Sabbath School Summary
God Created…
Lesson 1
Memory Text: Proverbs 14:31

SATURDAY: Human language is inadequate to express the splendor of our world when God first made it; it was “very good”. Angels beheld our world with delight, but man whom it was gifted to rejected it through sin. This broke the Maker’s heart. Oh! How sad it feels to have a gift rejected by your love. Yet, God still loves our world and has made a plan to restore it. He bids us to be colaborers with Him.

SUNDAY: There is no tear shed which escapes God or a smile not marked by Him. How the sun set, how the flower bloom, and how man move all begins with God—He is the Creator & Sustainer (Acts 17:28, Gen. 1:1, 2:7). Man was His crowning work of creation (Gen. 1:26-31). He was to reflect God both in image and in character. We’re called to imitate His love for us, and live in harmony with others.

MONDAY: Repeatedly, God admired His handiworks; “it was very good” (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31). Eyes have not seen how Eden was like, but daily men crave for it. The world God created was filled with beauty and life—it was a complete world. Even though sin has marred our world, we see the goodness of God in creation (Job 38-41, Ps. 148, Matt. 6:26, 28-30). Thus, in the midst of our trials, God is good.

TUESDAY: When man came forth from the hands of the Creator, he was given dominion over everything God created. All lower animals were brought before Adam to be named. He then bid the holy pair to be fruitful & multiply (Gen. 2:19, 1:28). They were not just to be objects of creation but to be stewards of it (Gen. 2:15). Thus, we’re tasked to take care of the world but not to destroy it, God owns it (Ps. 24:1).

WEDNESDAY: God gave man moral freedom unlike the lower beings. He made men not like robots but gave man the power of “free will”. Thus, love led God to risk what He had made by giving man the choice to disobey. The usurper (Satan) disrupted the moral freedom of angels and advanced his plan on man (Gen. 3:1-5). Satan led man into sin, this broke the relationship between God & man (Gen. 3:8-19).

THURSDAY: Sin resulted in distinction by caste, race, color etc. amongst men. The first human blood was shed when Cain killed his brother Abel (Gen. 4:9). God bids us to be one another’s keeper. We’re all God’s images; “all woven together in the web of humanity (Prov. 22:2, MH, p. 345, Matt. 22:37-39). The truth that God created us calls us to remember the Sabbath & be caring (Exod. 20:11, Rev. 14:7, Prov. 14:31).

FRIDAY: God never changes—His love, His law, & His nature are infallible and immutable. Creation testifies of God’s love for the human race—He created us to receive blessings not curses. If we would be faithful stewards, then His blessings shall be our portion. “The Lord has made ample provision for all.”

—Ellen G. White, “The Creation,” pp. 44–51, in Patriarchs and Prophets. Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 33. Welfare Ministry, p. 16.

Keywords

MH- The Ministry of Healing

Captions

SUNDAY- God: A Glimpse of Creation
MONDAY- A Complete World
TUESDAY- Stewards of the Earth
WEDNESDAY- A Broken World
THURSDAY- The Family Web of Humanity

Discussion Questions

📌 Look carefully at the last Ellen White statement above. What is she saying? Who is she saying is ultimately responsible for so much of the poverty we see? What should this tell us about the importance of faithful stewardship?

📌 After thousands of years of the brokenness caused by sin, how possible is it for us still to see the goodness of creation? As people who believe in the Creator God, what can we do to help others see the goodness of His creation?

📌 What do you understand by the word stewardship? Has anything in this week’s lesson expanded your thinking about what it means to be a steward, particularly as we are called by God?

📌 How might it change the way we relate to and treat others if we were to see a sign on every person we met that reminded us that this person is “created by God in His image and loved by Him”?

Entire Lesson Summary

God created a good and complete world, and He appointed human beings, created in His image, to “tend and care for” His creation. Though sin broke the relationships that God originally had intended for us, we still have a role to play as stewards of the goodness of creation and caretakers of our fellow human beings. Fulfilling this role is one way we can honor God as our Creator.

For June 29-July 5. Happy Sabbath.

—Michae