The verse anchor
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Genesis 1:1 · King James Bible
The story
Before there was anything — no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon, no you, no me — God was.
And God spoke.
On the first day, God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. God saw that the light was good. He called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
On the second day, God made the sky, and stretched it above the waters.
On the third day, God gathered the waters into seas, and let the dry land appear. He called the dry land Earth. Then he told the earth to bring forth grass and trees and flowers of every kind. And the earth did.
On the fourth day, God made the sun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night, and all the stars.
On the fifth day, God made every fish in the sea and every bird in the sky. He blessed them and told them to be many.
On the sixth day, God made every animal on the land — cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the field. And then, last of all, God made people. He made them in his own image, a man and a woman. He blessed them and gave them the earth to care for.
And God looked at everything he had made, and he saw that it was very good.
On the seventh day, God rested. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all his work.
That is how everything began.
One thing we learn
God made everything. And when he looked at what he made, he called it good.
That means the world is good. You are good. God is the one who made you.
Memory verse
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Genesis 1:1 · KJV
Say it three times before bed. In seven days you will know it forever.
A prayer
Thank you, God, for making everything.
Thank you for making me.
Amen.
Beneath the story · for grown-ups
To read the whole account in the King James Bible with your child, or to sit with it as a family, walk any of these paths:
- Find a verse — search Genesis 1 or any Scripture in the KJV.
- The Daily Word — Scripture in the daily rhythm of the household.
- The Holy Land Atlas — the household's reference library of Scriptures and places.
- Psalm 23 — the shepherd Psalm, for reading beside your child.
- The Chapel — where the household prays after reading.