God chose a family for Jesus. LEADER BIBLE STUDY

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1 LIFE POINT God chose a family for Jesus. Obeying BIBLE PASSAGE Matthew 1:18-25 CHRIST FOCUS Jesus was part of a family. LIFE ACTION Help the kids think of different ways their parents help them at home. Be sensitive to children who live in alternative families. Make a list of jobs that parents do to take care of the family. Joseph did what God told him to do. MATTHEW 1:24 LOBL Jesus LEADER BIBLE STUDY The angel told Mary that she would have Joseph accepted the angel s words a baby. Such good news for Mary! But the and obeyed. Only a strong, courageous, news of Mary s pregnancy was not such and faithful man could go forward with good news for Joseph not at first. plans to marry a woman pregnant with a Joseph faced public disgrace at Mary s child that was not his. Joseph knew what pregnancy. Mary and Joseph were others would think, but obeying God and engaged, legally bound to each other; fulfilling his calling were more important. the engagement could be broken only Obedience was not easy, but Joseph by divorce. Joseph could have insisted believed God and followed God s plan. that Mary be stoned for unfaithfulness. Mary s pregnancy turned out to be good Instead, he decided that he would quietly news for Joseph, too. divorce her (Matthew 1:19). God created Joseph for a specific One night an angel appeared to purpose: to be the earthly father of God s Joseph in a dream and explained what Son. Though your calling may seem small was happening. Joseph learned that Mary by comparison, God has a purpose for had not been unfaithful. The angel gave you. God has entrusted children He loves Joseph the responsibility of wedding to you, to help them learn about Him. Mary and naming the child Jesus. As This is a truly high calling. Mary s husband, Joseph would care for, provide for, and raise God s Son. God the Father was entrusting His Son to Joseph. DATE OF USE 1 Bonus Christmas Session 2

2 BIBLE STORY Decide when you plan to have group time; then select learning activities to use before and/or after group time. CHOOSE Your Own SCHEDULE that Jesus would be born into their family. JOSEPH OBEYED GOD Based on Matthew 1:18-25 Joseph was a carpenter. He was a kind man who obeyed God and did things that were right. Joseph was going to marry a young woman named Mary. One night as Joseph was sleeping, God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is going to have a baby. The baby will be God s Son. You will name Him Jesus. He will help all people. When Joseph awoke, he remembered the dream. Joseph knew the words had come from God. Joseph did what God told him to do. Mary and Joseph married each other. They became a family. They waited for Baby Jesus to be born and were happy GROUP TIME Sing and recall. Play a Christmas carol from a personal Christmas CD. Invite the kids to sing along. Show the Teaching Picture Mary s Good News and recall the story. Comment that God chose a family for Jesus. Today they will hear who else was in Jesus family. Say the Life Verse. Open the Bible to Matthew 1 and say the verse. Repeat the Life Verse with the children a few times. Say the verse leaving out one word and prompting the children to say the missing word. Tell the Bible story. Remind the kids about the Life Verse Joseph did what God told him to do. Ask them to listen carefully for what God wanted Joseph to do. Open your Bible to Matthew 1 and tell the story in your own words. Recall the Bible story. Show the Teaching Picture for today s story. Ask the kids if the picture shows the beginning, middle, or end of the story. Encourage the children to tell different things they recall from the story. Review the Life Point and pray. Ask for volunteers to pray. Close prayer time by thanking God for sending Jesus and providing a family for Him. Talk with the kids about ways families help one another. Play a game. Pretend to use different tools and invite the kids to guess what tool you are using. You can hammer a nail, saw wood, use a screwdriver, measure with a measuring tape, climb a ladder, and so forth. Allow the children a turn performing these actions. Notes CD: Teaching Pictures Mary s Good News and Joseph Obeyed God ; Bible Markers Christmas carol CD Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 2

3 Notes LEARNING ACTIVITIES Kids Activity Page Puzzles about Jesus birth CD: Bible Markers Kitchen center; toy dishes, pots, and pans; baby dolls; dress-up clothes Wooden blocks, toy tools CD: Teaching Picture Joseph Obeyed God Paper, markers or crayons, church pictorial directory (optional) WORK PUZZLES ABOUT JESUS Christ Focus: Jesus was part of a family. Bible Focus: Joseph helped care for Jesus. Talk about the Bible story as the children work puzzles. Help them understand that Joseph was an important part of Jesus family. Assist the children in completing the Kids Activity Page. (Puzzles and Games) PLAY OUT FAMILY SITUATIONS Christ Focus: Mary and Joseph were Jesus parents. Bible Focus: Joseph was in Jesus family. Invite the boys and girls to dress up as different family members. Talk about jobs different family members perform. Talk about the Bible story as the children play. Help them understand that Joseph was an important part of Jesus family. Say the Life Verse. Explain that the verse means that Joseph obeyed God. (Dramatic Play) USE TOY TOOLS Christ Focus: God chose Mary and Joseph as Jesus family. Bible Focus: Joseph was a carpenter. Invite the boys and girls to use the tools and the blocks to build. Remark that Joseph was a carpenter and that carpenters work with wood. Help the kids think about the kinds of tools Joseph may have used. Pray, thanking God for providing a family for Jesus. (Blocks) DRAW FAMILY PORTRAITS Christ Focus: Jesus was part of a family. Bible Focus: Joseph was part of Jesus family. Show pictures of families in the directory, if available. Point to Joseph in the Teaching Picture. Talk about the Bible story. Invite the boys and girls to draw portraits of their families. Comment that God provided a family to take care of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were part of Jesus family. Talk about some ways that family members help one another. (Art) 3 Bonus Christmas Session 2

