KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sin.

Transcription

1 SESSION TITLE: Jesus Was Born BIBLE PASSAGE: Luke 2:1-20 MAIN POINT: Jesus was born to be God s promised Savior. KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sin. BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Why was Jesus born? Jesus was born to rescue us from sin. Classroom Drop off :30-8:55/10:30-10:55 Arrival Activity: Coloring page and Activity Sheet Transition to large group worship :55-9:00/10:55-11:00 Large Group Time :00-9:35/10:00-11:35 Welcome Game (on last page) Worship Lesson Video and Application Small Group :40-10:20/11:40-12:20 Review Bible Story and Questions Activity 1 Key Verse Activity 2 Prayer

2 Do you think it was just by chance that Caesar Augustus called for a census? Did it just so happen that Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem the very place the Messiah was prophesied to be born? (Micah 5:2) God is in control of all things, which He showed by using a pagan emperor to bring about His plan. After Jesus was born, Mary laid Him in a manger. A king in a manger! It was so unlikely. But Jesus was no ordinary baby.he was God s Son, sent in the most humble of positions, not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). Imagine the shepherds surprise when an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared. The Bible says that they were terrified! But the angel said to them, Don t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David (Luke 2:10-11). What a relief! This angel had come to bring good news. First, he proclaimed a Savior. The people of Israel were well aware of their need for a Savior. They made sacrifices daily to atone for their sin. Finally, a Savior had come who would be the perfect sacrifice for sin, once and for all. This is the best news ever! An army of angels appeared, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors (Luke 2:14). When you share this story with kids, remind them that Jesus came because we needed Him. The purpose of Jesus' birth was twofold: to bring glory to God and to make peace between God and those who trust in Jesus death and resurrection.

3 Jesus Was Born Luke 2:1-20 During the time Mary was pregnant with Baby Jesus, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, announced that everyone needed to be registered for a census. Every person traveled to the town where his family was from. Since Joseph was a descendant of King David, he and Mary left Nazareth and traveled to Bethlehem, the city of David. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. Mary and Joseph looked for a safe place for Mary to have her baby, but every place was full because of all the people who were in town to be counted. So Mary and Joseph found a place where animals were kept, and that is where Mary had her baby, Jesus. She wrapped him snugly in cloth, and she laid him in a feeding trough, where the animals ate their food. In the same region, some shepherds were staying out in the fields and watching their sheep to protect them from thieves and predators. All of a sudden, an angel of the Lord stood before them. A bright light shone around the shepherds, and they were terrified! But the angel said to them, Don t be afraid! I have very good news for you: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. Then the angel said, You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough. A king in a feeding trough? That was no place for a king! All of a sudden, a whole army of angels appeared, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors! So the shepherds went straight to Bethlehem to find Baby Jesus. They found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. The shepherds went and told others about the baby Jesus. Everyone who heard about Jesus was surprised and amazed. Mary thought about everything that was happening and tried to understand it. The shepherds returned to their fields, praising God because everything had happened just as the angel had said. Christ Connection: The birth of Jesus was good news! Jesus was not an ordinary baby. He is God s Son, sent to earth from heaven. Jesus came into the world to save people from sin and to be our King.

4 SESSION TITLE: Jesus Was Born BIBLE PASSAGE: Luke 2:1-20 KIDZ LIVE 8:45 / 10:45 Service Order MAIN POINT: Jesus was born to be God s promised Savior. KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sin. BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Why was Jesus born? Jesus was born to rescue us from sin. Classroom drop off :30-8:55/10:30-10:55 Arrival Activity Page and Coloring Page Transition to large group :00-9:35/11:00-11:35 5 Minute Count Time begins :55-9:00/10:55-11:00 Worship :00-9:35/11:00-11:35 Welcome Memory Verse Prayer and Offering Songs Bible Story Video Application (skit, puppets, etc..) Transition to classroom :35/11:35 Small Group :40-10:20/11:40-12:20

