The Wise Men Worship Jesus

Transcription

1 The Wise Men Worship Jesus Scripture Passage: Matthew 2:1-16a Lesson Objective and Application Children will know that the wise men traveled a long way to find Jesus. They will understand that the wise men wanted to find Jesus so they could worship Him. The children will begin to understand what it means to worship Jesus. At the conclusion of this lesson, the children will name a way they can worship Jesus in the coming week. Supply List Bible Lesson Bible Keys (Hidden somewhere in the room before class) Lesson Visuals #1-4 A star made from star template in Games Appendix (Attach star to the classroom ceiling if possible.) Scripture Memory Bible Visual from Bible lesson Game Time BASIC GAME A star made from star template in Games Appendix ADVANCED GAME Tape for marking floor 2 wrapped gift boxes or gift bags Home Connection Page Note: You will need to write or copy the reference of the verse you are currently working on in the Your Child Should Say section of the Home Connection for this week. Christmas 259

2 Bible Lesson Introduction Hello, boys and girls. Wow, I need your help today. I have lost my car keys! I know they are somewhere in our room, but I can t find them anywhere. I ve been searching and searching for them. Do you think you could help me find them? Have children look for the missing keys. Once the keys are found have the children return to their seats. There are my keys! Hold up the keys. Boy, am I ever glad that you helped me find them. Trying to find my keys reminds me of our Bible lesson today. In the Bible we can read about some wise men that traveled a long time from a faraway country to find something. Show Lesson Visual #1. Do you think they were trying to find their car keys? Allow time for response. I don t think so either. They were searching for something much more special. They were searching for a king. I am going to open my Bible to Matthew, chapter 2 so we can find out who this king was and why the wise men were searching for him. Before we do that, let s bow our heads and pray. Pray and ask God to help the children pay careful attention to the lesson so they will know what the men were searching for. Lesson The Bible tells us in Matthew, chapter 2 that the wise men had followed a bright star from their country to Jerusalem. When they arrived in the city of Jerusalem they began asking (cup your hand around your mouth as you speak), Where is He that is born King of the Jews? When Herod, the king of Jerusalem, heard that the men were looking for a king, he was very upset. Herod did not want anyone else to be called a king. Herod wanted to speak to the wise men. Show Lesson Visual #2. He sent the wise men to the town of Bethlehem. He told them this is where they would find the King. The wise men left quickly because they wanted to find the King and worship Him. Show Lesson Visual #3. The wise men followed the star. The star finally stopped over the place where the King was. The wise men traveled a very long way to find this King. The men were probably very excited to finally be this close to the King they had been searching for. When they arrived at the house, Who do you think they found? Allow time for response. Yes, that is right. They found Jesus! Jesus was the King they had been searching for. When the wise men saw Jesus, they got on their knees and worshipped Him. Show Lesson Visual #4. Then the wise men gave Jesus gifts. They gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were very expensive gifts that were normally only for a king. Do you all know what gold is? Frankincense is like a special smelling candle and myrrh is like a perfume. After the wise men worshipped Jesus, they went back to their own country. They were very happy that they found Jesus and worshipped Him. 260 Christmas

3 Application The wise men were searching and looking for Jesus. They wanted to find this King so they could worship Him. Worship means that the wise men wanted to show and tell Jesus that they loved Him. The men showed Jesus that they loved Him by falling on their knees when they saw Him. They worshipped Jesus and showed Him that they loved Him when they gave Him the special gifts. The wise men had traveled far so they could worship Jesus. You don t need to travel far to worship Jesus, do you? You can worship Him wherever you are. Can you think of some ways you can worship Jesus, things you can do to show Him that you love Him? Allow time for response. Yes, you can worship Jesus by singing songs to Him. You can worship Him when you pray and talk to Him, when you listen to someone read the Bible, and when you obey Him. Can you think of ways you can worship Jesus this next week? Prayer Time Suggestion Thank God for sending His Son Jesus on that first Christmas Day. Ask God to help the children think of some ways they can show Jesus that they love Him. Review Questions Remind the children that the wise men followed a star to help them find Jesus so they could worship Him. Tell the children that when they know the answer to a question to let you know by looking up to see the star. Repeat for each question. 1. Where did the wise men come from? (Far away; the East) 2. Who was the King of Jerusalem? (Herod) 3. Where did Herod send the men to look for the King? (Bethlehem) 4. What did the wise men follow? (A star) 5. Who was the King that the wise men were looking for? (Jesus) Christmas 261

