Responsibility
Work with your children to craft animals out of recycled materials, or use old socks to make sock puppets. Discussion point: We need to take good care of all the things God created and entrusted to us.
Work with your children to craft animals out of recycled materials, or use old socks to make sock puppets.
As you build your creations, talk about the importance of reusing and recycling, and use the discussion questions to talk about God’s role as Creator.
Display your memory verse alongside your creations – or perhaps make a sign or flag with your verse on it for one of the animals to hold. Tell you kids that is their responsibility to review the memory verse at least once each day, and reward each child with a small treat when they remember to review the verse without prompting.
Questions for discussion
- Which animal do you think God had the most fun thinking up?
- Why do you think God made so many different kinds of animals?
- Why is one of God’s names “Creator”?
- What are some ways you can care for wild animals? How about plants?
- In what ways do people sometimes show they are lazy about caring for the earth?
- Who made this recycled animal?
- Is it alive?
- How would you feel if someone ruined your creation?
- How do you think God feels when people do not take good care of His creations?
- What are some things people can do to take better care of the earth and the animals in it?
- Do you have a pet? How do you care for it?
Key concepts
As the Creator of the universe, God is the ultimate “boss” or Lord of the earth. He has given us the job of taking care of the earth and all that is in it. In Genesis we read that God made everything: people, the land and sea, the stars and sky, the animals, fish, birds, plants, lakes and rivers.
The Bible tells us that man is the only creature that was made in God’s image. (To be made in God’s image, or to be created to be similar to Him, is a big honour. It means we have been made to live forever and made with the ability to know, to love and to serve God. We have also been given the ability to make choices.)
God has given us the honour of caring for the things He made. God cares for us in a loving and merciful way. Using Him as our role model, we too should care for all He has made with love! When we care diligently for the things God has made, such as people, and all the plants and animals, it pleases God.
Relevant Scripture
Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
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Proverbs 12:10 “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
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- Acceptance
- Adaptability
- Attentiveness
- Christmas
- Compassion
- Confidence
- Consideration
- Contentedness
- Cooperation
- Courage
- Courtesy
- Discernment
- Easter
- Faithfulness
- Forgiveness
- Generosity
- Gentleness
- Gratitude
- Harmony
- Honesty
- Humility
- Joy
- Kindness
- Obedience
- Patience
- Perseverance
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Reverence
- Righteousness
- Self-control
- Thanksgiving
