Newsletter 67.
Newsletter 67 from Maurice Sweetsur.
Maurice's Programme for July.
The following is my programme, that has so far been confirmed, for July. Anyone living in the Auckland area that wishes to come along to any of these events will be very welcome. Most programmes run for about 1 hour. Email me if you require further details.
Sun. June 29. West City Christian Centre, Glendene. Sunday school. 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Wed. July 2. Maraetai Presbyterian church. Kids club 3.15 p.m.
Sun. July 6. Papakura Anglican church. Sunday school. 9.30 a.m.
Tues. July 8. Clevedon Anglican church. Holiday programme. 2 p.m.
Tues. July 8. Christian Youth Camps, Ngaruawahia. 7 p.m.
Wed. July 9. Northcross Community church, Browns Bay. Holiday programme. 1 p.m.
Fri. July 11. Avondale Reformed church. Holiday programme. 1 p.m.
Sun. July 13. Papakura Anglican church. Sunday school. 9.30 a.m.
Tues. July 15. Clevedon Anglican church. Holiday programme. 2 p.m.
Tues. July 15. Christian Youth Camps, Ngaruawahia. 7 p.m.
Wed. July 16. St.Peter's Anglican church, Pakuranga. Holiday programme. 10 a.m.
Sun July 20. Windsor Park Baptist church, Mairangi Bay. Sunday school. 8.30 a.m. and 11.15 a.m.
Sun. July 27. Church of the Good Shepherd, Massey. Sunday school. 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
RECENT COMMENT.
Hi Maurice, many thanks for today, it was great and the feedback from mum's & dad's and the kids was very positive. We had over 80 people and at least 55 of those were kids, probably 45 of whom we had not seen regularly before, so we are hoping there will a good spin off for a future ongoing children's work at the Church. So THANKS for your help in giving us a "kick start".
Pastor Ray White,
Manukau Apostolic church.
A Creation special - Part 1.
Regular readers of my Newsletters will know how much importance I place on teaching children Biblical creation, as described in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Without a good knowledge about what God said about 'the beginnings' they won't be fully able to understand other Biblical doctrines, especially those concerning the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore when children (possibly when they are older) are exposed to the teaching of evolution, they may become confused, or even start to regard the Bible stories as simply myths.
Over the last six years I have shared quite a lot of ideas concerning the teaching of creation. I have now drawn all these together, and will share them in this and my next Newsletter.
Maurice Sweetsur
Contents.
T.T. 43 - Our amazing earth.
O.L. 20 - Teaching Creation using balloon modelling.
T.T. 4 - Ideas on teaching about Creation.
O.L. 29 - A memory feat.
The vastness of the universe.
O.L. 37 - God can do things instantly.
O.L. 28 - God's provision.
T.T. 43 - Our amazing earth.
God created the earth as it is for the benefit of His 'Special Creation' - us! We are to enjoy it and look after it (including everything that God has created on it, such as the animals) on His behalf.
God made the earth just right for us to live on. Even very small changes in the earth's conditions would make life, as we know it, impossible.
Consider the following ten facts - - - -
1. The earth is about 150 million kilometres from the sun. This is exactly the right distance to hold the temperature between 0 degrees C. and 40 degrees C. on most of the earth. This is the temperature needed to sustain most life. But if the earth were just 5% closer to the sun, not only would it be too hot for us, but the oceans would boil and the water would all evaporate. It has been calculated that even a 2 degree C. rise in the average surface temperature of the earth would be enough to melt the polar ice caps and cause devastating flooding). If the earth were only 5% further away from the sun, the oceans would freeze, making life in them and transport on them impossible.
2. The earth's orbit around the sun is nearly a perfect circle. If, as in the case of most other planets, the orbit were oval shaped (like an egg), the earth would be blazing hot as it approached the sun, and deathly cold as it moved away from it.
3. The earth rotates once on its axis every 24 hours. If it didn't rotate, one side would be day all the time and be very hot, and the other would be night all the time and be very cold. If the earth's speed of rotation were much slower than it is, our days would still be very hot, and our nights very cold. If the rotation were much faster, the wind would blow so strongly that we wouldn't be able to stand up in the open. The length of each day and night is also just right for the amount of sleep we need.
4. The earth is tilted on its axis by about 23 degrees. If it wasn't tilted this way, we would have no seasons. Countries near the equator would be very hot. Those far from the equator would be too cold to grow food - resulting in a world-wide food shortage.
6. The diameter of the earth is about 13,000 Kilometres. If it were only about 10% less than this then, because of the consequent reduction in gravity, most of the oxygen which we need to breathe would escape into outer space. If the diameter of the earth were 10% greater than at present, the increased gravity, and hence air pressure, would cause the polar ice caps to melt - resulting in devastating flooding.
7. Our atmosphere contains about 21% oxygen, which is just right for life on earth. A much higher level would make the planet highly inflammable, but at a much lower level, fire would not burn at all. And we would find it very hard to breathe!
Another type of oxygen is ozone. This forms a layer in our atmosphere which absorbs the very harmful ultraviolet light from the sun and prevents it reaching us on the earth. The problem with ozone is that it is poisonous. So where to we find this ozone layer? About 15 kilometres above the earth's surface, where it can do us no harm.
8. The pull of gravity on the earth by the moon and the sun causes the tides. Tides cleanse the ocean's shores, help put oxygen (that fish breathe) into the water, and help keep the ocean currents moving, preventing the sea from becoming stagnant. If the moon were a little smaller or a little further away than at present, there would be very little tidal action, resulting in even the oceans becoming stagnant and the death of all aquatic creatures. If the moon were a little larger or a little nearer than at present, the tidal action would be too severe, with low lying areas being flooded twice a day!
