Genesis 1-5
The Story of Creation, Adam, & His Descendants
Week 1 July 15 – July 19, 2019
Monday July 15
The Account of Creation – Genesis 1:1-2:4
God chose to create the universe, because he wanted to express his love. God is love, and he chose to create people so that he could love us! God created a wonderful universe, and a beautiful earth to live in. He filled it with light, water and sky and dry ground. He put a sun and moon and stars in the sky to make day and night. God made fish and all kinds of animals to live in the ocean and birds to fly across the sky. He made wild animals to live on the land, livestock, and small animals. Finally God made human beings, a man and a woman. God made us in his own image, and it is our entire selves that reflect his image. We can be like God, because he made us to be like him. God gave people and the animals everything they needed on the earth, including plants for food. He gave man the job of having control over the entire earth, all the animals and everything on the earth. God made the earth very carefully, and we cannot be careless in the way we take care of it. God called his creation good, he saw that it was excellent, and was happy with how he had made everything, including you! Then finally, God rested. God said that the seventh day is holy and especially for holy use. We should not forget to rest and to use that rest day as a special time with God.
Activity: Take a walk around your office building, neighborhood, or local park. Stop the busy-ness of your day and really take in the beauty of God’s creation. Observe the majesty of a large tree, the brilliant green of a blade of grass. Listen to a small stream’s trickling song. Bend down to watch an ant carrying a piece of food 5,000 times it’s own body weight. Thank God for his creation, and for allowing you to enjoy the earth, it’s lovely appearance and it’s bountiful resources.
With Children: As you walk with your children, help them point to and name the natural things that God has created. Take home a rock or a leaf, press a flower, and keep it on the shelf with the Bible you read from. Use it as a reminder that God created everything in our universe!
Tuesday July 16
Adam and Eve – Genesis 2:5-25
The thing that gave Adam life was not anything on this earth, it was the breathe of God. Remember that our life and worth come not from any list of achievements or recognition from others, but our value and life come from the God of the universe, who has filled us with his spirit. When God made Eve, he did not create her from the dust. Instead, Adam had to give of himself physically and sacrifice a part of his own body, setting himself aside so that his bride might live. God gives us beautiful pictures of the coming of Jesus for his bride the church, even here, in our creation! Marriage was created by God. Man and woman were made to fit together in every way, to bring God glory. There are things men can do and things women can do, and they are equally valuable in their ability to honor the Lord.
Activity: Write down all of the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given you. Don’t dwell on your shortcomings, but instead consider the positives. Each of these qualities and abilities are ultimately meant to be used to bring glory to God! Choose one and make a plan for how you will use that part of yourself to bring glory to God today.
With Children: Create animals from play-doh or clay, or use toy animals for younger children. Name the animals just like Adam did! Lion, dog, chicken, pig, monkey, giraffe…
Wednesday July 17
The Man and Woman Sin – Genesis 3
The Garden of Eden was a perfect, beautiful place with everything that Adam and Eve could ever need. It was like living in heaven, everything was just right. If Adam and Eve had obeyed God, not eaten from the tree of knowledge, then they would have been allowed to live there forever. Instead they sinned, they disobeyed him and were ashamed, and hid from Him. Because of this, they could not live in the garden anymore, because they would have lived forever in the sadness of sin. They would have spent eternity hiding from God and God wanted them to be able to live perfectly again, so he sent them to live outside of the garden. In the same way, we have all sinned, we have all disobeyed God. But we don’t have to stay separated from God, ashamed and hiding from him. Instead, God is making a new place for us to live perfectly with him, just as we were originally supposed to live with him in the Garden of Eden. Jesus came so that we can go there and live with God forever.
Activity: As you eat a meal or snack today, think about Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey God. Recognize that just as Adam and Eve fell, so have each of us. Talk to God and give him some special appreciation and thanks for continuing to love you in spite of your bad choices. If there is an area in your life that you need help making a good choice, don’t forget to consult God first!
