Creation - God Made Everything

AIM:     God made everything. The aim of this lesson is to enforce the Creative Will and Purpose of God. 

Everything that God created is inherently good. God Blesses works of His hands. We are created in the image and likeness of God, Our Father. 

Creation Story according to Genesis
Reproduced from here

Kid's Animated Creation Video
 Reproduced from here

Isn't that simply Awesome? 
Our God is an Awesome God. 
Who can make such beauty? Such Magnificence? and all this for whom? 
For you - and for me - for us to love and care and take care of!!
So here is what we learnt : 

CREATION STORY : 

In the beginning there was Nothing - no earth , no people, no sky, no animals NOTHING!!

Can you imagine that? 

There was only empty space - it was dark - nothing!!!

But God had a magnificent plan - he wanted to MAKE something. He wanted to make Someone!! He wanted to make you and me!!!

So what do you think He did? 

Our God is so great and so loving - He thought of us and decided to make the world READY for us!! 

So here's what He did: 

DAY 1: 

And then God spoke in the darkness:  “Let there be light!”  

And right away there was light. 

God found it good and He divided the Light from the Darkness .

God gave them a name each. God called the Light time "Day" and the Dark time " Night" 

So that's how the very first Day and Night started!!

So the morning, evening , the night passed that was the FIRST DAY!!!

DAY 2: 

On the second day, God made the Land and then He made a Sky to hang above the Land. 

God stood back and took a look - He liked all that He saw and said, "It is Good" 

And so the second day was over.

DAY 3: 
God then got busy arranging the Land. He decided to separate the land and the water. 
He brought all the dry land together and called it Earth.Then he brought all the water together and called it Seas

When God finished this - He commanded the earth to bring forth grass, fruit yielding trees - and so he made lovely flowers of every kind roses, daffodils, tulips, apple trees, pear trees etc. 

And so the earth had flowers, grass and lots of tress!

God looked back and saw  that it was good. Morning came and Night came - that was the end of the third day!

DAY 4: 

The next day, God decided to make the Sun and the Moon.

Sun to rule over day time  

and moon to rule over night time. And it was done. The Sun and the Moon marked day and night as well as seasons. 

God looked on and saw it was all good. He was pleased with His work so far. 

So ended the fourth day. 

DAY 5: 

God decided He would not leave the sea alone and decided to make it even better. 

He wanted the water to have life - and so it was - Every kind of fish - big, small  started swimming in the seas!!

Splendid - don't you think? 

But that was not enough - God looked at the sky - saw it was empty and commanded it to have life as well. 

Lo and behold!! There were every type of bird- colourful and beautiful flying  in the sky!!!

The dusk fell over the water and the sky grew dark and that was the end of the fifth day.

DAY 6:

On Day 6, God decided to fill the land with animals - 

and animals there were of every colour, size and shape. 

there were horses, pigs, lions, tigers, bears, even rabbits and ants!!

After doing all that, God decided to add one last finishing touch - to complete it and make it better. 

He decided to make Man. 

And so a Man He made - He made Man in His own image and likeness!!

God saw all He made and said "It is Good" . 

DAY 7: 

On the seventh day, God rested. 

QUESTIONS TO PONDER 

1) Who made the Universe? 

Ans. God Made the Universe. 

2) Who made Everything? 

Ans. God made everything. 

3) Who made Man? 

Ans. God made man. 

4) Who made you? 

God made me. 

ACTION SONG: 

He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands!

He's got the itty, bitty, baby in His hands,
He's got the itty, bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the itty, bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands!

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as St. Therese Little Flower of Child Jesus or just Little Flower, is the Patron Saint of our parish. 

We celebrate her feast day on October 1st. 

St. Therese is a saint of Modern Times. Her way was simple and easy to follow. Her way is the way of Love. 

Therese was born in France, the last of nine children. 

Her mother died when she was just 4 years old. 

She was almost entirely brought up by her father and older sisters. 

At a very young age she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux.

She lived a simple life , hidden in prayer. 

She died at the young age of 24. 

Her last words were " My God, I Love you!"

Her Autobiography " Story of a Soul" is a Catholic Classic and gives us great insights. 

Her teaching is very simple and yet profound. She told us to love God like a child loves their Father. She was canonized on May 17 1925 by Pope Pius XI.Pope John Paul II declared her as a Doctor of the Church in 1997. 

Sharing With Friends

AIM:   To encourage the Christian Virtue of Sharing in little children. 

When we make new friends, we also like to share our things with them like our toys, colors,our lunch at school and even maybe a pencil.Even though some of us don't like to share our things,as good Christians we should practice good manners and courtesy towards each other.

Teacher: How many of you made new friends last class?
(All hands go up).
Teacher: What do you like to do with your new friends?
(some of them raise their hands to answer and they answer play with their friends, help them with homework and share their things with them).
Teacher:Who is our best friend? that one friend who never fights with us and even talks to us when we are angry or sad?
(All the children shout in a chorus saying JESUS).

Small Story: 

Perry Porcupine had no friends.People were all afraid of him.He was very sad. Fury Fred came by. "Oh, my! what beautiful needles! May I have two? I want to make a sweater."

"Take my needles!" Perry said. "And will you be my friend?"
Furry Fred hopped up to Perry. "Sure! I like you! I'll be your friend."
Like Fury Fred, We need friends.

Song: 

Sharing, if we would all keep sharing, 

Sharing all the things we have, 

Oh what joy, what peace and contentment , 

If we would keep sharing all we have. 

(Repeat above again)

Activity/ Handout: 

Jesus , Our Friend

Jesus Christ was truly God. He was also truly man. He thought with a human mind, acted with a human will and loved with a human heart. 

Jesus, the Son of God, wants to be our FRIEND.