9. Unlike the earth, the moon doesn't rotate about its axis. This means that the same side of the moon always faces the earth. This side is made up of mostly dark dust, and so it only reflects about 7% of its sunlight to the earth. The other side of the moon is extremely rocky, and therefore very reflective. If this side faced the earth, our nights would be almost as bright as our days, thus making sleeping very difficult.
10. Although we don't know the purpose of all the planets in the solar system, we do know that the two largest, Jupiter (318 times the size of the earth) and Saturn (95 times the size of the earth), with their strong gravities, are in just the right positions to pull many comets and meteors away and prevent them crashing into the earth and killing us all.
O.L. 20. Teaching Creation using balloon modelling.
When introducing the topic of Creation, I usually start by emphasizing the point that there are two things that only God can do.
Firstly, although people are very clever, and can do such things like land a man on the moon, invent televisions or computers, they cannot make something out of nothing. Given starting materials, people can often change their properties - size, shape, colour, texture etc., but they cannot make something out of nothing - only God can do that.
Secondly, people cannot make something that is living out of something that is not living. Again, only God can do that.
I then proceed by stating that I am now going to re-create two of the creatures that God first created on the fifth and sixth days of the Creation week. I then make a balloon bird (or fish) and a balloon animal, continuing my talk as I do so. ( If you don't do balloon modelling, you can still get your point across by simply cutting out appropriate shapes from pieces of paper).
As you make the shapes, emphasize that you are starting with something that already exists e,g. your uninflated balloon and some air. Then state that for anybody to make anything ( whether it be a watchmaker, a car-maker, a shoe-maker, or a balloon animal maker) only two things are needed - Know-how ( or intelligence ) and Power ( or energy ). Without power, your idea will remain only in your head, and without know-how (or an intelligent plan), you will just make a big mess!
As your models near completion, ask "If I had more know-how, do you think I would make a better or worse model?" The children will respond "better." Then ask "The Bible tells us that God has all know-how (He knows everything and is super-intelligent), so how good do you think God could make things?" The children should respond "very good" or "perfect." Then state " That's exactly right. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created a perfect world."
Then ask "If I had more power, do you think I could make these models faster or slower than I can now?" The response will be "faster." Then ask "All the power in the Universe belongs to God, so how fast do you think He could make things?" The children should respond "in a split second" or "instantly." State "That's exactly right. The Bible tells us that God not only created a perfect world, but He also made everything in it instantly - just by speaking."
Alternatively (for a younger class) you could simply produce a balloon animal which has already been made, and ask "How do you think this model was made? Do you think it could have been made by accident? Perhaps someone left an uninflated balloon in this room last night, and left the window open. Overnight, the wind blew through the window and into the balloon. The balloon then began twisting itself round and round until it formed the shape of this animal which you see here now. Finally, the end of the balloon managed to tie itself in a knot to stop the air escaping. Do you think that really happened, or do you think that there is a balloon model maker somewhere who made this animal on purpose?" The children should see the absurdity of the model being able to make itself by accident, and respond "There is a balloon model maker somewhere." Emphasise the point that everything the children see around them has to have a maker. Watches need watchmakers, shoes need shoemakers, chairs need carpenters etc. Nothing can make itself.
You will then be able to apply the above argument to the creation of the Universe and everything in it. State "There are some people who believe that the Universe made itself by accident. But the Universe is far more wonderful and complex than a balloon animal, and if even that couldn't make itself, then how likely is it that the whole Universe made itself? No, the Bible teaches us that we have wonderful Creator who made the Universe and everything in it on purpose. And the good news is :- He made it all for our benefit.
Teaching Tip 4 - Ideas on teaching about Creation.
I can think of no other Bible topic that lends itself to so many fun activities for children than creation. Here are a few examples that you could incorporate into your lessons on this subject.
1. (Object Lesson 41 - The earth, sun and moon). After teaching how God created the earth, sun and moon, get three children to act out their motions.
a. The sun stays still, but always shines (smiles).
b. The earth travels round the sun, rotating as it does so (365+ spins per one circuit round the sun!).
c. The moon travels round the earth, remembering to always keep its same side facing the earth.
I have always found this to be great fun for children of all ages. Usually the 'moon' finds it hard to keep up with the earth, causing great hilarity among the spectators.
You could explain that God has made the conditions on earth just right for life. Even small changes would make life, as we know it, impossible. Ask "What would it be like on earth if - - - ?
1. The earth was nearer to the sun -------- Too hot. (It has been calculated that even a 2 degree C. rise in the average surface temperature of the earth would be enough to melt the polar ice caps and cause devastating flooding).
2. The earth was further away from the sun ------ Too cold.
3. The earth didn't rotate once on its axis every 24 hours ------ One side would be day all the time and be very hot. The other would be night all the time and be very cold.
4. The earth rotated faster than now ------ Very short days and nights, and constant hurricane force winds.
5. The earth wasn't tilted on its axis ------ No seasons. Countries near the equator would be very hot. Those far from the equator would be too cold to grow food - resulting in a world-wide food shortage.
6. The diameter of the earth was (say 10%) less than its present 13,000 Kilometres ------- Because of the consequent reduction in gravity, most of the oxygen which we need to breathe would escape into outer space.
7. The diameter of the earth was 10% greater than at present ------ The increased gravity, and hence air pressure would cause the polar ice caps to melt - resulting in devastating flooding.
8. The moon was a little smaller or a little further away than at present ------ Very little tidal action, resulting in even the oceans becoming stagnant and the death of all aquatic creatures.
