Kindergarten-2nd. December 13-14, Shepherds and Wise men. Matthew 1:21 Adventure Bible for Early Readers (p. 1122) God speaks to us

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1 Kindergarten-2nd December 13-14, 2014 Matthew 1:21 Adventure Bible for Early Readers (p. 1122) Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Shepherds and Wise men God speaks to us Today, we re talking about how God speaks to us. This is a tough concept for kids (and adults), so be ready to share ways God speaks to you. And if you re not sure, ask God to tell you! Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together. Remind kids to tell their parents what s happening in the picture they colored. Encourage them to also share all the other ways God spoke in today s story. We re talking about the Christmas story again, but this time, we re focusing not just on how God wants to be with us but also how he wants to speak to us.

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. *The first slide of the Keynote has 13 minutes of Christmas music you can play it during Connect Time! A LISTENING GAME Explain that today we will talk about God speaking to us and that God sometimes speaks to people in all different ways. So, today we are going to practice listening by playing the listening game. BEFORE YOU BEGIN, choose 5 objects from around the room and put them in one of the bags (bags will be re-used at each service). You could use ping pong balls, quarter, paperclips, keys, books, markers, etc.) How to Play Have kids get into small groups and put their heads down. o Pull objects out of the bag and make a noise with each one o Or make up your own noises like snapping your fingers, clicking your tongue, yawning, coughing, etc. Round 1: Kids have to listen carefully and try to identify the sound (marker cap coming off, book pages turning, ball bouncing, etc.; for kindergarten, you may want to show the items first, then have kids try to guess) Round 2: Put the items back in the bag and try the same sounds again, in a different order. Ask: Is it easier now that you know what to listen for? Round 3: This time, try making multiple sounds at once (by yawning while bouncing an object on the table or coughing and snapping, etc.). Ask: Is it easier to focus on just one thing at a time? In real life, is it easier to listen when there isn t much background noise? Then, before you head into Large Group, ask them about the best/worst parts of their week and remind them of your expectations for their behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.

3 Goal: Kids will be able to (1) retell the story of Jesus s birth including the story of the shepherds and wise men, (2) understand ways God speaks to people in the Bible and (3) identify ways they can listen to God. Why? God wants to speak to us, but it s important to know that so we remember to listen. Tips: When doing the listening activity, make sure that you tell the kids what the Bible REALLY says after you make silly substitutions. REVIEW/DIG DEEPER 1. How did God speak to Joseph? 2. How did God speak to the shepherds? 3. How did God speak to the wise men? 4. What was different about the way he spoke to them? 5. Did anybody feel like God said something to them during Large Group? What was it? (Encourage kids to do what God says!) 6. How else might he speak to us? 7. What can we do to be ready to listen to God so that it is easier for use to hear him? LISTENING PRACTICE One way God speaks to all of us is through his word in the Bible. Let s practice listening for it. Read the Christmas story on the print-out (or better yet, make it up yourself and use the Bible!). Tell kids to listen carefully. If they hear something that they don t think fits and probably isn t from God, they should make a big X with their arms. Otherwise, they should give you a thumbs up. Start with everybody giving a thumbs up and begin reading! REENACT THE STORY Pick 2 students to pretend to be wise men. Show the group which color paper you have (each small group has a different color) Draw a star on the paper with a marker. The wise men need to follow the star! Then have the 2 wise men close their eyes as the rest of the team hides a star somewhere in the room. (*We often see pictures/stories of three wise men, but there s actually no biblical reason for that.) (Continue on the following page)

4 2 The three wise men will walk around the room trying to find the star and the rest of the group will say getting brighter as the wise man gets closer to the star and getting darker as the wise man moves away from the star. Once the wise men find the star, pick two new wise men and play again, until everyone has had a turn to look for the star. If necessary, add extra challenges to the game. Here some ideas: Wise men will only get 3 brighter/darker clues, wise men must link arms and search together in a chain, wise men can only walk backward as they search, wise men must bunny hop, or come up with your own twists as a team! As they come back, they have to run around the room to remember that the real wise men were warned in a dream to return home from another route. *When you re done, pray with the kids, asking God to speak to us this week and help US listen. Then give kids a coloring page with an image of the angel appearing to Joseph. If you have extra time, play the Connect Time sound game. If you don t have time, please make sure to replace the objects you used.

5 1 Be prepared to share an example of the ways God speaks to you! If you want, you can even share a specific example of what God said and what you did about it! Today s videos: (1) Birth of Jesus: RWlEzyMn9o&list=UUO8DQzvSJY_o oxtqmuxiqma (2) Shepherds: watch?v=taebx6bplv4&list=uuo8d QzvSJY_ooxtQMUxiqmA (3) Wise Men: qxqceqf0n0&list=uuo8dqzvsjy_o oxtqmuxiqma *Click to play intro music INTRO Hey guys, welcome to Kids Club! We are so happy you are here today! What a cool game you guys played! You did a great job listening and we will be talking a lot about listening to God when he speaks to us today. LISTENING Raise your hand if you always do what adults like parents or teachers tell you to do (let kids respond). Me neither. Even when I know I should But what if God told you to do something? Would you listen to God? (Rhetorical.) Today we are going to talk about God speaking to people in the Bible. How do you think that would feel to have God speak to you? (Let a few kids share.) You might feel excited or maybe a little nervous, but you would probably listen to God, right? God doesn t always speak to people himself, sometimes he finds other ways to get messages to people. REVIEW/ WHAT WE KNOW Before we get to the part about God speaking to us though, let s review a little bit the story of when Jesus was born, the Christmas story! First, let s look at a verse that reminds us why Jesus is so special: SLIDE: 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 sins. I love this verse because it reminds me of Jesus s special job- to be our savior, our rescuer. It says he will save us from our sins. Wow! What a wonderful gift his birth was!

