God is Truth (Genesis 2-3) Lesson #38 in What is God Like?

AGE GROUP: elementary (ages 6-11)
TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes

This is lesson 38 of 42 in our study on the Attributes of God called “Can you tell me what God is like?” Visit the series index to view all the lessons and get more ideas for using this curriculum in your children’s ministry.

LESSON 38: GOD IS TRUTH

Key Verse: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
Teaching Passage: Genesis 2-3
Supporting Texts: John 14:6, John 17:3, 1 John 5:20, Revelation 16:7, Psalm 33:4

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Bibles, previous attribute of God posters, a large piece of paper with the words GOD IS TRUTH written on it, key verse (John 14:6) printed on a piece of paper, blank paper and markers or colored pencils for each child in the group.

LESSON OUTLINE:

REVIEW PREVIOUS LESSONS:

Ask one of the kids in the group to remind you what you’re learning this year. Remind them that each week we’ll be looking into the Bible to answer the question… “Can you tell me what God is like?” and will be learning one of the many truths about God that we see in His Word.

Take a few minutes to review the attributes you’ve previously learned. Play a game of Attribute Charades. Have kids come up one at a time. Whisper one of the attributes of God in their ear. They should act out or explain the attribute for the rest of the kids to guess.

God is Almighty= He has absolute power or is all powerful
God is the Alpha and Omega= He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last
God is Awesome = He inspires awe and amazement
God is Compassionate = He shows a deep concern for His people & a desire to meet their needs
God is the Deliverer = He is the rescuer or savior
God is Exalted = He is noble, elevated and lifted up
God is Faithful = He is reliable, trustworthy, true to His Word & keeps His promises
God Forgives = He grants pardon and cancels the debt of sin
God is Glorious = He is full of glory (praise, honor & distinction)
God is Good = morally excellent, virtuous or righteous
God is Gracious = merciful, benevolent, kind & compassionate
God Guides His People= He leads, accompanies, assists and gives direction/ guidance
God Heals = make healthy & whole & free from ailments
God is Holy = He is sinless, perfect and set apart
God is our Hope = He is the One in whom our expectations are centered
Jesus is Immanuel = God with Us
God is Judge = He is the One who rules over and passes judgement on others
God is Just = He is the One who is fair and does what is right
God is King of kings & Lord of lords = He is The One who rules the rulers
Jesus is the Lamb without blemish = He is the perfect sacrifice for sin
God is Love = God has tender and caring affection for His people
God is Majestic = God is stately, kingly, grand & raised up
God is Merciful = God is full of compassion, pity, and undeserved grace & love for another
God is Omnipotent = He is almighty or infinite in power
God is Omnipresent = He is everywhere all the time
God is Omniscient = He knows everything
God is One = the Only God
God Protects His People = He defends, guards, covers & shields His people
God is Righteous = He is always right & He always does what is right
God is the Rock = solid, strong and offering protection
God provides the PERFECT SACRIFICE for sin = Jesus is the gift or payment that paid for our sin
God Saves = to rescue from danger
God Shepherds His people = He tends, guards and watches over His people
God is a Shield= He hides, conceals & protects His people (through Jesus’ blood)
God is Sovereign = He rules over all
Jesus is the One Mediator = He is the One who stands between (us & God) and brings judgement
God is Trustworthy = He is dependable, reliable, honest & faithful

TEACH – TRUTH:

This morning we’re talking about the truth that God is Truth. Believe it or not, within the first few pages of the Bible, God’s character is called into question as the serpent asks Eve, “Did God really say….” The serpent accuses God (& Eve) of lying. We know that God never lies, in fact He is TRUTH…there is nothing false in Him.

Introduce the story by reminding the kids what happened in Genesis 1 & 2. Remind them that God created everything. God wasn’t created, but has always been and He made everything simply by speaking it into being.

Read Genesis 1:26-30 & Genesis 2:7-17. Talk briefly about how God made Adam & Eve, what made Adam & Eve different from the rest of creation, what commands God gave to Adam & Eve, what they were made to do, what they were told not to do, etc.