9. The moon was a little larger or a little nearer than at present ------ Too severe tidal action, with low lying areas being flooded twice a day!
What a wonderful Creator we have, who not only made the earth just right for us to inhabit, but He also keeps it that way year, after year, after year.
2. (Object Lesson 42 - Gravity). Get a soft, hollow ball and pierce two holes in it close to each other. Thread a piece of string through the holes and tie together. You are now ready to demonstrate the importance of having the right strength of gravity as the earth circles the sun.
Hold the end of the string, and swing the ball round your head. Explain that your head represents the sun, and the ball represents the earth travelling round it year after year at a constant speed. Also, because gravity remains the same, the earth remains the same distance from the sun.
Ask, "What would happen to the earth if God increased gravity a little?" Demonstrate the effect by letting the ball crash into your head.
Ask "What would happen if God decreased gravity a little?" Demonstrate by letting go of the string. The ball will fly off to the other side of the room!
3. (Object Lesson 43 - Can nothing turn into something?). Bring an empty jar to your class, complete with lid. Ask the children to watch the jar for you for a few weeks, and tell you if anything begins to appear on the inside.
After a few weeks, ask the children if anything has begun to grow inside the jar? No. Ask, if you left the jar in the room for a year, with the lid closed, they think something will then have begun to grow - perhaps a little ant? No. How about 10 years? 100 years? A million years? Ever? The answer is still no. Explain that if nothing cannot become something in a few weeks, there is absolutely no reason to believe that it could ever do so. (You may wish to explain that there is actually air in your jar, but if even the air could not turn into something, there is certainly no way that 'nothing' could).
Some people do believe, however, that this did happen. They call it Evolution. They say that a long time ago, there was nothing. But them this nothing, all by itself, managed to become something, and that this something kept changing and changing into all the variety of things we see today, including us! The Bible tells us, however, that in the space of six days God, through His power, created the Universe and everything in it. God not only made everything complete and perfect, He made it all for our benefit - for us to enjoy and take care of.
4. (Object Lesson 44 - Dependence on oxygen). Talk about how God created the air ( or oxygen ), and then demonstrate how dependent we are on this by getting the children to see how long they can survive without it, i.e. how long they can hold their breath. If the oxygen level were a little less than its present 21%, breathing would be difficult. If it were a little higher, the fire danger would be greatly increased.
5. If you were the Creator! Give each child a circular piece of plain cardboard (or paper). Ask them to imagine that they are the Creator, and that they are going to create a new world by drawing on their cardboard. Allow a few minutes for this, and give a few suggestions e.g. birds, flowers, animals, people.
When complete, ask the children to close their eyes and imagine the creatures in their perfect world coming alive - singing, laughing, playing etc. Everything is wonderful.
Now ask the children to imagine that something has gone wrong in their perfect world. People are arguing, fighting and killing each other. The animals are killing and eating each other. Weeds are growing among the flowers.
Explain that this is exactly what happened with God's perfect world. The question to the children is, "What should they do about their world that has gone bad?" Give them four options:-
1. Destroy their world. (You will probably find that most children will vote for this option!)
2. Send someone to teach the people how to be good.
3. Go yourself to show the people how to love each other.
4. Give the people the power to change and be good.
Conclude by explaining that God didn't choose to destroy His world, because He still loved it even after it had gone bad. Rather, He chose options 2, 3, and best of all No. 4.
6. An Amazing flying machine.
Talk about all the money and brain power that have gone into making some marvellous flying machines, such as Concorde, the Space shuttle, Stealth bombers, etc. Then say that you are now going to talk about an amazing flying machine that is far more wonderful than all the others put together! This flying machine can take off and land sideways on a vertical wall! It has tremendous manoeuvrability, being able to instantly change direction. It can take off with amazing acceleration. It has the ability to sense danger, and can take off and be out of danger in a split second. If it develops a fault, it can often correct itself. It has the ability to find it's own fuel and refuel itself, and it even has the ability to reproduce itself - to make many other flying machines just like itself! "Would you children like to see a picture of this amazing flying machine? Here it is - a fly! (Produce a picture of an ordinary house fly - there are plenty available on the internet). God's creations are far more wonderful than people can make!"
7. Children are fascinated with dinosaurs. You may be able to purchase at reasonable cost a suitable fossil, e.g. a dinosaur tooth, or footprint and take this along to your class to talk about.
8. (Object Lesson 45 - "Made after its own kind."). God made the first of every living Biblical "kind", each with the ability to reproduce 'after it's own kind.' To explain this, take along an acorn. Explain that God created the first oak tree, with acorns (seeds) like this one contained in it. Some of those acorns would fall to the ground and grow into other oak trees, just like their parent tree, with each again containing their own acorns. Those, in turn. would fall to the ground and some would grow into more oak trees containing acorns, etc. etc. And that's how we get oak trees today. You may then wish to apply this argument to other living things, emphasising that cats always produce cats, dogs produce dogs, and people produce people etc.
O.L. 29. - A Memory Feat.
Adam was created perfect with a wonderful mind and memory. He had to name all the many different animals that God brought before him, and then would have had to remember all their names. To illustrate this you can then amaze your class by doing your own memory feat.
Have fifty cards, blank on one side and numbered from 1 to 50 on the other. On the same side write , apparently random, six-digit numbers across their centres. State that you are going to memorise all fifty of these six-digit numbers. Flick through the cards as you pretend to memorise them, give them a good shuffle, turn the blank sides upwards and offer the pack to about six volunteers who will each choose a card. One at a time, ask your volunteers to tell you the number of their card (i.e. between 1 and 50), and as they do so write on the board the six-digit number associated with that card! You will achieve a 100 percent success rate!
