Celebrate Curriculum


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Curriculum For Celebrate Our Creator Days. For Use in Sunday School, VBS, Earth Day and Beyond


This curriculum is suitable for children's ministries, family devotion, and neighborhood outreach.

1. Conduct Celebrate Our Creator Events

Ask the children to name their biggest hero. Then ask them who made that hero.

Explain that God, through Jesus, made everything that lives - even their hero.  Discuss our loving God made us, His children, in His image and is not only concerned about us, but is concerned about all our brothers and sisters around the world.  And discuss that he also made everything we need to live on.

Explain that we're going to Celebrate God as Our Creator, our hero.  And, explain that we need to remember that every perfect gift is from above.  Explain we need to thank God - in fact, to love God - based on all He's provided for us.  And explain that He wants us to love Him and love and care for all his children, and care for His creation, as well.

If it's an Earth Day event, explain that this Earth Day we choose to honor God - our awesome creator, provider, sustainer and savior.  Not a made-up "Mother Nature," not some "Father Time," but  our real Creator, our awesome God.

Explain that we're going to Celebrate Our Creator who made each of us with a purpose.  Because we didn't just evolve.  And, we aren't just a result of big bang.  We're God's children, part of His family, loved by Him.

Next, have the children think of the many things God made.

Encourage them to think about all the living creatures; all His seven billion children around the world; the food we all need to live on; beautiful flowers; mountains, lakes, rivers and forests; the world itself with all the billions of galaxies, stars, planets, suns; and even our oceans and the ground beneath us teaming with fish, insects, and more.

Suggest that these amazing creations make God, including Jesus the second person of our triune God, our real hero.  And suggest that this all means we should love and celebrate God - and love, appreciate and care for our brothers and sisters - including through celebrating and caring for all God's creation.  And then discuss the fact that we're created in God's image - who is an awesome creator - which means we have the creativity and resources to do wonderful things for God and our brothers and children.  And that's something to think about and celebrate!

2. Lead a Bible Study on God as Our Creator and Sustainer

Read selected verses from John 1: 1-12; Isaiah 40: 25-26; Psalm 8: 1-8; and Psalm 136 verses 1-9 & 23-25; James 1: 17-18; Psalm 3:5; and Genesis 1-1; Genesis 1:1-2:3. 3.

2a. Next, sing or play worship songs related to God as our creator and as an awesome God worthy of respect.

Consider getting song sheets or CDs of the following creation oriented songs.
1.  He's Got The Whole World In His Hands
2.  Jesus Is My Superhero
3.  Indescribable

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3. Conduct Celebrate Our Creator Activities

3a. Experience God's Design Through Gardening

Select seeds from either vegetable or flowering plants that have brief germination periods. Fill cups with potting soil. Following the directions on seed packs, prepare the soil for inserting seeds.

In advance of this session, consider ordering Celebrate Our Creator material to really get the troups excited from within the Gift Shop merchandise section in this website.

Now, help the children insert seeds and provide instructions for watering and care.

Describe for the children that God made the soil with nutrients, and He provides the sunshine and water to help seeds grow.

Reflect on the fact that the same seeds you're using now came from the original seeds God himself designed and provided to nourish our world.

Reflect on how awesome a design it is that keeps reproducing year after year and keeps providing for all our nutritional needs.

Also, bring in a bouquet of cut flowers to circulate among children so they can see, smell and feel the amazing designs in the diversity of flowering plants.

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3b. Taste God's Provision

Fill additional cups with cut up sections of various fruits and distribute the cups to have them taste God's awesome design in food.

Describe the seeds you plant can ultimately grow into fruits or vegetables, all of varying color, texture, and of course taste.

Explain that we need a variety of fruits and vegetables to live and that God's design and creation provides all we need to be healthy and productive.

Remind the kids God didn't have to make taste and taste buds, but in his loving care, he made awesome tastes and taste buds to experience those tastes.

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3c. Observe God's Awesome Creation

Play a creation video - we've used ones from Moody Bible Institute.  Focus on visuals and story segments that depict animals, plants, stars, etc.  Observe and comment on the awesome design of these animals.

Or, take a Celebrate Our Creator field trip to a local zoo and experience God's awesome creation first hand and up close.

If you do take a trip, consider ordering a Celebrate Our Creator bumper sticker.

4.  Encourage Stewardship Of God's Creation

Finally, we should encourage children to not only reflect on God's awesome Creation and love Him with all our heart, mind and strength as our Creator, but also to recognize

 

We should discuss that Church leaders want us to realize the environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.

Explain that to care for God's creation, we must be more efficient in our use of food, energy resources and reduce our waste of all the products we use so that we don't continue to harm the environment or selfishly use more than we need while others are lacking.  Because, scientists and Church experts agree people are being negatively impacted and will continue to be impacted by changes in the environment.  In fact, environmental harm, if unchecked, will likely cause many people to be displaced from their homes in the very near future if we don't change our lifestyles now.

And explain that because there is such a big gap or difference between what some of us have and what some people lack around our neighborhoods and around the world, we really should think about how to be creative - since we're made in the image of our Creator God - at finding ways to help our brothers and sisters get more of what they need from our resources.

In fact, the Church has even indicated that there is a need to practice a different lifestyle, where our duty to care for the environment and for others is linked to our duties towards loving human beings as Christ loves us.

In concluding our Celebrate Our Creator event, we should discuss and encourage stewardship.

 

Children can also draw pictures about ways to use less water, save energy and conserve all our resources as well as to share their resources and creativity with others.

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