Welly Church Kids Lessons

Kids · 4-8 · Lesson 2

People Bear God's Image

Genesis 1:26-31; James 3:9-10

Every person has God-given dignity because humanity bears God's image.

Teach the lesson

Goal: Children say that every person has God-given dignity because people bear God's image.

Pick how long you want to teach. The plan updates to fit.

Short · 25 minutes
  1. 3 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt from the Teach Now card.

  2. 8 min
    Read

    Read Genesis 1:26-31 and underline or repeat the phrases about image, male and female, blessing, and responsibility.

    Ask: What does Genesis 1:26-27 say is distinctive about people?

  3. 5 min
    Understand

    Explain that dignity is given by God and is not a competition based on ability or popularity.

    Ask: What responsibility follows in verse 28? · What things do people sometimes wrongly use to decide who matters?

  4. 6 min
    Do

    Complete two Dignity Scenario Cards.

    Activity: Dignity Scenarios

    Printable: K1-L02-P01-dignity-scenario-cards

  5. 3 min
    Respond

    Repeat the take-home line and close in prayer.

    Ask: How should God-given dignity change one action this week?

Standard · 35 minutes

  1. 4 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt and invite two or three brief responses.

  2. 4 min
    Context

    Introduce the passage setting, speaker, audience, and genre in age-appropriate language.

  3. 8 min
    Read and observe

    Read Genesis 1:26-31 and underline or repeat the phrases about image, male and female, blessing, and responsibility.

    Ask: What does Genesis 1:26-27 say is distinctive about people? · What responsibility follows in verse 28?

  4. 7 min
    Discuss

    Explain that dignity is given by God and is not a competition based on ability or popularity.

    Ask: What things do people sometimes wrongly use to decide who matters? · How should God-given dignity change one action this week?

  5. 8 min
    Activity

    Complete two Dignity Scenario Cards.

    Activity: Dignity Scenarios

    Printable: K1-L02-P01-dignity-scenario-cards

  6. 4 min
    Respond

    Review the objective, repeat the take-home line, and pray.

Extended · 45 minutes
  1. 4 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt and identify the question the lesson will answer.

  2. 6 min
    Context

    Locate the passage in the whole-Bible story and explain its literary setting.

  3. 9 min
    Read closely

    Read Genesis 1:26-31 and underline or repeat the phrases about image, male and female, blessing, and responsibility.

    Ask: What does Genesis 1:26-27 say is distinctive about people? · What responsibility follows in verse 28?

  4. 8 min
    Interpret

    Explain that dignity is given by God and is not a competition based on ability or popularity.

    Ask: What things do people sometimes wrongly use to decide who matters? · How should God-given dignity change one action this week?

  5. 7 min
    Activity one

    Complete two Dignity Scenario Cards.

    Activity: Dignity Scenarios

    Printable: K1-L02-P01-dignity-scenario-cards

  6. 7 min
    Activity two

    Complete Worth Is Not a Competition and discuss one concrete practice.

    Activity: Worth Is Not a Competition

  7. 4 min
    Respond and assess

    Use one quiz item orally, repeat the take-home line, and pray.

Close the class

Memory verse: Genesis 1:27

Prayer: Thank God for people and ask for respectful words and actions.

Take-home line: Every person has God-given dignity.

More help: full script, questions, and printables

A word-for-word way to run the lesson, plus every question, activity, and printable.

Teach now

Children say that every person has God-given dignity because people bear God's image.

Read
Genesis 1:26-31
Opening
Show two very different everyday objects and ask whether being different makes one worthless.
Say
  • God made people in His image.
  • The passage names male and female as part of humanity.
  • Our value does not depend on being the fastest, smartest, strongest, or most popular.
  • Because people have God-given dignity, we use respectful words and include others.
Ask
  • Who made people?
  • What special phrase describes humanity?
  • Does a mistake remove a person's value?
  • What is one respectful action we can take?
Do
Read two Dignity Scenario Cards and choose a respectful response.
Close
Pray: God, thank You for making people in Your image. Help us speak and act with respect.
Materials
  • Bible
  • Dignity Scenario Cards

Discussion questions

  • What does Genesis 1:26-27 say is distinctive about people?
    Simple answer: People are made in God's image.
    Going deeper: Notice that male and female are both named.
  • What responsibility follows in verse 28?
    Simple answer: People care for and rule within creation.
    Going deeper: Discuss responsibility rather than domination without limits.
  • What things do people sometimes wrongly use to decide who matters?
    Simple answer: Being fastest or most popular.
    Going deeper: Name performance, appearance, wealth, or power.
  • How should God-given dignity change one action this week?
    Simple answer: Include or speak kindly.
    Going deeper: Name a specific practice and why it fits the passage.

Activities

Dignity Scenarios · 9 min

Materials: Dignity Scenario Cards

  1. Read one scenario.
  2. Name an unhelpful response.
  3. Choose a respectful response.
  4. Explain how the response fits the big idea.

Low-resource option: Teacher reads scenarios orally and students respond with thumbs up/down before discussing.

Worth Is Not a Competition · 8 min

Materials: Paper, optional

  1. List three abilities people may have.
  2. Say together: abilities are gifts, not measures of human value.
  3. Name one way different abilities can serve others.

Low-resource option: Complete orally without listing individual children.

Printables

Prepare before class (optional, about 20 minutes)

Passage context

Genesis 1:26-31 places humanity within the creation account while giving people a distinctive identity and vocation. The text grounds dignity in God's action, not in human performance.

  • The plural “let us” and the phrase “our image” appear in divine speech; the lesson does not use this verse alone to prove a complete doctrine of the Trinity.
  • Male and female are both included in the image-bearing statement.
  • Blessing and responsibility follow identity.
  • Avoid defining the image of God only as one human ability, such as intelligence, because that can exclude people with different capacities.
  • For Kids, the core is simple: God made people with special dignity and responsibility.
  • James 3:9-10 provides a later canonical application concerning speech about people.

Keep it faithful

  • Do not turn the lesson into a comparison of children's abilities or bodies.
  • Do not imply that human beings are divine.
  • Do not use “made special” to teach self-centred superiority over the rest of creation.
  • Do not overstate: Do not use a mirror activity to imply that God physically looks like each child.

Questions children may ask

Does God look like me?
What if someone does something bad?

Every child can join in

  • Allow scripted scenario responses.
  • Avoid vague social-performance demands.
  • Give processing time before asking for an answer.
  • No role-play requires touch.
  • Children may observe rather than act.
  • Use spoken scenarios.
  • Accept pointing to response choices.
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