You will have probably realised by now that you don't really memorise the numbers, rather you calculate them from the card number you are given. This is how you do it :-
To the number you are given (i.e. between 1 and 50), add eleven. Reverse this two-digit number. This will be the first two numbers you write on the board. Add these two numbers together to give your third number. However, if this is a two-digit number, ignore the first digit (i.e. "1") and write down the second. Proceed in this way, adding your last two digits together, until you have written down all six digits. Ask your volunteer to confirm this is the number they have on their card. A few of examples will make this clear :-
Card No. 15. Six-digit No. will be 628088.
Card No. 16 Six-digit No. will be 729101.
Card No. 17 Six-digit No. will be 820224.
As can be seen, even card numbers that are close to each other will produce completely different six-digit numbers.
The vastness of the Universe.
People, especially children, find it difficult to comprehend the vastness of the Universe - and hence the Greatness of God who created it all. Instead of talking about trillions of stars, you could use the Voyager spaceship to help children understand how big our Universe really is.
The Voyager was launched in 1977 to explore the Universe. It travels at a speed of 1.5 million Kilometres a day. Travelling at that speed, it would take the Spaceship :-
30 minutes to travel once round the earth.
6 hours to reach the moon.
3 months to reach the sun.
26 years to reach the outer limits of the solar system (where it is now).
And a massive 40,000 years to reach our nearest star! And, of course, there are trillions of stars in the entire Universe, all of which are much, much further away still.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19.1.
O.L.37 - God can do things instantly.
Here are two 'instant addition' illustrations to help children understand that God doesn't need time to do what He wants to do, rather He can do things instantly.
A. Get a volunteer to write any two four-digit numbers on the board. You then write out the third four-digit number, ensuring that the product of the second and third numbers is 9999. For example, if the second number is 3785, the third number will be 6214. Get your volunteer to write out the fourth four-digit number. You then write out the fifth number, ensuring that the product of the fourth and fifth numbers is again 9999. You are now ready to amaze your class by adding up all five numbers instantly. Your answer will be 2, followed by the first number minus 2. i.e. If the first number is 4567, your answer will be 24565. Here is an example :-
Volunteer 4567
Volunteer 4291
Self 5708
Volunteer 6235
Self 3764
Total = 24565
Get the children to confirm your answer - with their calculators if these are available.
B. Prepare four cards (A,B,C,D), each with a five-digit number on them written from top to bottom as shown.
A B C D
9 6 1 8
1 4 5 7
5 2 4 1
4 7 7 7
2 5 8 4
Get a volunteer to come and stick the cards on the board, in any order they choose, to thus form five four-digit numbers - as per the example above. Remind the children that there are twenty four different ways in which your volunteer could have arranged the cards.
As soon as the cards are in place, write down the product of the five numbers. You could get the children to be adding up the numbers with their calculators at the same time - but you will have the correct answer long before them! To get your instant answer, write down 2, followed by two plus each number in your second four-digit number (1457 in above example), except for the last number (7) which remains unaltered. Thus the answer is 23677.
You may wish to get a second volunteer to come and rearrange the cards, and repeat the procedure. If the cards were rearranged C.B.D,A for example, your answer will be 27691.
O.L. 28. - God's Provision.
There are numerous examples in nature that can help children understand the wonderful provision of God for all of His creation. You can take along to your class such things as flowers, insects and pets, and by showing how God meets all their needs, show how He will also meet all our needs. I usually take along a few dandelions, including one which is ready to shed its seeds, and proceed as follows :-
Most people think of these flowers as weeds, but did you know that God provides for each plant everything it needs to survive, grow well, and produce more dandelions?
Petals. You probably think you are looking at just one flower, but actually what you can see is about a hundred flowers bunched together. Each single petal is a complete flower, capable of producing a perfect seed, to enable another dandelion to grow.
Stem. Now let's look at the stem of the dandelion. As I break it in two, you can see that it is hollow - just like a straw. This means that the stem is very light and flexible. When heavy rain or wind comes, the stem will bend over, but then will be able to spring up again afterwards. If the stem was solid, it would break in the heavy rain or wind.
Leaves. We will now look at the leaves. They appear to be pretty crude and ugly, but actually all these jagged edges, channels and grooves are ideal for collecting rain water and sending it down to the root where it is needed to help the dandelion to grow.
Root. Look how long and strong this root is. It is ideal for holding the dandelion in place when the bad weather comes, and preventing it from being blown away.
Seed head. Let us now examine this dandelion which is ready to shed its seeds. If you look closely at the seed heads, you will see that they are all like tiny parachutes. This means that when a breeze comes, they don't all fall off the parent plant in the same small area and thus have to compete with each other for the same patch of earth to grow in. No, because of the way God has designed them, they are able to float long distances in the breeze, and thus have a much better chance of surviving and growing into other dandelions.
Seed. If you looked at a seed under the microscope, you would see that it is shaped like a screw. This means that after its "parachute" has carried it to a patch of earth, it is able to plant itself by screwing into the ground, thus again giving it a better chance to survive and grow.
As we have seen, God loves each little dandelion so much that He has given it everything it needs to grow well and produce more dandelions. Hands up everyone who thinks that God loves us as much as He does dandelions? (Probably most of the children will raise their hands). Those who have raised their hands are wrong. The Bible teaches that God loves each of us far, far, more than dandelions, or indeed any other of His creations. But if He gives each dandelion everything it needs, how much more will He give to us everything we need!
