INTRODUCTION

The Beginning of the World 

In the beginning, when God created the earth and sky, the earth was without life, and not yet useful for anything. Deep waters covered the earth, and darkness covered the water. God's Spirit was moving like a storm over the surface of the water.

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The First Day: Light

  Then God said, "Let there be light!" And light began to shine. He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

  God named the light "day," and he named the darkness "night."

  There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.

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     The second day- sky

 Then God said, "Let there be a space to separate the water into two parts! So God made the space and separated the water.

 Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. God named that space "sky." There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the second day.

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The third day- dry land and plants

Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear." And it happened. God named the dry land "earth," and he named the water that was gathered together "seas." And God saw that this was good.

Then God said, "Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The -

-fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth." And it happened. The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.

There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.

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The fourth day- sun, moon, and stars

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings begin and to show the days and years. They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth." And it happened.

So God made the two large lights. He made-

-the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. God put these lights in the sky to shine upon the face of the earth. He put them in the sky to rule over the day and night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.

There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.

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The fifth day- fish and birds

Then God said, "Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth." So God created the large sea animals. He created all the many living things in the sea and every kind of bird that flies in the air. And God saw that this was good.

God blessed all the living things in the sea-