4 Snack Time Caravan Crunch Serve animal crackers with milk. Discussion Suggestion: As the children enjoy their snack, talk about the different animal shapes they are eating. Which of these animals do they think the wise men might have taken with them as they traveled to find the King? Why do they think this? Talk about how far the wise men traveled to worship Jesus. Do we need to travel a long way to worship Him? Have the children share some ways they can worship Jesus. Star Cookies Serve star-shaped cookies. Frost the cookies in advance or allow the children to frost their treats. Decorate the stars with items of your choosing. Serve with milk. Discussion Suggestion: As the children enjoy their snack, talk about the lesson of the wise men traveling to worship Jesus. What did they follow? Talk about how far they traveled. Do we need to travel a long way to worship Him? Have the children share some ways they can worship Jesus. Discipleship Time Use Activity Sheet (Christmas) Questions for Further Discussion: 1. Why did the wise men want to find Jesus? (So they could worship Him) 2. What does it mean to worship Jesus? (To show Him and tell Him that you love Him) 3. Name one way you can worship Jesus in the coming week. (Answers will vary.) Prayer Time Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus. 262 Christmas

5 Suggested sentence prayer Dear Jesus, help me to worship you this week by. Scripture Memory Time Verse: During Scripture Memory time this week, use the suggested activity with the verse the children have been working on this month. If you are between modules, you might wish to start the next verse the children will learn. Scripture Explanation: Read the verse aloud from the Bible in the version the children will be learning. Say the verse including the reference aloud several times. Then ask the children to repeat it with you a few more times. Activity Name the Picture Show the children a picture visual from the Bible lesson. Say the following rhyme to the group, I have a picture in front of me. Who can tell me something that they see? Ask the children to raise their hands to name something specific in the picture. After a child answers, have them (or the entire group) repeat the verse including the reference. If needed, hold up another visual from the Bible lesson. Repeat until each child has a chance to respond or as time allows. Game Time Find the Star Use the star template in the Games Appendix of this Bible study to make a star. If time allows, color the star or cover it with tin foil. Choose one child to leave the room while you hide the star. Then have the child come back into the room and look for the star. As the child searches for the star, the rest of the children give them clues by singing a favorite Christmas song. (Use the same song throughout the entire game.) The children should sing the song loudly if the person is getting closer to the star or more softly if they are getting further away. When the child finds the star, they choose the next child to leave the room while a leader hides the star again. Continue to play until each child has had a turn to search for the star. Christmas 263

6 Learning Link: Remind the children that the wise men in the Bible lesson weren t searching for a star but for a King, Jesus. What did they follow on their long journey? They wanted to find the King so they could worship Him. Isn t it wonderful that we can worship Jesus wherever we are? Have the children share a few ways they can worship Jesus in the coming week. Wise Men s Relay Divide the children into two teams. Mark a start and return line on the floor with tape. Give the first child on each team a gift wrapped box or gift bag. At your signal, the child should run with the gift to the return line and back. They should then give the gift to the next child and be seated at the back of the line. Continue until all of the children are seated. Repeat as time allows. To keep the children s interest, vary the ways they are to take the gift to the return line. Possible suggestions: hop, tiptoe, jump. Learning Link: What did this activity remind the children of? Did it help them think about the wise men and their long trip to worship the King? It was a lot longer trip than the pretend trip the children took in the relay, wasn t it? Isn t it wonderful that we can worship Jesus wherever we are? Have the children share a few ways they can worship Jesus in the coming week. 264 Christmas