God Was There First
Month 3: Creation & Science · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Genesis 1:1 & John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. — Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. — John 1:1-3
Memory Verse
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”— Genesis 1:1 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Philemon 1
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (A short, tender letter where Paul asks a friend to welcome back a runaway servant as a brother.)The Heart of It
Have you ever noticed that Genesis and John's Gospel begin with the very same three words? Both start with "In the beginning." That is no accident. says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then John adds something wonderful: "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (). The "Word" is Jesus. So when Genesis says God spoke the world into being, John tells us Jesus was the one through whom God spoke. Jesus wasn't created. He was already there in the beginning, doing the creating. He was there first.
This is the heart of our memory verse, so let's hide it deep. "God was there first" means God is not part of the universe. He made the universe. He doesn't depend on anything. Everything depends on Him. Nobody made God. He has always been. That can stretch our brains, and that's okay! A Maker great enough to create everything from nothing is exactly the kind of God we would expect to be too big to fully figure out. When you say "In the beginning God," you are saying the most important truth there is. Before the first star, before the first heartbeat, before time itself, God already was. And Jesus was right there with Him, ready to fill the world with wonders.
Around the Table
Who was there before the sun, the moon, and the very first puppy? God was! Nobody made God. He was always there.
Let's do it: Say the verse three times, getting a little louder each time: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!" Then whisper it once, like a secret treasure.
Genesis and John both start with "In the beginning." John tells us Jesus was there too, making everything ().
Let's talk: If nobody made God, what does that tell us about how different He is from everything else?
"Who made God?" is a common question. But it has a built-in mistake. Only things that begin need a maker. God never began. He is eternal, the uncaused cause of everything else.
Let's go deeper: How would you kindly explain to a friend that "Who made God?" is like asking "What is north of the North Pole?"
💬 Conversation Starter
What is the oldest thing you can think of?— Whatever it is, God was already there long before it. He has no beginning at all!
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When a friend asks, "Well, who made God?" you can smile and say, "Nobody. And that's the point. Everything that begins needs a maker. But God never began. He's the One who started everything else." Said gently, that turns a hard question into a doorway ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Memorizing with your kids is doing more than drilling a sentence. You are installing a load-bearing belief: God exists outside His creation, and He was there first. Tie it to and you give your children something many adults never grasp. The Creator and the Savior are the same Person. The Jesus who calmed the storm and rose from the grave is the same Jesus through whom the storms and the grave were made. That keeps Christmas from ever feeling small. It keeps science from ever feeling like a threat. Repeat the verse together at breakfast, in the car, at bedtime. Repetition is not boring. It is how truth sinks below the surface and becomes a place to stand.
Draws on: Natasha Crain, Keeping Your Kids on God's Side.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, You were there before anything else ever was. Thank You that Jesus made all things. Thank You that He holds all things together. Help us never forget that You came first. In Jesus' name, amen."
Nobody made God. He was there first, and everything else came from Him.