Description

This lesson will be delivered as a digital PDF file and a PPT slideshow presentation. The PDF leader guide includes the text for each part of the missions story for kids as well as printable visuals, photos, activity pages to accompany each part of the story.

Big Idea: God made me to glorify him!

Key Verse: Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Story Excerpt:  3-2-1-Blast-off! The space shuttle Discovery lifted off the launchpad and headed up into the clouds. Eight and a half minutes later, they were in space! Astronaut Rick Husband and the rest of the crew unbuckled from their seats and floated over to the windows to take in the view. As Rick gazed at the earth from space, he realized the photographs he had seen before didn’t fully capture all the beauty of God’s creation. The heavens truly declared the glory of God and showed his handiwork! He marveled that he was just a tiny speck in the universe, but the great God who created all the wonders of the galaxies loved him and died for his sins. It was awesome!

After Rick’s mission on the Discovery, lots of reporters wanted to interview him, and he was invited to speak at many different places. Suddenly, Rick was famous! Instead of making the interviews all about himself, Rick used the opportunity to share his faith. When people asked him why he wanted to be an astronaut, Rick could tell them about how his relationship with God gave him purpose and allowed him to experience God’s creation. Some people thought the universe was just a big accident that slowly evolved by chance. Rick wanted to help them see that scientific evidence points to a wise and powerful Creator. In an interview he said, “To sit and think that the entire universe could have happened just by accident doesn’t make sense to me. It’d almost seem you have to have more faith to accept that it happened by chance than to accept that God created the universe.”

As Rick studied science and looked out at the universe, it helped him to love God more because he knew God created it all for his glory and our good. Did you know God created Jupiter in a way that protects Earth? Jupiter has a strong force of gravity that pulls comets and asteroids toward Jupiter so they don’t crash into us! God also created the sun to provide energy, heat, and light for us. The sun produces more energy in one second than a billion big cities could produce in a year! God also created beautiful nebula. Nebula are enormous clouds of gas and dust in space and can be bigger than 10 million suns! God created all these incredible things just by telling them to exist! Rick wanted everyone to know the mighty Creator God who made the wonders of the universe. He wanted people to believe the good news that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save them from sin. He also wanted people to experience the joy that comes from recognizing God’s glory in creation and worshiping God because of it! He was thrilled to be an astronaut at last, but he cared even more about Jesus. Rick Husband was an astronaut for Jesus.

In addition to this exciting story, you can also use the FREE “Super Thankful!” activity guide to help children learn more about Jesus and outer space.