FAMILY WORSHIP: Read and Discuss the Creation Story in Genesis 1 (for all ages) 

  • Point out the repetition of the words, "And God said...and it was so." It is the Lord who creates
    all things and then continues to protect and sustain them with His loving care. It is the Lord who helps us grow spiritually so that we can become angels in heaven, if we cooperate with Him.
  • For younger children, you may wish to consult Family Worship for Little Children: The Story of Creation. These notes by the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton highlight points that parents and teachers may want to talk about with young children.
  • If your children are older, you may want to tell them that the creation story is a beautiful parable for the way the Lord helps us grow spiritually. Each day pictures a step or stage in our spiritual growing up. Prior to the first day (when the Lord created light), we are like a person who is in complete ignorance or darkness about spiritual things. By the time we reach the stage of the seventh day, we are spiritually ready to become angels in heaven.

PROJECT: Seven Days of Creation Diorama (ages 4-9)
A great family project to build and display in your home.

SING: And God said, "Let There Be Light"

ACTIVITY: Sequencing Cards for the Days of Creation (ages 5-8)
Children can color and cut out these cards, then practice putting them in order from day 1-7.

SING: All Things So Bright and Beautiful

ACTIVITY: Responsive Reading (ages 3-6)
In this activity, a parent reads what the Lord created each day and the child responds with: "And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning was the _______day."

ACTIVITY: Creation Poem with Hand Motions (ages 3-8)

PROJECT: Days of Creation Collage Book (ages 6-9)

PROJECT: Creation Wheel (ages 6-9)
This family lesson project involves gluing 7 drawings onto one wheel and placing another on top (with a wedge cut out) so that you can view the story of creation one day at a time.

PROJECT: Creation Mobile (ages 6-12)
Assemble this lovely mobile (adapted from this picture of creation) to remind you of all the Lord's precious gifts to us. Adaptations for different ages are included.

ACTIVITY: Seven Days of Creation Game (ages 5-9)

ACTIVITY: One Square Yard of Creation (ages 5-up)
Look at one square yard of land near your home, your school, or in a park. How many different things can you find there that the Lord created? 
 

 THE PURPOSE OF CREATION

 
Everything the Lord created is for the sake of people
because the purpose of creation is a heaven from the human race.
(see True Christian Religion 67)    

Everything the Lord created has a use - a specific reason why He created it. One approach to exploring the uses of plants and animals and minerals is to think about the ways that they help us. For all of creation looks toward the perfection of heaven from the human race.

Why did the Lord give us the sun or water or the wind? How do horses, fish, or butterflies help us? In what ways are the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms interdependent? How does all of creation support human life on earth? As we come to understand the uses and interdependence of all created things, we appreciate the infinite wisdom of the Creator all the more. The Lord's creation is evidence of His loving concern for our welfare.

READ: "Using the Lord's Creation" by the Rev. Eric Carswell
This world is an amazing creation. If we have open eyes and a willing heart, we can see the hand of a loving, heavenly Father in so many of its qualities. The material things that surround us aren’t in themselves intrinsically good or evil. It is how we use them and even more so WHY we use them the way we do. The reason the Lord created this world is that He wants us to freely choose the life that leads to heaven. Any choice that contributes to that goal is truly useful.

ACTIVITY: What Is the Use? (ages 5-up)
Gather a basket of items representing the plant, animal, and mineral kingdoms. Then brainstorm ways that each one is useful.

SING: This Is My Father's Word

FAMILY DISCUSSION: Our Part in Making Use of Creation / Natural Resources
Notice that the Lord gives us all that we need for food, clothing, and shelter but supplies it in a way that allows (requires) us to participate in making use of it. In this way, the Lord seeks to give people the happiness of being useful. This also allows people the freedom not to believe in the Lord. For more about making use of creation, read some of the family talks and sermons selected for this month, such as "Giving Thanks" by the Rev. Ormond Odhner.

Consider how food, clothing, and shelter are provided in the spiritual world. Do the angels make these things themselves? If someone in the spiritual world refuses to be useful, will he have food to eat?

PROJECT: Creation Chain (ages 6-12)
Make a paper chain with the names (or pictures) of the people in your family and other things that the Lord has made. Or make a paper chain that illustrates several things in creation that depend on one another. For example, you might have soil, an orange tree, a honeybee (to pollinate the orange blossoms), rain (to help the fruit to grow), an orange, and then yourself. This pictures a teaching in the Lord's Word that everything in the universe exists for the sake of another and depends on another, like links in a chain (see Conjugial Love 85).

SPIRITUAL TASK: The Earth Is the Lord's (teens and adults)
This week, observe the ways you use the Lord's creation. Be especially aware of times that nature draws your attention to spiritual things.