Maurice's Programme for July.
The following is my programme, that has so far been confirmed, for July. Anyone living in the Auckland area that wishes to come along to any of these events will be very welcome. Most programmes run for about 1 hour. Email me if you require further details.
Sun. June 29. West City Christian Centre, Glendene. Sunday school. 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Wed. July 2. Maraetai Presbyterian church. Kids club 3.15 p.m.
Sun. July 6. Papakura Anglican church. Sunday school. 9.30 a.m.
Tues. July 8. Clevedon Anglican church. Holiday programme. 2 p.m.
Tues. July 8. Christian Youth Camps, Ngaruawahia. 7 p.m.
Wed. July 9. Northcross Community church, Browns Bay. Holiday programme. 1 p.m.
Fri. July 11. Avondale Reformed church. Holiday programme. 1 p.m.
Sun. July 13. Papakura Anglican church. Sunday school. 9.30 a.m.
Tues. July 15. Clevedon Anglican church. Holiday programme. 2 p.m.
Tues. July 15. Christian Youth Camps, Ngaruawahia. 7 p.m.
Wed. July 16. St.Peter's Anglican church, Pakuranga. Holiday programme. 10 a.m.
Sun July 20. Windsor Park Baptist church, Mairangi Bay. Sunday school. 8.30 a.m. and 11.15 a.m.
Sun. July 27. Church of the Good Shepherd, Massey. Sunday school. 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
RECENT COMMENT.
Hi Maurice, many thanks for today, it was great and the feedback from mum's & dad's and the kids was very positive. We had over 80 people and at least 55 of those were kids, probably 45 of whom we had not seen regularly before, so we are hoping there will a good spin off for a future ongoing children's work at the Church. So THANKS for your help in giving us a "kick start".
Pastor Ray White,
Manukau Apostolic church.
A Creation special - Part 1.
Regular readers of my Newsletters will know how much importance I place on teaching children Biblical creation, as described in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Without a good knowledge about what God said about 'the beginnings' they won't be fully able to understand other Biblical doctrines, especially those concerning the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore when children (possibly when they are older) are exposed to the teaching of evolution, they may become confused, or even start to regard the Bible stories as simply myths.
Over the last six years I have shared quite a lot of ideas concerning the teaching of creation. I have now drawn all these together, and will share them in this and my next Newsletter.
Maurice Sweetsur
Contents.
T.T. 43 - Our amazing earth.
O.L. 20 - Teaching Creation using balloon modelling.
T.T. 4 - Ideas on teaching about Creation.
O.L. 29 - A memory feat.
The vastness of the universe.
O.L. 37 - God can do things instantly.
O.L. 28 - God's provision.
T.T. 43 - Our amazing earth.
God created the earth as it is for the benefit of His 'Special Creation' - us! We are to enjoy it and look after it (including everything that God has created on it, such as the animals) on His behalf.
God made the earth just right for us to live on. Even very small changes in the earth's conditions would make life, as we know it, impossible.
Consider the following ten facts - - - -
1. The earth is about 150 million kilometres from the sun. This is exactly the right distance to hold the temperature between 0 degrees C. and 40 degrees C. on most of the earth. This is the temperature needed to sustain most life. But if the earth were just 5% closer to the sun, not only would it be too hot for us, but the oceans would boil and the water would all evaporate. It has been calculated that even a 2 degree C. rise in the average surface temperature of the earth would be enough to melt the polar ice caps and cause devastating flooding). If the earth were only 5% further away from the sun, the oceans would freeze, making life in them and transport on them impossible.
2. The earth's orbit around the sun is nearly a perfect circle. If, as in the case of most other planets, the orbit were oval shaped (like an egg), the earth would be blazing hot as it approached the sun, and deathly cold as it moved away from it.
3. The earth rotates once on its axis every 24 hours. If it didn't rotate, one side would be day all the time and be very hot, and the other would be night all the time and be very cold. If the earth's speed of rotation were much slower than it is, our days would still be very hot, and our nights very cold. If the rotation were much faster, the wind would blow so strongly that we wouldn't be able to stand up in the open. The length of each day and night is also just right for the amount of sleep we need.
4. The earth is tilted on its axis by about 23 degrees. If it wasn't tilted this way, we would have no seasons. Countries near the equator would be very hot. Those far from the equator would be too cold to grow food - resulting in a world-wide food shortage.
6. The diameter of the earth is about 13,000 Kilometres. If it were only about 10% less than this then, because of the consequent reduction in gravity, most of the oxygen which we need to breathe would escape into outer space. If the diameter of the earth were 10% greater than at present, the increased gravity, and hence air pressure, would cause the polar ice caps to melt - resulting in devastating flooding.
7. Our atmosphere contains about 21% oxygen, which is just right for life on earth. A much higher level would make the planet highly inflammable, but at a much lower level, fire would not burn at all. And we would find it very hard to breathe!
Another type of oxygen is ozone. This forms a layer in our atmosphere which absorbs the very harmful ultraviolet light from the sun and prevents it reaching us on the earth. The problem with ozone is that it is poisonous. So where to we find this ozone layer? About 15 kilometres above the earth's surface, where it can do us no harm.
8. The pull of gravity on the earth by the moon and the sun causes the tides. Tides cleanse the ocean's shores, help put oxygen (that fish breathe) into the water, and help keep the ocean currents moving, preventing the sea from becoming stagnant. If the moon were a little smaller or a little further away than at present, there would be very little tidal action, resulting in even the oceans becoming stagnant and the death of all aquatic creatures. If the moon were a little larger or a little nearer than at present, the tidal action would be too severe, with low lying areas being flooded twice a day!
