DAY ONE - BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE CREATION
“In the beginning...”
Genesis 1: 1
Reading: Revelation 4: 10, 11
Every author knows that the opening line of any book has to be arresting and engaging. It has to grip the reader, offer him some taste of what is to come and draw him in to read further. The Bible offers us possibly the most intriguing and gripping of all opening lines. It reads like the once upon a time of our fairytales, doesn’t it?
In the beginning..
When we read those words in the beginning it sounds like we’re about to hear a story, and we are; our story, the story of mankind as seen through the eyes of God. There are many different ways of writing the story of man. Science has written it their way, religion has written it their way, culture has written it their way. But in the Bible we have something precious and unique; we have the story as God has chosen to tell it to us.
God chose not to give us much information about the creation, other than it happened “in the beginning”. Some philosophers and physicists argue for an eternal universe that has no beginning. Einstein’s theory of relativity argues for a non-eternal universe that does have a beginning and an end. The latest theories coming out of quantum physics are now arguing that the universe was filled with a quantum fluid before the moment of creation proper began.
What does the Bible say? It doesn’t provide confirmation or refutation for any of these theories except that it does tell us that there was a time when the “heavens and earth” as we know them now, did not exist. There was a God-orchestrated beginning.
Prayer
Father, I am so grateful for the fact that there was a beginning for You and I. Thank You for writing me into Your story.
For the family
Explain
Discuss some of your children’s favourite stories, movies, TV shows. Show them how God has also written a story, a true story, that’s all about Him and us..and His story starts with
“in the beginning God”
Engage
Very young children
1. Go to
and download and print out a graphic for them to colour-in and decorate.
2. Spend some time reading the opening pages of their Children’s Bible.
Young children
Take time to read some of the opening lines of your children’s favourite books with them. Especially find one or two that start with:
“once upon a time”
Here's one you can read to them
Older children
1. Challenge them to write an opening line to their own personal story, for example, once upon a time, in the year 1995, a very special child was born.
2. It’s the start of a new year. Spend some time discussing some of the goals your child might have for this year. How can you help them to plan for, and achieve, those goals?
