The students will be able to explain that man was created to praise and glorify God, and that God gave man dominion over all the rest of His creation.
Introduction: Open your class time by giving each child a lump of modeling clay. Let them attempt to form it into the shape of a man. Compliment their attempts, but then ask them what vital thing is missing. They should conclude that their figures do not have life.
Climax: We are told in Psalms that man is "a little lower than the angels." We are God's most precious creation, and were created to praise and glorify Him.
Conclusion: We should realize that God made us, and that He is the One who gave us life and the capabilities we have. We should remember to be thankful to Him for this.
Response: The students will be able to describe how God created man, and will recognize that God gave man dominion over all the rest of His creation.
Genesis 1:27 says, "God created man in his own image" and Genesis 2:18 says "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone." So God made a woman to be the man's helpmate. Although man was made in the image of God, he still had a need for intimate fellowship with a wife. But this need was also a reflection of the divine image in that God, too, has a desire for intimate fellowship with His creation. God also wants to say, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23 and Ephesians 5:30). This principle can be clearly seen in such Scriptures as Ephesians 5:31-32: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Or Isaiah 62:5: "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." (See also Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Hosea 2:19; Jeremiah 3:14, and Revelation 19:7.)
Indeed, God was so desirous of this fellowship with man that He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son in order to make it possible. When man forsakes his rebellion and begins to worship God for who He is, the Creator, then the intimate relationship that was broken in the Garden is restored and both God and man find pleasure in it.
Special Instructions for Unit 25:
Give each child the boy and girl for his creation mobile.
Give each child his Careful Caretaker creation assignment.
Prior to beginning your review, have a man lie down behind the area where you will stand for your review. Cover him with fake "grass" or a brown blanket. (Don't let your students know he is there.) When your group assembles, talk about all the different things God created, reviewing the lessons of the last two Sundays. Tell your students that today you have with you God's most special creation. At that signal, the man should stand up and you can introduce him.
Make "family" the theme of your review, using a real family with children of the approximate age of your students. Introduce the dad, asking why God made dads and what they do. Talk about each of the different family members, telling the special part that each one plays.
Take some of the items God created, such as a flower or an animal, but do not include people. Hold them up one at a time, talking about how pretty they are, how soft, or whatever. Then announce to your students that you are going to have a grand choir by God's creations. Turn around and pretend to direct the whole group of creations, but of course there will be no sound. Turn to the student audience and invite them to sing praise to the Lord with you, since none of these other creations can praise Him.