9. Unlike the earth, the moon doesn't rotate about its axis. This means that the same side of the moon always faces the earth. This side is made up of mostly dark dust, and so it only reflects about 7% of its sunlight to the earth. The other side of the moon is extremely rocky, and therefore very reflective. If this side faced the earth, our nights would be almost as bright as our days, thus making sleeping very difficult.
10. Although we don't know the purpose of all the planets in the solar system, we do know that the two largest, Jupiter (318 times the size of the earth) and Saturn (95 times the size of the earth), with their strong gravities, are in just the right positions to pull many comets and meteors away and prevent them crashing into the earth and killing us all.
O.L. 20. Teaching Creation using balloon modelling.
When introducing the topic of Creation, I usually start by emphasizing the point that there are two things that only God can do.
Firstly, although people are very clever, and can do such things like land a man on the moon, invent televisions or computers, they cannot make something out of nothing. Given starting materials, people can often change their properties - size, shape, colour, texture etc., but they cannot make something out of nothing - only God can do that.
Secondly, people cannot make something that is living out of something that is not living. Again, only God can do that.
I then proceed by stating that I am now going to re-create two of the creatures that God first created on the fifth and sixth days of the Creation week. I then make a balloon bird (or fish) and a balloon animal, continuing my talk as I do so. ( If you don't do balloon modelling, you can still get your point across by simply cutting out appropriate shapes from pieces of paper).
As you make the shapes, emphasize that you are starting with something that already exists e,g. your uninflated balloon and some air. Then state that for anybody to make anything ( whether it be a watchmaker, a car-maker, a shoe-maker, or a balloon animal maker) only two things are needed - Know-how ( or intelligence ) and Power ( or energy ). Without power, your idea will remain only in your head, and without know-how (or an intelligent plan), you will just make a big mess!
As your models near completion, ask "If I had more know-how, do you think I would make a better or worse model?" The children will respond "better." Then ask "The Bible tells us that God has all know-how (He knows everything and is super-intelligent), so how good do you think God could make things?" The children should respond "very good" or "perfect." Then state " That's exactly right. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created a perfect world."
Then ask "If I had more power, do you think I could make these models faster or slower than I can now?" The response will be "faster." Then ask "All the power in the Universe belongs to God, so how fast do you think He could make things?" The children should respond "in a split second" or "instantly." State "That's exactly right. The Bible tells us that God not only created a perfect world, but He also made everything in it instantly - just by speaking."
Alternatively (for a younger class) you could simply produce a balloon animal which has already been made, and ask "How do you think this model was made? Do you think it could have been made by accident? Perhaps someone left an uninflated balloon in this room last night, and left the window open. Overnight, the wind blew through the window and into the balloon. The balloon then began twisting itself round and round until it formed the shape of this animal which you see here now. Finally, the end of the balloon managed to tie itself in a knot to stop the air escaping. Do you think that really happened, or do you think that there is a balloon model maker somewhere who made this animal on purpose?" The children should see the absurdity of the model being able to make itself by accident, and respond "There is a balloon model maker somewhere." Emphasise the point that everything the children see around them has to have a maker. Watches need watchmakers, shoes need shoemakers, chairs need carpenters etc. Nothing can make itself.
You will then be able to apply the above argument to the creation of the Universe and everything in it. State "There are some people who believe that the Universe made itself by accident. But the Universe is far more wonderful and complex than a balloon animal, and if even that couldn't make itself, then how likely is it that the whole Universe made itself? No, the Bible teaches us that we have wonderful Creator who made the Universe and everything in it on purpose. And the good news is :- He made it all for our benefit.
Teaching Tip 4 - Ideas on teaching about Creation.
I can think of no other Bible topic that lends itself to so many fun activities for children than creation. Here are a few examples that you could incorporate into your lessons on this subject.
1. (Object Lesson 41 - The earth, sun and moon). After teaching how God created the earth, sun and moon, get three children to act out their motions.
a. The sun stays still, but always shines (smiles).
b. The earth travels round the sun, rotating as it does so (365+ spins per one circuit round the sun!).
c. The moon travels round the earth, remembering to always keep its same side facing the earth.
I have always found this to be great fun for children of all ages. Usually the 'moon' finds it hard to keep up with the earth, causing great hilarity among the spectators.
You could explain that God has made the conditions on earth just right for life. Even small changes would make life, as we know it, impossible. Ask "What would it be like on earth if - - - ?
1. The earth was nearer to the sun -------- Too hot. (It has been calculated that even a 2 degree C. rise in the average surface temperature of the earth would be enough to melt the polar ice caps and cause devastating flooding).
2. The earth was further away from the sun ------ Too cold.
3. The earth didn't rotate once on its axis every 24 hours ------ One side would be day all the time and be very hot. The other would be night all the time and be very cold.
4. The earth rotated faster than now ------ Very short days and nights, and constant hurricane force winds.
5. The earth wasn't tilted on its axis ------ No seasons. Countries near the equator would be very hot. Those far from the equator would be too cold to grow food - resulting in a world-wide food shortage.
6. The diameter of the earth was (say 10%) less than its present 13,000 Kilometres ------- Because of the consequent reduction in gravity, most of the oxygen which we need to breathe would escape into outer space.
7. The diameter of the earth was 10% greater than at present ------ The increased gravity, and hence air pressure would cause the polar ice caps to melt - resulting in devastating flooding.
8. The moon was a little smaller or a little further away than at present ------ Very little tidal action, resulting in even the oceans becoming stagnant and the death of all aquatic creatures.