5 Arrival Activity Every Good Gift Supplies Needed: Every Good Gift Activity Page For each letter, kids should list a good gift from God for which they are thankful. SAY Would anyone like to share a couple of the gifts they listed? [Allow volunteers to share.] The Bible says that every good gift comes from God. Today we are going to hear about God s greatest gift to us His Son, Jesus. At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus birth. Discussion starter video Supplies needed: Discussion starter video (on desktop) LEADER You know, Christmas is a time when we celebrate Jesus birth like His birthday! How do you celebrate your birthday? Why do we celebrate birthdays? Check out this video. Show the Unit 17, Session 2 discussion starter video. Guide kids to share their favorite birthday celebration ideas. LEADER Why do we celebrate Jesus birth? [Allow kids to respond.] The birth of Jesus was good news! We celebrate Jesus birth because God kept His promise to send a Savior. Jesus came because we needed Him. Session starter No room in the inn Supplies needed: Painters Tape Use tape to mark shapes of various sizes on the floor. Make sure some are too small for your entire group. Challenge kids to see how many people they can fit into each shape. SAY Were you all able to fit into any of the shapes? How did you feel when there was no room for you? Today s Bible story is about when Jesus was born.

6 Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem and the time came for Mary to have her baby. But there was no place for them to stay! Mary must have felt afraid, but God had a great plan for her. Mary was the mother of Jesus, God s Son! Activity 1 Sheep wranglers Supplies needed: wrapped candy canes, 1 per kid, large bag of cotton balls Form two teams of kids. Give each kid a candy cane and instruct kids to stand on the edges of the room. In the center of the room, dump a large bag of cotton balls on the floor to represent sheep. When you say go teams will have 60 seconds to gather as many sheep as they can to their side of the room using only their candy canes to push the cotton balls around. Play again as time allows SAY Who remembers the important role the shepherds played in the Christmas story? Review Bible Story Provide Bibles and guide kids to locate Luke 2. Remind them that the Gospel of Luke is the third book in the New Testament. Invite a volunteer to identify which book comes before Luke. (Mark) Choose another volunteer to identify which book comes after Luke. (John) Form a boys team and girls team to review the Bible story. Designate one player on each team to record the team s answers. Give that player a pencil and piece of paper. Explain that you will ask a question. Kids should discuss the answer with their teammates before recording a final answer. For each correct answer, a team will earn one point. Ask the following review questions: 1. To what city did Mary and Joseph travel? (Bethlehem, Luke 2:4) 2. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendant of which king? (King David, Luke 2:4) 3. What did Mary wrap Baby Jesus in? (cloth or swaddling clothes, Luke 2:7)

7 4. To whom did the angel of the Lord appear? (shepherds, Luke 2:8-9) 5. How did the shepherds feel when they saw the angel? (terrified, Luke 2:9) 6. What type of news did the angel tell the shepherds? (good news, Luke 2:10) 7. Where did the angel say the shepherds could find Baby Jesus? (in a feeding trough, Luke 2:12) 8. What does the name Jesus mean? (Savior, Matt. 1:21) 9. Why was Jesus born? Jesus was born to rescue us from sin. Announce how many points each team earned and recognize the winning team. SAY Great job working together to remember the details of our Bible story. The birth of Jesus was good news not just for a certain group of people but for everyone! The Bible says that everyone who turns from their sin and trusts in Jesus will receive forgiveness and eternal life. Key Passage Supplies needed: Key Passage Lead the boys and girls to read together Matthew 1:21. LEADER Jesus was born to rescue us from sin. This was prophesied throughout the Old Testament and our key passage from the New Testament. Matthew 1:21 tells us that when Mary gave birth to her Son, she named Him Jesus. The name Jesus means Savior. Jesus was born to be God s promised Savior. This is the best gift we could ever hope for. Activity 2 Find someone who Supplies needed: None

8 Gather the group in one central area. Tell kids to Find someone who and then say a unique character trait that describes a kid in the room. It can be a talent you know she has, a unique article of clothing she is wearing, or something else. When the group thinks they have found the person you were referring to, they will stand in a circle around her and she will sit down. Once you have verified whether they have found the right kid, reset the game and play again, picking a new trait. SAY The shepherds were given a very specific description of Jesus: a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough. There were likely many babies wrapped in cloth that night, but only one was lying in a feeding trough! When they found Jesus, they knew it was Him! They were so happy to have found the Messiah, they went out and told everyone what they heard and saw! When we meet Jesus, He changes our lives and makes us want to tell others about Him too! Jesus is the best gift we could ever receive, because only Jesus was born to rescue us from sin by dying on the cross in our place and rising from the dead. Dismissal / Prayer I know that by the end of the morning kids are ready to go and it might be difficult to get them to settle down but try to have a prayer time. Prayer time does not need to be at the end of the class. Also, make sure all papers/handouts go home with kids.