 

 TAKING JOY IN CREATION

There is nothing beautiful and delightful in the skies or on the earth,
which is not in some way representative of the Lord's kingdom.
(see Arcana Coelestia 1807:2)   

The wonders of creation go far beyond the usefulness and interdependence of its components. We marvel as we watch plants go to great lengths to grow towards the sun, flowers open with daylight and close with the setting of the sun, the tender care given animal babies, etc. Reflecting on nature cannot help but inspire us, making us all the more certain that this could only be the handiwork of the Lord. We may even glimpse ways nature illustrates truths revealed in the Word.

FAMILY WORSHIP: In a Beautiful Place
Have family worship outdoors where you can enjoy the beauty of nature or choose an indoor room where you can look outside. Read Psalm 8 or some of this month's quotations From the Word.

ACTIVITY: I Spy with My Little Eye... (ages 3-7)
Think of the something that the Lord created and let others try to guess what it is by asking you questions that can be answered with a "yes" or a "no." To make the game a little easier, try restricting it to a mammal or some other animal as you get started. To make the game harder, start with "I Am Thinking of Something _________" (supply an adjective).

SPIRITUAL TASK: Nature Teaches by the Rev. David Roth (teens and adults)

ACTIVITIES: Celebrating the Seven Days of Creation (ages 3-7)
Offers a wide array of ideas for play time, art projects, field trips, and more. See excerpts below.

First Day: Light

  • Make a candle, decorate a candle with beeswax, or even just light a candle.
  • Have the child cover his eyes with his hands, then uncover his eyes as you say, "Let there be light."

Second Day:

  • Play with water (in the bath, a swimming pool, or in the sink).
  • Make tea and watch the steam rise up like clouds in the sky.

Third Day:

  • Plant bulbs (or seeds if you live in the southern hemisphere).
  • Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, sampling a few that you've never tried.

Fourth Day: Sun, Moon, and Stars

  • Go for a walk at night with your child and point out the moon and stars. How much light does the moon give? When the moon is full, does it give enough light to see your way?
  • Go for a walk on a sunny day and compare sunlight to moonlight.

Fifth Day: Birds, Fish, and Other Animals of the Ocean

  • Make a bird feeder or visit an aquarium.

Sixth Day: Animals and People

  • Eat animal crackers, go to the zoo, sing songs about animals.
  • Make (or decorate) a picture frame for a photograph of someone special created by the Lord.

Seventh Day:

  • Go for a "creation walk" to appreciate the wonders of God's creation.
  • Make a soft pillow for your child, embroidering or appliquéing the top with a golden sun.

POSTER: What Nature Teaches Us (ages 7-up) 
  

 O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD

What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
(Psalm 116:12)  

What are the Lord's benefits toward us? The natural gifts of creation give us the raw materials for making food, clothing, medicine, shelter, and everything else that we need for life on this earth. How do we thank the Lord for these gifts? One way we thank the Lord is by acknowledging - from our hearts - that the Lord alone is the source of creation. Another way to thank Him is by taking good care of what He has given us and using these natural gifts for their intended purpose.

FAMILY DISCUSSION: Thanksgiving to the Lord (for all ages)
Talk about specific ways that we can give thanks to the Lord. These may include taking good care of His creation, making optimal use of what He has given us, acknowledging that all good things are from the Lord, reading the Word and obeying the commandments of the Lord. (See Teaching Spiritual Concepts about Thanksgiving chart for ideas appropriate for various ages. You may also want to look at the family talks, articles for teens, and the sermons for ideas.)

COLORING PAGE: Thanksgiving Altar

READING: "The Work of Your Hands" by the Rev. Peter Buss, Jr. (1.67 MB)
A talk for young children on what the Lord's hands make - all of creation - and what we can do with our hands to thank the Lord for all He does for us.

PROJECT: Let Everything that Has Breath Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (ages 4-10)
Draw plants and animals and people around this quote from the Lord's Word. Or use stickers of fish, mammals, birds, butterflies, etc. to make a colorful border around the text.

ACTIVITY: The Lord Made Me - A Fingerplay for Little Ones (ages 3-6)
A simple finger play naming some of the things created by Lord, then thanking Him for each one.

COLORING PAGE: Let Us Be Thankful Every Day

ACTIVITY: Circle of Thanks (ages 6-10)
What are you thankful for? Use this graphic organizer to picture or name some of the things for which you are thankful, using the center area to picture the Lord - for every good thing is from Him alone! After you have made your own circle of thanks, you may want to look at the O Give Thanks unto the Lord circle designed by Robert Glenn.

SING: "Love Him, Thank Him"

COLORING PAGE: O Give Thanks Unto the Lord by Robert Glenn

PROJECT: Thanksgiving Display (for all ages)
Collect treasures of nature to display near your worship center - perhaps placed around the Word - or as a centerpiece on your kitchen table. You might want to make a special sign to go with the display, with a quote such as " All Your works shall praise You, O Lord" (Psalm 145:10).

JOURNAL PAGE: Thanking the Lord for Creation (teens and adults)

LISTEN TO THE SONG: Miracles, Miracles Everywhere by Christine Brock Taylor