4 LIFE POINT God chose a family for Jesus. MAKE SHAPES WITH CRAFT STICKS Christ Focus: God chose Mary as Jesus mother and Joseph as Jesus father. Bible Focus: Joseph was a carpenter who worked with wood. Draw several large geometric shapes onto separate pieces of paper. Invite the children to use the craft sticks to build the shapes. They can build the shapes on the paper or on the table by copying the shape. Encourage the kids to think of their own shapes to build. Talk about Joseph using wood in his carpentry shop. (Nature and Science) Notes Wooden craft sticks (different sizes), paper, marker BONUS ACTIVITIES PLAY OUT NIGHTTIME Provide a sleeping bag, pillow, and children s robes. Invite the children to play out nighttime routines. Talk about Joseph s dream and what the angel told him. EXAMINE SANDPAPER Collect a magnifying glass, several different sheets of sandpaper, and a few pieces of wood. Lead the kids to take turns using the magnifying glass to examine the sandpaper. Show them how to sand a piece of wood. Tell the Bible story as they sand the wood. CLEAN UP Give the kids a five-minute warning before it is time to clean up. Assign each child a specific job. Thank the kids for their cooperation. Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 4

5 BONUS TEACHING HOUR for BONUS CHRISTMAS SESSION 2 Room Your teaching partner(s) Thank you for serving! DATE OF USE Obeying Matthew 1:18-25 LIFE POINT God chose a family for Jesus. CHRIST FOCUS Jesus was part of a family. Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24 BIBLE FUN ACTIVITIES SNACK Before serving the snack, ask the children to wash their hands. When everyone is at the table, say a thank-you prayer for the snack. As the kids eat, talk to them about their families. MOVE TO GROUP TIME Tell the children that Joseph was a carpenter, so pretend to carry heavy wood to the group-time area. TALK ABOUT THE BIBLE STORY Open your Bible to Matthew 1. Tell the story in your own words. Joseph was a carpenter. He was a kind man who obeyed God and did things that were right. Joseph was going to marry a young woman named Mary. One night as Joseph was sleeping, God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is going to have a baby. The baby will be God s Son. You will name Him Jesus. He will help all people. When Joseph awoke, he remembered the dream. Joseph knew the words had come from God. Joseph did what God told him to do. Mary and Joseph married each other. They became a family. They waited for Baby Jesus to be born and were happy that Jesus would be born into their family. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE BTH-1

6 SING TOGETHER Using the tune For He s a Jolly Good Fellow, sing: God chose Mary and Joseph, God chose Mary and Joseph, God chose Mary and Joseph, As Jesus family. SAY THE Say the verse Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24. Show the children how to hammer by tapping two fists together. Say the verse again by hammering out each word. PRAY Say a thank-you prayer for Jesus family and God s special plan. BIBLE-LEARNING ACTIVITIES Describe today s activities. As the kids play, talk about the fact that God chose Mary and Joseph as Jesus family. A. Play a listening game. Comment that Joseph listened to God and obeyed Him. Play a game of Teacher Says. Explain that you will do an action and they must do it only if you say, Teacher Says. Play the game by doing motions such as touching your head, marching in place, jumping two times, turning around, and so forth. B. Make play dough people. Encourage the kids to construct play dough people by rolling and stacking play dough balls to form people. Talk about the Bible story as they work with the play dough. C. Create a Christmas place mat. Provide green and red construction paper and markers. Invite the children to decorate the paper to make a place mat to take home. Some kids may want to make several place mats. Offer to print on their place mats God sent Jesus. D. Chart family members. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. Help each child print his name in the first column. Talk to the children about how many people are in their families. Invite each child to print in the second column opposite his name the number of people in his family. CLEAN UP Announce that cleanup time will begin in five minutes. After five minutes, go to each area and quietly ask the kids to begin putting away the materials. Affirm each group of children as they work to straighten the room. PLAY A STACKING GAME Sit near the blocks area and place one block on the floor. Ask questions about today s story and the previous story. If a child answers correctly, he can place a block on the stack. Repeat questions as needed. DISMISS Greet parents at the door. Give each child her Activity Page, any artwork, and other belongings. Tell parents that the children heard that God planned for Joseph to be part of Jesus family. 2-BTH Bonus Christmas Session LifeWay.

7 BONUS SESSION 2 Obeying Find the Shadow Joseph did what God told him to do. M AT T H E W 1: 24 Joseph used tools in his work as a carpenter. What are the names of the tools in the pictures below? Draw a line to match each tool with its shadow LifeWay. Printed in the United States of America. This item may be reproduced. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 1

8 Joseph Obeyed God Bible Studies for Life, Winter LifeWay. Printed in the United States of America. This item may be reproduced.

9 Bible Markers You will have a son and call Him Jesus. Luke 1:31 Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24 You will have a son and call Him Jesus. Luke 1:31 Joseph did what God told him to do. Matthew 1:24 Bible Studies for Life, Winter LifeWay. Printed in the United States of America. This item may be reproduced. Instructions: Cut apart the Bible markers and use with the Bonus Christmas Sessions.