We are not made to be alone, and we cannot live on our own. God created us to rely on and help one another and designed us to be in relationships with others. This lesson considers things that are impossible to do alone and reminds children that it’s important to have others in our lives. Just as God made Eve for Adam, He creates us to know and love one another.
We are not made to live as solitary creatures. God made a helper for Adam because it was not good for him to be alone, and He gives us helpers to help and provide for us in our lives. As we enjoy and grow from one another, we also recognize that our most important relationship is with our Creator. God makes us for others, and He makes us for Himself. We can do nothing without the love, help, and salvation of Jesus. And we can do all things through Him!
Sunday School Lesson on Genesis 2:18-27 for Children: Made for Each Other
Target Audience: Kindergarten-6th grade
Materials Needed: Construction paper; glue; markers or crayons; tape; scissors; decorative supplies; cardboard; paper bags; puzzles; music; clay or play-doh; Bibles.
Lesson Opening: This lesson focuses on how God created us each in His image and made us to be in relationship with one another. Start off with some activities that relate to people, creation, or relationships. Consider a few simple activities to kick things off:
- We need each other: invite students to complete tasks that cannot be accomplished individually, like lifting a heavy object or placing an odd-shaped item into a container. When children struggle trying to do the job alone, provide the hint that they can find a helper to assist them.
- Body part musical chairs: play musical chairs with a twist: call out a body part when the music stops, and make sure students place that particular part on the chair (rather than just sitting down).
- Fit it together: give a pair or small group of students a puzzle to complete, and have them work together to put it together. To make it competitive, have a race to see which group finishes first. For extra challenge, mix up the puzzles, giving pieces to different individuals. Let the children move around to figure out who their teammates will be based on who has similar pieces.
- Carefully designed: to remember how God made all people special and in His image, invite students to use modeling clay or playdoh to create something, whether an animal or person. For a craft that can be kept later, use air-drying clay and allow kids to decorate and take their creations home.
- Relationship match-up: provide pictures of historical figures, Biblical figures, celebrities, or people in the church who are related, whether by marriage or family. Have kids work to match the people who go together, and discuss the importance of having other special people in our lives.
- Thank you notes: Have children think about important relationships in their lives (parents, friends, teachers, etc.) Invite them to create cards or letters thanking people for the role they play.
Explain that this lesson reminds us that God created us for relationships with one another, and gives us other people to encourage and help us in our lives.
Bible Lesson: Genesis 2:18-24 Explained for Children – God created the woman from the rib of a man
This passage comes from Genesis and is part of the story of Creation. It is relatively short, but provides an important reminder for us of our roles with one another. The passage could be acted out through role play or with interactive elements. You could also have students take turns reading verses, or read them out loud for younger children. Explain what things mean as you go through the account.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
-Genesis 2:18-20
If you have not already covered the rest of the creation account, you might want to back up a bit to read or describe the first verses of Genesis and how God made everything on Earth, calling it good. He spoke, and all things were formed. God made all of the animals and had Adam name them. He gave them all names, but must have noticed that the animals came in pairs, while he was alone. Dogs might be “man’s best friend,” but none of the animals was good enough to be Adam’s partner. God knew this from the start. For the first time in creation, He said that something was not good: man being alone. He knew Adam needed another human.
Note: The woman is called Adam’s helper, but this does not mean that men aren’t meant to help women, as well. The relationship goes both ways.
Ask: Who are some important people that God has given you in your life?
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. –Genesis 2:21-22
God performed the first surgery known to man! He even sedated Adam for the operation, making him fall asleep and taking a rib out of him. This was a reminder to Adam that, no matter how different men and women might be, his wife was taken right out of him, and they were of one flesh. It’s worth mentioning that Eve was made from Adam’s rib, perhaps to remind him that she was by his side and close to his heart. She was designed to be his companion.
Of course, students are far from marriage thoughts at this stage, but it doesn’t hurt to remind older children that if they marry someday, God joins them to spouses in a special way.
Ask: What are some things that are different about men and women? What things are the same?
Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. –Genesis 2:23-24
Adam could see that the woman was not exactly the same as him, but that they were linked and meant to be together. God created Eve for him, to be part of him. This relationship was designed not only to keep each other company, but to support each other and work together in every way.
Ask: Do you have friends who feel as close as family members? Why are those relationships so special?
We are made to serve the Lord and worship Him, and God wants us to do this together. Working with others for Jesus is not a chore, but a great opportunity that the Holy Spirit allows and assists with. God made us all unique, but He made us to partner with one another and be united, too. We can thank Him for giving us relationships and do our best to love and care for others!
Close with prayer, thanking God for relationships and asking for His help in loving others in our lives.
God made YOU special (Genesis 2) Activities for Children’s Ministry
