In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning - the first day.

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.

And God said,"Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters He called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed- bearing plants and trees on the land that bear seed with fruit in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day.

And God said,"Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on earth." And it was so. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth accross the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was god. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that He made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all the work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it Holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.

The Birth of Jesus

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given:
and the government shall be upon His shoulder:
and His name shall be called,
Wonderful,Counsellor, The Mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to talk to a maiden named Mary.
She was betrothed to a man named Joseph.
Gabriel told Mary she was to have a baby,
who would be the Son of God, His name would be Jesus.
After they were married, Joseph had to take Mary,his wife,
to the city of David, called Bethlehem, to be taxed.
Mary was soon to have the Child.
While Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem Jesus was born.
She brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the Inn.
A manger is a trough or box used to feed for livestock,
such as cows, horses, and sheep.
Near Bethlehem shepherds were staying in the field,
keeping watch over their flocks by night.
The angel of the Lord came to them, and they were afraid.
"Fear not," said the angel to them.
"For I bring you good tidings of a great joy,
that is coming to all people.
For to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign to you:
You shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of Heavenly Host
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace and good will toward men
with whom He is pleased.
In that city of David, Jesus was born
He shall save His people from their sins.
The shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe.
Then they went and told what they saw to people throughout the land.
The people of the land were amazed.
Wise men came from afar to worship the Child.
The Child born to be King of the Jews.
The star which they saw in the East led them,
until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
When they came in unto the Child they saw Mary and Joseph
and they fell down and worshipped Him.
They presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Herod was king when Jesus was born and he got upset
and decided to try to find Jesus to kill Him.
He didn't want anyone to take his place.
God spoke to Joseph in a dream, and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.
There they would all be safe until king Herod died.
After King Herod died, God told Joseph it was safe to go back home.
They went to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.

Noah's Ark

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time.
Noah walked with God and served Him daily.
Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.
God saw how corrupt the earth had became.
So God said to Noah make yourself an ark of cypress wood;
make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Build it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.
Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top.
Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth
to destroy all life under the Heavens.
But I will establish my covenant with you, and you in the ark.
You and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives will be safe.
You are to bring two of all living creatures, male and female into the ark.
You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten
and store it away as food for you and for them.
Noah did everything as God commanded him.
Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters came.
The floodgates of the Heavens were opened.
Rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights.
The waters rose and covered the mountains.
Every living creature that moved upon the earth perished.
Only Noah and those in the ark was left.
God remembered Noah and all that was with him
and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.
After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven.
It kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.
Then he sent a dove to see if the water had gone.
But the dove returned and could find no place to set its feet.
Noah waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again.
When the dove returned it had in its beak a freshly plucked olive leaf.
He waited 7 more days and sent out the dove again,
but this time it did not return.
The earth was completely dry
and God told Noah to come out and bring all with him.
So Noah came out with all the creatures and his family.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord.
The Lord said never again will I curse the ground.
And never again will I destroy all living creatures.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
God set His sign in the sky
a rainbow as a covenant between Him and the earth.

When the rainbow appears in the clouds,
remember Noah and the promise God made.

Ten Commandments

Moses was 80 years old when God spoke to him. Moses was a shepherd at that time. God called to Moses from within a burning bush. Moses saw that the flame did not hurt the bush it burned on. God told Moses to lead the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt.

After 10 plagues on the people of Egypt, Pharoah finally agreed to let the Hebrew slaves go free. Moses led the Hebrews away from the Egyptians. After walking for 3 days, they heard the rumbling of many Egyptian chariots - they were coming to recapture the ex-slaves. The Hebrews were trapped between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. Moses prayed for God's help.

God created a path through the Red Sea by making a strong East wind blow all night. The wind divided the waters and made the sea bed dry. The Hebrews all walked through the parted sea safely. When the Egyptians tried to follow, God stopped the wind so the waters came back together. All the Egyptians drowned and the Hebrews were saved.

3 months after escaping from the Egyptians the children of Israel came to Mt. Sinai. Here God spoke to Moses. He told Moses that if everyone would obey Him. God would keep them as His people and take care of them. He gave Moses rules for the people to live by to please God and laws to be fair with each other. The first ten rules are called The Ten Commandments. The Commandments and the law were carved into stone tablets. God gave the tablets to Moses up on Mt. Sinai.

God instructed Moses to build an ark to keep the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments and laws in. The ark was to be a chest made of wood covered in gold. On top of the ark were to be two angels, face to face, with wings stretched upward. This throne of pure gold is called the Mercy Seat. God spoke to Moses from above the Mercy Seat between the two angels.

Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
   
2. Thou shalt not make any graven image.
   
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
   
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it Holy.
   
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
   
6. Thou shalt not kill.
   
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
   
8. Thou shalt not steal.
   
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
   
10. Thou shalt not covet.

© 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, jleecarr@yahoo.com

"Jesus Loves Me"
Courtsey of The Midi People

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