Very good

01 · GATHER ROUND

Start with a question.

“What’s the best thing you’ve ever made—a drawing, a cake, a fort? How did you feel when you stepped back and looked at it?”

Celebrate each creation. That proud “I made this!” feeling is a tiny echo of what we read today.

03 · OPEN THE BIBLE

Stepping back to look.

Have you ever finished a giant puzzle? You click in the very last piece, and then you stand up, step back, and take in the whole picture. Every piece is exactly where it belongs. It’s a great feeling. You might even say, “That’s good!”

Genesis tells how God made the world. Light and dark. Sky and sea. Plants, fish, birds, and animals of every kind. Then people. And at the end of the sixth day, God looks at everything he has made, and it is very good. Not okay. Not pretty good. Very good.

That means the world God made is good on purpose. Mountains and mosquitoes. Octopuses and oak trees. Rain on the roof and sun on your face. The Bible says God made things we can see and things we can’t, like angels. There is nothing anywhere that God didn’t make.

And that includes you—your body, your laugh, your hands that can build and hug and catch a ball. Your body isn’t a mistake or an accident. God made bodies, and he called them good.

But wait. If everything was very good, why are there tornadoes, sicknesses, and broken bones? That’s a great question, and we’ll talk more about it in the weeks ahead. Here’s the short answer for now: people turned away from God, and the world got broken. But it’s still God’s world, it still shows his goodness everywhere, and he has promised that one day he will make it all new.

So this week, keep your eyes open. A ladybug on a leaf. A sunset that turns the sky orange. The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk. Each one is a little reminder from the Maker: “I made this, and it’s good.”

04 · WONDER TOGETHER

Let’s talk about it.

1. What’s one part of God’s creation you think is extra amazing? Why?
2. Why do you think God cared about making things beautiful, not just useful?
3. The world is still good but also broken. Where have you noticed both this week?

Try answering one yourself first. “I don’t know yet” is a fine place to start a conversation.

06 · TALK TO GOD

Let’s pray.

God, you made the whole world, and you called it very good. Thank you for sunshine and rain, for animals and oceans, and for our own bodies. Open our eyes to notice your goodness everywhere. When we see things that are broken, remind us that you still care for your world and that you have promised to make it new. Amen.

Then invite everyone to add one thing they want to tell God.

07 · MAKE IT STICK

A little truth to learn by heart.

Say the answer in three volumes: first in a whisper, then in your normal voice, then as a cheer—with a big thumbs-up on “very good.” Repeat it at dinner all week, and let a different person choose the volume each night.