9. The moon was a little larger or a little nearer than at present ------ Too severe tidal action, with low lying areas being flooded twice a day!
What a wonderful Creator we have, who not only made the earth just right for us to inhabit, but He also keeps it that way year, after year, after year.
2. (Object Lesson 42 - Gravity). Get a soft, hollow ball and pierce two holes in it close to each other. Thread a piece of string through the holes and tie together. You are now ready to demonstrate the importance of having the right strength of gravity as the earth circles the sun.
Hold the end of the string, and swing the ball round your head. Explain that your head represents the sun, and the ball represents the earth travelling round it year after year at a constant speed. Also, because gravity remains the same, the earth remains the same distance from the sun.
Ask, "What would happen to the earth if God increased gravity a little?" Demonstrate the effect by letting the ball crash into your head.
Ask "What would happen if God decreased gravity a little?" Demonstrate by letting go of the string. The ball will fly off to the other side of the room!
3. (Object Lesson 43 - Can nothing turn into something?). Bring an empty jar to your class, complete with lid. Ask the children to watch the jar for you for a few weeks, and tell you if anything begins to appear on the inside.
After a few weeks, ask the children if anything has begun to grow inside the jar? No. Ask, if you left the jar in the room for a year, with the lid closed, they think something will then have begun to grow - perhaps a little ant? No. How about 10 years? 100 years? A million years? Ever? The answer is still no. Explain that if nothing cannot become something in a few weeks, there is absolutely no reason to believe that it could ever do so. (You may wish to explain that there is actually air in your jar, but if even the air could not turn into something, there is certainly no way that 'nothing' could).
Some people do believe, however, that this did happen. They call it Evolution. They say that a long time ago, there was nothing. But them this nothing, all by itself, managed to become something, and that this something kept changing and changing into all the variety of things we see today, including us! The Bible tells us, however, that in the space of six days God, through His power, created the Universe and everything in it. God not only made everything complete and perfect, He made it all for our benefit - for us to enjoy and take care of.
4. (Object Lesson 44 - Dependence on oxygen). Talk about how God created the air ( or oxygen ), and then demonstrate how dependent we are on this by getting the children to see how long they can survive without it, i.e. how long they can hold their breath. If the oxygen level were a little less than its present 21%, breathing would be difficult. If it were a little higher, the fire danger would be greatly increased.
5. If you were the Creator! Give each child a circular piece of plain cardboard (or paper). Ask them to imagine that they are the Creator, and that they are going to create a new world by drawing on their cardboard. Allow a few minutes for this, and give a few suggestions e.g. birds, flowers, animals, people.
When complete, ask the children to close their eyes and imagine the creatures in their perfect world coming alive - singing, laughing, playing etc. Everything is wonderful.
Now ask the children to imagine that something has gone wrong in their perfect world. People are arguing, fighting and killing each other. The animals are killing and eating each other. Weeds are growing among the flowers.
Explain that this is exactly what happened with God's perfect world. The question to the children is, "What should they do about their world that has gone bad?" Give them four options:-
1. Destroy their world. (You will probably find that most children will vote for this option!)
2. Send someone to teach the people how to be good.
3. Go yourself to show the people how to love each other.
4. Give the people the power to change and be good.
Conclude by explaining that God didn't choose to destroy His world, because He still loved it even after it had gone bad. Rather, He chose options 2, 3, and best of all No. 4.
6. An Amazing flying machine.
Talk about all the money and brain power that have gone into making some marvellous flying machines, such as Concorde, the Space shuttle, Stealth bombers, etc. Then say that you are now going to talk about an amazing flying machine that is far more wonderful than all the others put together! This flying machine can take off and land sideways on a vertical wall! It has tremendous manoeuvrability, being able to instantly change direction. It can take off with amazing acceleration. It has the ability to sense danger, and can take off and be out of danger in a split second. If it develops a fault, it can often correct itself. It has the ability to find it's own fuel and refuel itself, and it even has the ability to reproduce itself - to make many other flying machines just like itself! "Would you children like to see a picture of this amazing flying machine? Here it is - a fly! (Produce a picture of an ordinary house fly - there are plenty available on the internet). God's creations are far more wonderful than people can make!"
7. Children are fascinated with dinosaurs. You may be able to purchase at reasonable cost a suitable fossil, e.g. a dinosaur tooth, or footprint and take this along to your class to talk about.
8. (Object Lesson 45 - "Made after its own kind."). God made the first of every living Biblical "kind", each with the ability to reproduce 'after it's own kind.' To explain this, take along an acorn. Explain that God created the first oak tree, with acorns (seeds) like this one contained in it. Some of those acorns would fall to the ground and grow into other oak trees, just like their parent tree, with each again containing their own acorns. Those, in turn. would fall to the ground and some would grow into more oak trees containing acorns, etc. etc. And that's how we get oak trees today. You may then wish to apply this argument to other living things, emphasising that cats always produce cats, dogs produce dogs, and people produce people etc.
O.L. 29. - A Memory Feat.
Adam was created perfect with a wonderful mind and memory. He had to name all the many different animals that God brought before him, and then would have had to remember all their names. To illustrate this you can then amaze your class by doing your own memory feat.
Have fifty cards, blank on one side and numbered from 1 to 50 on the other. On the same side write , apparently random, six-digit numbers across their centres. State that you are going to memorise all fifty of these six-digit numbers. Flick through the cards as you pretend to memorise them, give them a good shuffle, turn the blank sides upwards and offer the pack to about six volunteers who will each choose a card. One at a time, ask your volunteers to tell you the number of their card (i.e. between 1 and 50), and as they do so write on the board the six-digit number associated with that card! You will achieve a 100 percent success rate!