6 So what do you already know about the story of his birth? Take a minute to think about what you already know (let kids think). Now, whisper with a couple of friends near you and tell them everything you know about when Jesus was born. (Give kids a few minutes to share together. When most have had the chance to share, call them back to attention and let 2-3 kids share.) Wow! You guys already know a ton about the day Jesus was born. Let s take a minute to watch a quick video to review. While you watch, see if you notice God speaking to someone. Video: Birth of Jesus Did anyone notice God speaking to someone? (Let kids say: yes.) Who did he speak to? (Let kids say: Joseph.) How did he speak to Joseph? (Let kids respond.) That s right, through an angel in a dream. And how do you think Joseph felt? (Let kids respond.) I bet you re right! Well, once Jesus was born, God sent angels to some other people. Let s check it out! Once again, see if you can figure out where God is speaking. Video: Shepherds Who did God speak to this time? (Let kids say: the shepherds). How did he speak to them? (Let kids respond.) Yep, through angels in the sky. And how did the shepherds feel when the angels came down to tell them about baby Jesus s birth? (Let kids respond.) Yes, they were SO excited. In fact, what did they decide to do once the angels told them about Jesus? (Let kids respond.) Yes, they went to see him! So God sent angels to speak to the shepherds and they listened and left everything to go find Jesus. IMAGINE WE ARE SHEPHERDS Let s take a minute to imagine what it must have been like for those shepherds to hear from God. Close your eyes for a moment (let kids close their eyes). I want you to imagine that you lived long, long ago near Bethlehem. You and your family have been waiting for a long time for the savior to come. (Pause to give the effect of waiting.) One night just like any other, you are out in the field, taking care of your sheep like always. That s what a shepherd does takes care of sheep! So you re just out enjoying the dark, calm night. (Click slide for night sound effects) stars are shining brightly in the clear sky, a cool breeze blows, and everything is peaceful. (Pause to enjoy the restful night.) Suddenly, an angel appears! The Bible tells us that when the angel of the Lord appeared, the shepherds were terrified! Show me your best terrified face! (Let kids show it.) They were terrified, but the angel said this to them: SLIDE: Luke 2:10-13 Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

7 HOW DID THEY FEEL? Okay open your eyes. (Let kids open eyes.) Wow! How would you have felt if you were one of those shepherds and God sent an angel to talk to you? (Let kids respond.) How would you have felt once the angel told you that the savior you had been waiting for was finally here? (Let kids respond.) You d probably be excited, right? And the shepherds were! They left right away to go see their savior. They had been waiting their whole lives for him, and he was finally here! WISE MEN We re going to hear about one more way God spoke to someone else about Jesus s birth. This time, God didn t send angels. Let s watch one last video to find out another way God spoke: Video: Wise Men So God talked to the wise men in two different ways. What were they? (The star brought them to Jesus and the dream warned them not to return to Herod.) And how do you think the wise men felt about leaving their homes and traveling from far away to go see Jesus? (Let kids respond.) I bet you re right! Let s listen to a song to help us understand how the shepherds and wise men and many others must have felt when Jesus arrived. Music Video: Savior Coming GOD WANTS TO SPEAK TO US You know, God came to rescue us too! And just like he spoke to people in the Bible, he wants to speak to us! He might speak through putting a thought or word or picture in your head. Maybe somebody says something to you that seems really true. Maybe you have a dream that feels important or even just see the most beautiful sunset! One way God speaks to me is (share a personal example of one way God speaks to you). We re going to sing a song about listening to God. As you watch the music video and sing along, ask God if he wants to say anything to you. Music Video: Listen PRAYER Let s pray together. To start, let s just spend a few minutes in quiet. Ask God: What do you want to say to me? (Give kids a minute of silence. Then call someone up to lead a prayer thanking God for sending our savior to us and for finding ways to speak to us.)

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10 1 translucent bag per group (could be a garbage bag, paper bag, etc.) Per Kid Coloring page: Angel Dream Per Group Adventure Bible for Early Readers (p. 1122) 1 piece of colored paper (different color per group) markers 1 Christmas Story on cardstock (reused) Adventure Bible for Early Readers (p. 1122) 1. CHRISTMAS intro music: Slide with this loop: 2. SLIDE: 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 sins. 3. Video: Birth of Jesus ( 4. Video: Shepherds ( 5. Night sounds: 6. SLIDE: Luke 2:10-13 Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. 7. Video: Wise Men 8. Music Video: Savior Coming (Mae or Dave will have file) 9. Music Video: Listen ( Tell me about the shepherds and wise men. How does God speak to us? Daily Talk Starts separate doc