Read Genesis 3:1-13 and/ or tell the story in your own words highlighting the following points:

Satan came into the garden in the form of a serpent.
Satan lied to the woman and asked about what God had said about the tree in the middle of the garden. Satan told Eve that they wouldn’t really die. Satan told them that God had lied.
Eve believed Satan’s lie. She took some of the fruit and ate it and gave some of it to Adam to eat as well.
They both disobeyed God. This was the first sin.
When they realized what they had gone, they felt guilty and ashamed. They made some coverings out of leaves and they hid from God.
God called out to them and asked where they were. (Did God really not know where they were? He is omniscient…He knows everything. He wanted them to admit what they had done.)
Adam answered that he was afraid so he hid. God asked him if he had eaten from the tree.
Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent.

DEFINE AND REMEMBER:

Introduce the concept of God being truth by asking the kids to tell you how they know if something is true or false. Have one of the kids define the word true and the word false.

Then, briefly talk through the punishments given to Adam, to Eve and to the serpent. Look back at Genesis 2:17 and ask, ‘God said they would die if they ate from the tree. Was death part of their punishment?’ Explain that their punishment wasn’t immediate death, but that when they broke God’s law and sinned that death came into the world. Read Genesis 3:19 as a reminder that they would die. They were made to live forever with God, but now they would work hard, they would have pain and then they would die separated from God.

Explain that the truth of the matter is that because of sin we all have the same punishment. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death….or, the consequence that we all deserve because of sin is death.

TRUTH = FACT, RELIABLE, NOT FALSE IN ANY WAY

Since motions & actions help kids remember, choose an action for TRUTH. A good motion might be to make a capital T with your hands.

MEMORY VERSE:

SAY: “Our memory verse for the week is John 14:6. This verse helps us to see that God is truth.”

Talk briefly about the truth that you see in this verse. Ask, how does Jesus define Himself in this verse? He is the way, He is the Truth and He is the Life. He is the only way to the Father. Not only is God the Father Truth, but Jesus is Truth and He provides the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin.

Read the memory verse (John 14:6) a few times together and do the motion for truth.

CROSS CONNECTION:

Think back to the story and punishment for that very first sin in the garden. God told them they would work hard, they would have pain and then they would die. But, the worst part of the consequence was that all of that would happen in separation from God. What we need to remember is that this is still the consequence for all of us. We will work hard, we will have pain and we will die, separated from God. When sin came into the world with Adam & Eve, sin came into each of our hearts and as sinners we will die. BUT, even in the punishment given to Adam & Eve and the serpent they was some hope of what was to come. In Genesis 3:15, God told Satan that one day the offspring of a woman would crush him. That offspring (that child) is Jesus. One day, God would send His own Son into the world to pay the price (die) for our sin and in that sacrifice, Jesus would crush Satan. That’s not the only clue we see about Jesus in this passage either. Before kicking them out of the garden, God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam & Eve (Genesis 3:21). To make these clothes that would protect and cover His people, God had to kill an animal. He had to sacrifice part of His good creation. That first sacrifice pointed to the day when God would send His Only Son into the world to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin- not just to cover up our sin, but to get rid of it forever. So you see, way back in Genesis 2:17 when God told Adam & Eve that if they ate from the tree they would die, God was being truthful. When they broke His law, death came into the world and the only way to reverse it was for Jesus to die in our place.

REVIEW:

Give each child a blank piece of paper provide markers or colored pencils. Encourage them to write the word TRUTH somewhere on the paper and then write or draw something to help them remember this attribute of God. They could write the definition for TRUTH or the memory verse or they could illustrate the the story. After a few minutes, bring the group back together and give kids time to share what they have drawn or written.

PRAYER:

Pray that the kids in the group would come to know God more and more each week through this study and that they would remember that all of us are sinners who need to be saved and that they would turn to this good God for salvation. Pray that children in the class would trust Jesus as the only way to be saved and find truth in Christ alone.

God is Truth (Genesis 2 -3) Lesson #38 in What is God Like?