You will have probably realised by now that you don't really memorise the numbers, rather you calculate them from the card number you are given. This is how you do it :-
To the number you are given (i.e. between 1 and 50), add eleven. Reverse this two-digit number. This will be the first two numbers you write on the board. Add these two numbers together to give your third number. However, if this is a two-digit number, ignore the first digit (i.e. "1") and write down the second. Proceed in this way, adding your last two digits together, until you have written down all six digits. Ask your volunteer to confirm this is the number they have on their card. A few of examples will make this clear :-
Card No. 15. Six-digit No. will be 628088.
Card No. 16 Six-digit No. will be 729101.
Card No. 17 Six-digit No. will be 820224.
As can be seen, even card numbers that are close to each other will produce completely different six-digit numbers.
The vastness of the Universe.
People, especially children, find it difficult to comprehend the vastness of the Universe - and hence the Greatness of God who created it all. Instead of talking about trillions of stars, you could use the Voyager spaceship to help children understand how big our Universe really is.
The Voyager was launched in 1977 to explore the Universe. It travels at a speed of 1.5 million Kilometres a day. Travelling at that speed, it would take the Spaceship :-
30 minutes to travel once round the earth.
6 hours to reach the moon.
3 months to reach the sun.
26 years to reach the outer limits of the solar system (where it is now).
And a massive 40,000 years to reach our nearest star! And, of course, there are trillions of stars in the entire Universe, all of which are much, much further away still.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19.1.
O.L.37 - God can do things instantly.
Here are two 'instant addition' illustrations to help children understand that God doesn't need time to do what He wants to do, rather He can do things instantly.
A. Get a volunteer to write any two four-digit numbers on the board. You then write out the third four-digit number, ensuring that the product of the second and third numbers is 9999. For example, if the second number is 3785, the third number will be 6214. Get your volunteer to write out the fourth four-digit number. You then write out the fifth number, ensuring that the product of the fourth and fifth numbers is again 9999. You are now ready to amaze your class by adding up all five numbers instantly. Your answer will be 2, followed by the first number minus 2. i.e. If the first number is 4567, your answer will be 24565. Here is an example :-
Volunteer 4567
Volunteer 4291
Self 5708
Volunteer 6235
Self 3764
Total = 24565
Get the children to confirm your answer - with their calculators if these are available.
B. Prepare four cards (A,B,C,D), each with a five-digit number on them written from top to bottom as shown.
A B C D
9 6 1 8
1 4 5 7
5 2 4 1
4 7 7 7
2 5 8 4
Get a volunteer to come and stick the cards on the board, in any order they choose, to thus form five four-digit numbers - as per the example above. Remind the children that there are twenty four different ways in which your volunteer could have arranged the cards.
As soon as the cards are in place, write down the product of the five numbers. You could get the children to be adding up the numbers with their calculators at the same time - but you will have the correct answer long before them! To get your instant answer, write down 2, followed by two plus each number in your second four-digit number (1457 in above example), except for the last number (7) which remains unaltered. Thus the answer is 23677.
You may wish to get a second volunteer to come and rearrange the cards, and repeat the procedure. If the cards were rearranged C.B.D,A for example, your answer will be 27691.
O.L. 28. - God's Provision.
There are numerous examples in nature that can help children understand the wonderful provision of God for all of His creation. You can take along to your class such things as flowers, insects and pets, and by showing how God meets all their needs, show how He will also meet all our needs. I usually take along a few dandelions, including one which is ready to shed its seeds, and proceed as follows :-
Most people think of these flowers as weeds, but did you know that God provides for each plant everything it needs to survive, grow well, and produce more dandelions?
Petals. You probably think you are looking at just one flower, but actually what you can see is about a hundred flowers bunched together. Each single petal is a complete flower, capable of producing a perfect seed, to enable another dandelion to grow.
Stem. Now let's look at the stem of the dandelion. As I break it in two, you can see that it is hollow - just like a straw. This means that the stem is very light and flexible. When heavy rain or wind comes, the stem will bend over, but then will be able to spring up again afterwards. If the stem was solid, it would break in the heavy rain or wind.
Leaves. We will now look at the leaves. They appear to be pretty crude and ugly, but actually all these jagged edges, channels and grooves are ideal for collecting rain water and sending it down to the root where it is needed to help the dandelion to grow.
Root. Look how long and strong this root is. It is ideal for holding the dandelion in place when the bad weather comes, and preventing it from being blown away.
Seed head. Let us now examine this dandelion which is ready to shed its seeds. If you look closely at the seed heads, you will see that they are all like tiny parachutes. This means that when a breeze comes, they don't all fall off the parent plant in the same small area and thus have to compete with each other for the same patch of earth to grow in. No, because of the way God has designed them, they are able to float long distances in the breeze, and thus have a much better chance of surviving and growing into other dandelions.
Seed. If you looked at a seed under the microscope, you would see that it is shaped like a screw. This means that after its "parachute" has carried it to a patch of earth, it is able to plant itself by screwing into the ground, thus again giving it a better chance to survive and grow.
As we have seen, God loves each little dandelion so much that He has given it everything it needs to grow well and produce more dandelions. Hands up everyone who thinks that God loves us as much as He does dandelions? (Probably most of the children will raise their hands). Those who have raised their hands are wrong. The Bible teaches that God loves each of us far, far, more than dandelions, or indeed any other of His creations. But if He gives each dandelion everything it needs, how much more will He give to us everything we need!
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 8:44 PM
