In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty and dark. The spirit of God was there, moving over it. God said, “Let there be light,” and light appeared. God saw that the light was good. He separated darkness from light and he called the light “day.” The darkness he called “night.” And evening turned to morning- the first day of the world.

God created the sky. He placed the sky between the water on the earth and the water above it. And evening turned to morning- the second day of the world.

God made dry ground appear. He called the dry ground “land.” The water around the land he called “seas.” He covered the land with green plants and leafy trees. And evening turned to morning- the third day of the world.

God commanded that lights appear in the sky. He made the sun to light the day and the moon to shine at night. He scattered twinkling stars across the sky. And the evening turned to morning- the fourth day of the world.

God made the first living creatures. Fish filled the sea and birds flew in the air. And evening turned to morning- the fifth day of the world.

God made all the other animals. He made cows and sheep, dogs and cats, monkeys, elephants, and zebras. God saw that all he made was good, but he was not finished creating yet. God made a man who could think about him and love him and worship him and take care of his creation. God saw that the man was very special, and he was very pleased. And evening turned to morning- the sixth day of the world.

In six days God created everything on the earth, and on the seventh day he rested. So he made the seventh day holy and special.

The Creation Story teaches us much about God and ourselves. First, we learn about God:

• he is creative
• as the Creator he is distinct from his creation
• he is eternal and in control of the world

We also learn about ourselves:

• we are made in God's image
• since God chose to create us, we are valuable in his eyes
• we are more important than the animals (Genesis 1:28)

Some feel that our reason, creativity, speech, or self-determination is the image of God. More likely, it is our entire self that reflects the image of God. We will never be totally like God because he is our supreme Creator. But we do have the ability to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.

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