God Is a Worker (Sunday School Lesson for Kids)
Small Group Study / Produced by partner of TOW
This lesson is part of God's Story of Work for Kids, a 12-week curriculum that teaches children to see work through God's perspective.
God is a worker
Props:
- potted plant
- paintbrush
- gym weight
- crown
The Bible tells us who God is and what he's like. God is loving, compassionate, good, perfect, and holy. I have 4 objects here with me today - a crown, a plant, a paintbrush, and a weight. Which of these do you think shows best who God is? (Hold up one object at a time and ask children to raise their hands if they think that object is the one that best shows who God is.)
Actually, ALL of these show who God is. One is not better than another because God is ALL of these and so much more.
How do you think a crown shows who God is? (Invite children's responses.) Yes, God is king. He is ruler over our world, this planet, the galaxies - everything! There is no one more powerful or bigger than God.
How do you think a gym weight shows who God is? (Invite children's responses.) Yes, God is strong. God also designed muscles and speed. He knows the joy of running, being coordinated, and being fast.
How does a paintbrush show who God is? (Invite children's responses.) Yes, God is creative. Your fingerprint is not like anyone else's. God is an artist!
How do you think a plant shows who God is? (Invite children's responses.) Yes, God is a worker. Genesis shows God creating light, sky, land, seas, planting a garden and creating all kinds of living things. There are over 950,000 kinds of insects on earth today. Though the exact number is not known, there are about 400,000 species of plants. God created so many different things with incredible detail. Genesis shows God getting his hands in dirt to make the first human being.
Let's take a look at today's scripture.
Scripture Lesson
Read aloud or ask a child to stand and read for the group.
Genesis 2:4-9
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Work means putting in energy or effort to produce something. What are the ways you see God working in this passage? (Invite children's responses. As children respond, draw the answers on large Post-Its or on a whiteboard. The visual will help some children remember. If there's a child who can draw well, invite him to be the drawer.)
Yes, God made the heavens and the earth. God made streams to water the ground because he had not yet sent rain. God formed a man from the dust and breathed life into him. Verse 8 tells us that God planted a garden and made all kinds of trees grow.
God was very busy making the world. He is a worker. Genesis 2 shows us God working on making the world. But did God make the world and then stop working? Of course not! How do we see God working today?(Invite children's responses.)
We can see God at work in each of our lives. He takes care of us, provides for what we need. God is at work in neighborhoods, cities, nations and the world.
(Hold up objects from the beginning of the lesson) Can anyone tell me, which of these best show who God is? Yes, you're right! All of them show who God is. God is king, he is strong, he is artistic and he is a worker. In the coming weeks, we'll learn more about how God sees work, and how we can become God's co-workers.
Let's pray. God, today we learned that you are a worker. You are a king who rules over everything, and yet, instead of just sitting back on your throne, you work every single moment to take care of your children. Thank you for being such a good God. Help us to see you in our own work, as we do homework, help out at home, and do chores. We know you're in it with us. We love you and bless you, in Jesus' name, Amen.
God Is a Worker (Classroom Activity for Grades 2-5)
Back to Table of Contents Back to Table of ContentsThis lesson is part of God's Story of Work for Kids, a 12-week curriculum that teaches children to see work through God's perspective.
Props
- post-its (3 per child)
- pencils
- markers
- bibles
- timer with alarm
- God-at-work-charade-cards.pdf (print these out and cut them up to create 10 charade cards)
- A large paper with these words written on it: made, formed, breathed, planted, put, created, sent, hammered, weeded, dug, cleaned, wrote, finished.
Opening Activity: Sharing Work I Enjoy (5 minutes)
Give each child 3 Post-its and a pencil to jot down 3 kinds of work they enjoy. Examples might be drawing or playing with a sibling or taking care of an animal. Have kids share one of their Post-its.
Teacher Tip: What you share will help set the tone for the sharing. Think of something specific that you enjoy and be ready to share it.
Review: Each of us is different. God made us that way. The things you enjoy doing are a special way God created for you to make a difference in the world.
God at Work Charades (10 minutes)
Stack the charade cards in a pile. Have one child (or a pair of children if there are more than 10 children in the group) pick a card from the pile and act out this kind of work that God does. The other children have to guess. They are guessing the answer to the question "What is God doing here?"
Review: God is at work every minute of the day all over the world. He loves us and cares very much for every person.
Work Word Search (10 minutes)
Post the sheet of paper on the wall with the work words on it (made, formed, breathed, planted, put, created, sent, hammered, weeded, dug, cleaned, wrote, finished). Have students form a relay line on the other side of the room. Give each child a Bible and read Genesis 2:4-9 together. In turn each student runs to the sheet and circles a word that can be found in Genesis 2:49, or crosses out a word that is not in that passage.
God as Work Popcorn Game (5 minutes)
In Genesis we find God creating many things. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Sit in a circle and go around the circle, each person calling out something God created (monkeys, bananas, humans, etc.) The goal is to name as many things God created as possible before the timer runs out.
Share & Pray (5 minutes)
Ask if any students have an prayer requests to share. Pray for these requests and thank God for being actively at work in each life.
God Is a Worker (Take-Home Activity for Parents and Kids)
Back to Table of Contents Back to Table of ContentsThis lesson is part of God's Story of Work for Kids, a 12-week curriculum that teaches children to see work through God's perspective.
This Week's Focus: God is a Worker!
This week we learned that God is a worker. Genesis 2:8 shows God as a gardener. The important role work plays in our own lives is one way we reflect God's image. Today's lesson introduced the idea that God is a worker and showed ways God is at work even today. We usually describe God with characteristics such as holy, good, just, kind, merciful, and generous. We often think of God as king, ruler and Lord - images that might convey being above working. But we will learn in the following lessons of this series that God not only works today, God is in the work that children and adults do.
Do This Week's Workout: God Hunt!
The Weekly Workout is a great way you can work out the week's focus with your child. As you go on this hunt, see how many ways you can find God at work. It may be things you see, words you read or hear, or even smells in the air.
- Choose a place with your child to take a walk.
- Before you leave, explain that each of you will look for different ways that you see God at work. If children desire, they can take a notepad to jot down or even draw their ideas.
- Walk through the area and share as you go. For example, if you walk through a playground, you can notice that God's creativity in the different personalities of all the children and adults. Or if you walk through the grocery store, smell the produce. It took a lot of time, sunshine, rain, and hard work to make each thing grow. God provided all of that. God also provides jobs through the store, which then helps provide many more things for employees and their families.
Talk about it: How was it to look for God at work? Was it hard? Easy? Did you find more of God at work than you expected to see? What were some of your favorite finds?
