Kids Apologetics Series – For Upper Primary Kids (ages 8-11)
Download a printable PDF of the full series.
Teaching Plan – Argument from Design Psalm 8:3-6
Hi Everyone,
This is the third in a 5 part apologetics series for kids. Apologetics means to defend the faith. The aim of this series is to equip kids so that they are always prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks them for the hope that they have (1 Peter 3:15). This series can be taught in kids church over 5 weeks or can be used at home by parents to equip their kids. Note if this is being used at home you may decide to skip or change the game.
Lesson 1: looked at the question of why should we do apologetics.
Lesson 2: looked at the argument from creation.
The third lesson focuses on the argument from design. The big idea is to show God’s existence from the apparent design of the universe.
Scientists have observed that the universe is fine tuned for life. That is if small changes were made to the way the universe functions life wouldn’t exist at all. An example of this is if the gravitational constant was to change by even a fraction, matter would either be flung so far apart that stars and planets would not form or the matter would have been crushed together at the beginning of the universe and there would have been no expansion of the universe. Please watch this video to get an idea of what we mean my fine tuning – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljrAME1LLw
The argument from design is as follows:
- The fine tuning of the universe is due to either necessity, chance or design
- The fine tuning is not due to necessity
- The fine tuning is not due to chance
- Therefore, the universe is due to design.
If the universe is designed, there must be a designer so we have an argument for the existence of God.
We will look at Psalm 8:3-6 as our Scripture showing God is the designer of the universe.
How we want kids to be changed at the end of this lesson?
We want kids to be able to use the argument from design to defend the faith.
Singing
1 Peter 3:15 memory verse – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8z9f_H5GU
- This song will help us learn this key Bible verse for our series
- This verse shows us that God commands us to use apologetics
Recap and introduce
We have just listened to a song on the Bible verse 1 Peter 3:15. This verse includes a command “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks to give the reason for the hope that you have.” This was our point from week 1. We do apologetics because God commands us too.
Last lesson we saw one reason people often give for not believing in Christianity is they think Science has shown that Christianity is wrong. We saw the argument from creation uses Science to show God exists rather than showing Christianity is wrong.
Today we are going to see another argument that uses Science to show God exists. This argument looks at the way our universe is so fine-tuned or calibrated for life to exist that it points to a designer of the universe who we would describe as God.
Teach
Read Psalm 8:3-6
- What does this passage tell us about who made the moon and the stars?
- God made them
- What does this passage tell us about man’s role in God’s creation?
- Man is to rule over God’s creation
- This means that the universe has been designed by God and God has designed man to rule over it.
The fine tuning of the universe
Science shows us that the universe is amazingly precise. If major forces in the universe changed by the smallest of fractions then life would not exist. We call this precision ‘fine tuning’
Activity
Need
Traditional radio
Instructions
Have a child try to find a certain AM/FM channel. They have to make it sound perfect with no crackles and no other radio stations.
Apply
Show that if the frequency is just a little bit off then the radio doesn’t work. It needs to be fine tuned.
Watch this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljrAME1LLw
- Ask the children if they can summarise the video?
- Essentially the universe has a number of forces that cause it to work the way it does. If any of those forces were to change by even the tiniest of amounts, it would not be possible for life to exist in the universe.
- One example of this was the gravitational constant. If gravity in the universe was to change by even a tiny amount, the universe would either have flung so far apart that stars wouldn’t form or would collapse in on itself and again stars wouldn’t form.
- This fine tuning needs to be explained
Argument from design
- This argument has four steps
- The fine tuning of the universe is due to either necessity, chance or design
- The fine tuning is not due to necessity
- The fine tuning is not due to chance
- Therefore, the universe is due to design.
Step 1 – The fine tuning of the universe is due to either necessity, chance or design
- This step shows the different options that could explain the fine-tuning of the universe
- Necessity – The universe necessarily has to be this way ie the universe could not have existed any other way
- Chance – It is a statistical fluke that the universe is the way it is
- Design – The universe was designed this way
- There is no other option to explain the fine tuning of the universe.
- Which is the best option?
Necessity
- Did the universe had to be this way?
- Do the laws of nature require the universe to be this way?
- Scientists have calculated that the laws of nature could have led to any number of universes
- Since it is at least possible for other universes to exist then it cannot be the case that the universe had to be this way or that it necessarily had to be this way
- We can rule out necessity
Chance
- So this leaves two options chance or design
- Is it just pure luck that the universe is the way it is?
- The problem is it is so unlikely the universe should be like this
- The probability of the universe being the way it is would be like having 1 white ball and billions and billions and billions of black balls in a jar and you somehow picking out the white ball. It is so unlikely it requires an explanation
Design
- By ruling out necessity and chance there is only one option left, design.
- If the universe was designed there must be a designer.
- The Bible shows us that designer is God
Apply
- We can use this argument when people say that science shows God doesn’t exist
- We can also use it to help other Christians to grow in their faith as additional evidence of God’s existence
Game
Need
- A pack of cards
Instructions
- Select a random card from the pack and have the children try to guess the card
- Anyone who guesses wrong sits down
- Anyone who guesses correctly stays in the game
- See if anyone can guess the right card 10 times in a row
Explain
In that game no one managed to correctly guess the right card 10 times in a row. If someone had managed to do that we would have thought they were cheating.
The same is true of our universe. It is fine tuned for life. The probability of the universe existing as it does is even more unlikely than picking the correct card ten times in a row. The most probable explanation is that the universe was designed. If it was designed it must have a designer which is a description of God as the Bible shows he is a designer.
Pray
Thank God that he designed the universe perfectly for life.