With Children: Eat a piece of fruit as a snack and talk about how God gave us delicious fruit to eat, just as he gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The fruit we’re eating today is good fruit, but we have to inspect our fruit first to make sure it is actually good before we eat it! If we eat bad fruit there are consequences – we get sick later, it tastes bad, it smells stinky. We have to do the same thing with our choices. We inspect our actions before we partake in them and ask God to help us make the right decision. Otherwise, we might not get a good result! We want to do the right thing, and God will help us.
Thursday July 18
Genesis 4 – Cain and Abel
The Bible doesn’t really tell us why God did not accept Cain’s gift, but we can see from the following verses that Cain’s heart was not in the right place. God knows our hearts and even when we look good to everyone else, God can see our thoughts and intentions, which may be selfish or hateful. The Bible specifies that Abel brought his best, so perhaps Cain did not. After rejecting his gift, God gave Cain the opportunity to correct his gift and to give it properly, warning him against sin. Often times, when we are corrected, our first response can be to defend our actions and get angry. God warned Cain and warns us, “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be it’s master.”(Gen. 4:6-7, NLT) Cain did not follow God’s warning to fix his actions and instead allowed anger to rule his life. This one poor gift, which had a simple fix, led to Cain committing the first murder! It’s incredible how when we allow something small(like a bad attitude, jealousy) to go unchecked, it can lead us into even greater sin. Sin is always eagerly waiting for every opportunity to control us, and we must take control of ourselves by submitting our thoughts and actions to God, before that sin takes control of us. Receive faith from God as you ask him to give you the strength to master sin, and support one another with encouragement that gives us strength to resist sin and make right the areas in our lives that are weak.
Activity: Acknowledge the areas in your life that you struggle to give God your best. There is often one particular area that we really have difficulty using self-control. Find a christian friend, a spouse, or family member and ask them for help encouraging you to resist this sin. That person can build you up with encouraging scriptures, praying with you and for you, sending you an encouraging message during the week, asking pointed questions to hold you accountable. Don’t neglect connecting with other believers for encouragement and accountability.
With Children: Ask your child to name an area that they need more self-control. They might need your help coming up with one – don’t make a long list, just choose one to focus on. This exercise is not for shaming, but for helping and giving encouragement. Build your child up by giving them positive examples of ways they can make better choices next time they face this problem. Offer yourself as a resource to them when they are struggling with these thoughts, feelings, or actions. Let them know that they can come to you and instead of punishing them, you will pray with them to ask God for help and walk them through how to make the right choice. You may need to intervene in a situation next time, but do it gently and remind them of your encouraging conversation, while also giving correction. For younger children, choose one behavior that you will help them with, through modeling and redirection, instead of only punishing the undesirable action.
Friday July 19
Genesis 5 – Adam’s Descendants
A list of ancestors is called genealogies. Genealogies show that individuals are important to God, intentionally referring to a person by name and giving other details about their life and family. God sees you individually as well, and focuses his love and attention on you! The genealogy from Adam to Noah:
Adam, father
Seth, son
Enosh, grandson
Kenan, great grandson
Mahalalel, great great grandson
Jared, great great great grandson
Enoch, great great great great grandson
Methuselah, great great great great great grandson
Lamech, great great great great great great grandson
Noah, great great great great great great great grandson(great x7)
We are all a part of the same family, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. When we are tempted to be prejudice, to be mean or hurtful to someone, remember that the same flesh and blood made each of us and we are each a valuable creation of God. Family takes care of each other, and defends one another. Fun Fact: Methuselah is the oldest man listed in the Bible! 969 years old.
Activity: Trace out your family tree as far back as you can remember. At the very top, put Adam and Eve. Get as creative as you like and hang it up or place it at chapter 5 in your Bible as a reminder that you and your family are a part of that genealogy. Even when you may feel you don’t have a family where you belong, you will always belong to God and his family.
With Children: Help your children to draw out your family tree and put Adam and Eve at the top. They can draw pictures of each of your family members – mom, dad, me, sister, and brother! For younger children, you can draw this out for them and let them color in the page.
