Wednesday nights @atonement 6th-8th grade



6th-8th Small Group TimeDecember 2nd, 2020 @7:15-8 pmExploring Article OneInstructionsBe sure to start on a positive note. Welcome each learner by name. Let them know you're glad they're here! If anyone is absent, mention you'll be praying for that person together. Small Group Time is for give-and-take discussion. Your main job is to draw learners out and get them talking about the theme. Ask open-ended questions that will provoke responses. Once the conversation begins, intervene only to bring it back on track or to stimulate more talk.Bible Text: Genesis 1:1—2:25Lesson Focus: God’s creative work in the world is ongoing.Big Question: How do we know God is still creating stuff today?Key Words: CREATE, CREATION, SUSTAIN, EX NIHILO, STEWARDSHIPDiscussion Time1. Help youth dive into the Key Words by asking for definitions and/or providing these definitions:-CREATE: to make from nothing.-CREATION: all that exists; all that God has made.-SUSTAIN: to keep, preserve, and maintain.-EX NIHILO: Latin for “out of nothing.”-STEWARDSHIP: responsibility for care and proper use.2. What do you think about the fact that there are two creation stories?3. How do you feel God sustaining and protecting you?4. How do you help God care for creation?5. In what ways are you creative? How is that sharing in God’s work?6. If you could change one thing about creation, what would it be and why?7. Why do some Christians have trouble with scientific theories like the Big Bang and evolution, while others can reconcile the two creation stories with modern science?8. If God provides enough resources, food, water, and so forth for all people, why are so many people hungry?9. What are some ways that we are partners with God in taking care of creation?10. What are some ways that we fail to be good partners with God in taking care of creation?Open the Bible1. Invite students to open their Bibles to Genesis 1:1. Briefly explain that biblical scholars point out that there are actually two creation stories in Genesis. The first one is Genesis 1:1—2:4a and the second one is Genesis 2:4b-25. Ask for volunteers to read Genesis 1:1—2:4a. Make a list of what God created on each day. Invite the students to look back at each of the days and write what God said at the end of each day.-Ask for volunteers to read Genesis 2:4b-24. Invite students to compare 2:4b-24 and 1:1—2:4a. How are they the same? How are they different? How is God’s role the same or different? What does God think of creation in both stories?-From the very beginning, God calls us to take care of creation. What does it mean to be partners with God in taking care of creation?2. Invite students to turn to Romans 8:19-25. Explain that Paul is emphasizing the relationship between creation and human beings. Both were created good, but both now suffer under the bondage of sin.-Ask students to make a list of ways that creation suffers from human sin. They can write their list in the margin of the Bible.Open the Catechism1. Learning the creed is learning a lesson in the Trinity. The Apostles’ Creed is divided into three parts called articles, one for each of the persons in our triune God. First comes God, the Father and creator. Have students open the small catechism to the first article of the Creed, and ask a volunteer to read it with its meaning. Who thought that being the creator of the whole, huge, impossible-to-imagine universe would guarantee that the article about God the Father would be the longest? It’s not. Have students talk with partners about why that makes sense. Help the group grasp that it’s not about the details; it’s about the whole: the beautiful and infinitely complex world that is our reality. ................
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