Let's Get Started
Theme: Caring for God's World - The Story Begins
Name a few of your favorite animals. Explain why you like each one.
Just for fun, we told this story from the viewpoint of the animals themselves! As you listen to this episode, think about God's creation and how each animal, plant, and living thing shows us how wonderfully creative God is. He makes good stuff!
After you listen
Memory Verse
So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names.
Quiz
Reflect
Here are some fantastic facts!
A black rhino’s horn is made of something like a human’s fingernails, and if they break off, they can grow back.
An Earthworm's body is covered in tiny bristles, which it uses to move and burrow.
A chameleon's sticky, two-foot-long tongue snaps out at 13 miles an hour.
What are some of your favorite animals? Genesis 1 and 2 show our creative God at work. He not only made over two million species, but he also suited each animal to their environment. For example, in the North African deserts, a fennec fox’s large ears radiate body heat and keep the fox cool. Think about this: God has also given ways for some animals to protect themselves by being fast. In Northern Canada, the large hind legs, furry feet, and large toes of a snowshoe hare help it run on top of snow. God has given many animals ways to defend themselves. For example, pufferfish have elastic stomachs that they can inflate with water and swell up to twice their size.
God didn’t name the animals himself. He gave that responsibility to Adam because Adam was now the caretaker of the Garden of Eden. We don’t know how many animals Adam named, and we don’t know what language he used to name them. We do know that God made all the living beings, so as we learn more and more about each animal, we can marvel at God’s creative power.
Want to dig deeper and learn more about the creation story? Read the whole story in Genesis 1 and 2.
Challenge
What animals do you remember in bible stories? There are over 100 different animals mentioned in the Bible. You might know the story of the dove and the raven, a few stories about lions, and some Old Testament stories and Jesus parables about lambs and sheep. Can you name what stories these animals were in? Find their stories and read them together as a family. Do a keyword search and find other animals in Bible stories and verses.
A Snake (there are a few stories)
A Raven (there are a few stories)
A Camel
Locusts
A Whale
A Worm
A Lion (there are a few stories)
A Lamb (there are a few stories and Jesus parables)
A Donkey (there are a few stories)
A Rooster
