“Hello children of God, are you ready to see something really awesome and fantastic? I am going to make something out of thin air, that’s right, I’m going to just make something appear that wasn’t there before. Ready? Are you ready? Here we go. Okay, okay, I get it, I get it, you’re not that impressed. And you’re right, I didn’t exactly make this appear out of thin air. I just pulled it into a spot where you could actually see what it was. And do you know what this is? This is Play-Doh, my friends. Now I know it might not look exactly like the stuff that you get in the can, but it is the same moldable, stretchable, formable Play-Doh. It’s happens I made this with my own hands. I didn’t pull it out of nowhere, but in fact, I put work into making it. I stirred the flour and salt and oil, and then I added water and cornstarch and ta-da, we’ve got Play-Doh. And from this Play-Doh, which looks kind of like a primordial ooze kind of thing, I can make other things. I can form it into a ball, I can roll it into sort of a snake for a giant worm, I can curl it up from that giant worm, and I can turn it into a snail. See what I did there? There’s lots and lots of things that I can do with this Play-Doh. But obviously, it didn’t just come out of nowhere, it did come from somewhere, came from my hands. And the shapes and the things that I make with it are also going to come for my hands. It would be pretty silly to think that suddenly out of nothing something would be there. But you know, this is actually how some people think that the Earth was created. Believe it or not, there are all these theories that all of the animals and all of the plants and all the things that we have on Earth just sort of appeared, they just came out of nowhere. Some people say it happened all once, some people say that it took long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long amounts of time and then it took these thousands and millions of years for things to just sort of form and develop and somehow from this weird blob of ooze and swamp, we get trees and butterflies and people. That sounds just about as silly as me pulling Play-Doh out of thin air, right? And it is because of course we know better, we know that stuff didn’t just appear or form out of some weird oozy blob, right? Well, how did it all get here? Of course, God. God made everything that we have is formed by his hands. But it didn’t take him a lot of work or effort, he didn’t even have to stir ingredients together. In fact, all God had to do was speak. He said let there be light and there was light. He said let’s make some water and there was water. He said let there be stars and planets and poof, there they were. He said let’s make some animals and they were animals. And he said let’s do some trees and put some stuff over here and put some stuff over there. And then his crowning achievement, he saved the best for last, he made people. He formed a man from dust from the ground and just took him up and there was a man. Obviously, it didn’t look like that,
but and then out of that man, he grabbed a rib and he made a companion, a woman for him. And God, after all these things that he had made, every day when he made something, he said that’s good. And the next day he’d make something else and say, yeah, it’s good. He called all of his creation good and wonderful and lovely. He said, man, these humans, not Play-Doh, to be in charge of all these other things that he had made, to fill the Earth and to enjoy it. Now, things went downhill with that whole sin bit, but that’s coming later. So God made all of these wonderful things for us because he loves us and wanted to take care of us. He made a sun so that we could have light and warmth, he made plants so we could have things to eat, he made animals and he gave us the animals to take care of, he gave us the whole earth to take care of. And it’s just amazing and remarkable to think that God made all of these things. And all that we have now is still made by God. It’s not like he just made one and then everybody else just sort of kept on making it. No, God made the things that we still have now. And we can appreciate that he is in charge, we can appreciate that a much greater, greater brain than ours came up with all this. And we can look at his creativity too. I mean, look at a duck-billed platypus and tell me that God is not creative. So every time we see something, whether it’s a beautiful flower or some delicious fruit or the majestic mountains or even the way that we function as people, we can marvel at God’s creations and stand back and be amazed that he would do all this for us because he loves us. And we can enjoy the world that he has given us. We want to take care of it because that’s what our job is. God gave us the world so that we could take care of it. And so we can keep it clean, keep everything working, and enjoy it. Appreciate that he is not just a creator who made everything and stepped back and let us do our thing. No, he is still with us, still present and involved and loving us. Every time you watch the sun rise or set, every time you see the beautiful clouds in the sky or the gorgeous trees of a forest, remember God made all of that. And the same God who made all of those wonderful, glorious, amazing things in creation made you too and thinks that you are the greatest creation of all. That’s a wonderful thing to give us comfort, give us hope, and remind us that God is near, always with us, and he loves us. Why don’t you say a prayer of thanks to God for all the wonderful things he has made? Dear God, thank you for your wonderful creation. Help us to appreciate it, to take care of it, and to love you when we see it. Thank you for loving us. We love you, God, in Jesus’ name, amen. Well, feel free to use the Play-Doh, take something else out of thin air, or simply talk about the joys of creation. But however you roll it, Genesis 1 is a beautiful, wonderful passage, and it’s always good to remind kids we didn’t just come out of nothing. God formed us and loves us. Hopefully, this can give you some ideas to share the wonderful message with your students, your ministry, wherever and with whomever that might be. Don’t forget, join us again for more craft, message, and lesson ideas. Now go make some disciples, have a great week, and see you next time.”
The video was published on May 23, 2023, and it is made for kids. The video is about teaching children about the creation story from Genesis 1:1-2:4. The presenter uses Play-Doh to illustrate the concept of creation and explains how God created everything in the world. The presenter also encourages children to appreciate and take care of God’s creation.