Action song:

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins

(Point to sky, then towards yourself and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards, forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Repeat all the actions together)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

(Repeat many times and faster).

Our Father - Prayer

AIM:   To teach children the importance of prayer, what Jesus thought of prayer and to teach the the "Perfect prayer ever taught"

Video obtained from LIVING SCRIPTURES

The Our Father is the PERFECT prayer. It was taught to us by God Himself - Jesus Christ.

Our Father 

When we say Our Father - we call out to Our Father who made us.
He knows us, sees us and understands our  very thoughts.

Who are in Heaven 

When we say Heaven - it does not mean that God lives far away from us - it means God is Perfect - He loves us very much - He abides in Heaven up above - but lives in our hearts especially when we love Him more and more and call out to Him.

Hallowed be Thy Name

No name in the earth, sky or universe is as beautiful, more profound, more powerful than God's Holy Name.
We exalt God's Holiness.

Thy Kingdom Come

God's kingdom is a kingdom of Love, Peace, Joy and Happiness. God's world is pure and we are also waiting for God to come again.

Thy Will be done

In all things we see God's decision or Will in our life.
Mother Mary said "Let it be done unto me according to They Holy Will"  - thereby accepting God's plan in her life.
We too must make this our life's path, our life's mantra - so to speak - Thy will be done.

On Earth as it is in Heaven

We ask God's will to be manifested in our life, our family's life, in every part of the world - the same way it is in God's perfect Heaven


Give us this day our Daily Bread

(Mathew 6: 8 ) Your father knows what you need , even before you ask Him. 

God knows what we need. He knows if we need food, money, more marks, better memory. We ask God in humble supplication to provide us what we need for today. Not tomorrow- not the day after tomorrow.

Example:

Forgive us our trespasses

We all are sinners - sometimes we sin knowingly , sometimes we sin unknowingly.
At all times we need God to love us and forgive us. He is a kind, loving and merciful God.
We prayerfully ask God to forgive us our sins.

As we forgive those who tresspass against us. 

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If we ask God to forgive us and we depend on Hid Mercy , Should we not also forgive our friends / brothers - who have hurt us?
Jesus told his disciples to forgive 70 times 7 - or in other words - any number of times. Just as God does not keep count, we too must not keep count.

Example: Somebody said something that has made me very sad - should I hit him? NO - I must ask God for strength and courage to be the better person - I MUST forgive him and love him.


Do not bring us to the test

God NEVER EVER tempts- it is our need that makes us sin. We ask God to help us in these moments. We ask Him to give us strength to say no.

Example: I have not studied and teacher has given us a surprise test. My friend is busy wrting the answer , but i can see the answer - should I copy? NO - i must ask God to give me strength and courage to NOT copy and be better prepared next time.
Somebody said something that has made me very sad - should I hit him? NO - I must ask God for strength and courage to be the better person.

But deliver us from all Evil

We ask God to protect us from things (bad) that we cannot see.

AMEN 

Image Courtesy Reproduced (with thanks) from
 http://www.catholictradition.org/Children/our-father.htm

Parable of the Rich Fool

AIM:    To enforce the Christian virtue of sharing in children, to remind them that wealth and accumulation of goods is not the ultimate goal but to live a life pleasing to God.

Luke 12: 13-21

Once upon a time there was a rich man who had a very big farm.

He grew lots of crops in his farm.

One year, he had a very good harvest,and his workers gathered lots of grain.

The Rich Man was very happy and thought to himself -"How blessed I am! I am Rich!"

But what shall I do? The harvest was so great that I have no room to store it in my barns.

"Oh, no!! I may have to give some away!" That thought made him pretty sad. He wanted to sell all his crop and get a lot of money .

" I know what I'll do!", thought the Rich man

-I will pull down my old barns...

-...and I will build bigger barns!

I will say to my soul,

"Soul, you have many riches stored up for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry!"

But God said to him, "You fool!Tonight you are going to die!What will you do then, with all the things that you stored ?" 

That night he died in his sleep and he had to leave it all behind.

He could not take all those riches with him.

He was foolish – because he made so many plans but God had different plans for him.

Does that sound like us sometimes? How many of us cry and put up a small tantrum for our parents to deal  with , when we don't get things we asked for?  

Do we fight  and complain when I don't get that new toy? or that chocolate with a  toy inside? 

Do I think of how hard my parents work for me? 

We always want more. More toys, More candy, More clothes, more stuff. 

We don’t have to be like this rich man.

There are many people in the world who have very little of the many things we take for granted. 

God loves them too- If God gave me something extra – He wants me to share some of it.

Jesus told us this parable  as a warning not to be greedy.

In the Story if we see the way the man talks he keeps saying, “My Crops, My barns, My Soul” – its all about Me! Me! Me!

Did the farmer get to keep all the extra food he saved up for himself? No.

And that’s why God doesn’t want us to keep too many things for ourselves. He doesn’t want us to be greedy and keep things just for us. He wants us to keep only what we need and then give our extras away so that we can help other people. If we give our extra things or our extra money away to help other people, God will be happy with us.

For example, if I have an extra chocolate – God will not like it – if I hide it and eat all by myself. God will really like it if I shared it with a friend. Particularly, if that friend does not have one.

Likewise, God likes me to share certain things with my friends such as my talents etc.

If I am good in studies, God wants me to use that talent and help my classmate or friend who finds it hard to study!

Jesus is our everything. When we have Jesus, we don’t have to worry about anything.Even if it seems to be less, God will return us back everything so many times more!!

We don't worry about "little things" . Because when we have Jesus, we have everything!

When we have Jesus, we can give what we have generously to others because we know we will never ever have less.. When we have Jesus, He provides all we need. And no one can take Him away from us forever. (Luke 4:33)