Key Concept. KNOW WHAT: Children will hear the Christmas story, including the angels, the birth of Jesus, and the shepherds hearing the good news.

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1 In the Beginning... Growing into a Life of Faith UNIT 1: Bible Summary Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20 An angel told Mary she would have a baby: God s Son, Jesus. Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census. When they arrived, there was no place for them to spend the night, so they stayed in a stable. While they were there, Jesus was born. Mary wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger. Angels appeared to shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields. The angels praised God and told the shepherds where to find Baby Jesus. The shepherds visited Him and were amazed. Bible Verse I bring you good news of great joy... a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 Objectives LESSON 4: CHRISTMAS WEEK SERVICE Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus KEY CONCEPT MOTIONS: Every time you say the key concept during the lesson, use these motions: Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]. KNOW WHAT: Children will hear the Christmas story, including the angels, the birth of Jesus, and the shepherds hearing the good news. SO WHAT: Children will learn that God sent His Son, Jesus, as a baby to show His love. NOW WHAT: Children will participate in activities to celebrate the good news of Jesus birth. Spiritual Formation Celebration and Thankfulness People Needed Teacher, Helper, 4 Kids from the class Supplies Key Concept (Labeled visuals below can be found in the Lesson 4 Visual folder on the Winter Quarter CDs.) Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus. CD player Music for singing The Beginner s Bible Folder for script Head piece, shawl, or scarf for Mary Shirt or tunic for Joseph Halo for angel Toy sheep for shepherd Stick horse or wagon (to use as a donkey) Backpack Doll (Baby Jesus) Light blanket or sheet Towel to wrap Baby Jesus Bench or chair Manger (or box) 3 Picture cards: Family, Grandparents, Friends (Lesson 4 LG 9 Lesson 4 LG 11) Crayons For each child: 1 Instrument (maracas, jingle bells, drums, etc.) (optional) 1 Scarf (optional) Key Concept sticker (Lesson 4 LG 12) Two-sided take-home coloring sheet (Lesson 4 LG 13, Lesson 4 LG 14) Snack 1 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

2 Notes: In Advance Recruit a Helper to operate the music CDs. This week, the Helper will also help walk the kid volunteers through their roles in the Christmas story. Determine which songs you will use and be prepared to lead the children in singing. Song suggestions: Upbeat song, that kids can clap along to, for transition from Activity Stations to the Creative Bible Teaching (consider using the same song for all 15 lessons or using a different song for each unit) Jingle Bells (optional: from a children s Christmas CD) It s Christmastime (Jump for Joy CD) Who Was There (Jump for Joy CD) Good, (Jump for Joy CD) Gather the supplies as listed above and arrange your classroom as follows: Designate one area or corner of the room as your teaching area. Set up props that will be used during the lesson and consider covering them with a sheet or a large piece of fabric to keep them from curious kids during Activity Stations. Also consider placing a line of tape on the floor to help keep kids out of the teaching area. Leave the tree from previous lessons in place. Set the bench or chair to one side and place the manger/box at the center of the teaching area. Place all props to one side where the Helper can easily reach them and give them to the kids as needed. Prepare the materials that will be given to each of the children. To prepare the stickers, print or copy the pages onto Avery label sheets #5294. Consider cutting the stickers apart for easier distribution. This week, copy the Family Activity and Coloring Sheet on separate sheets of paper (instead of front-to-back) and staple together a set for each child. This way they can cut out their puppets without having print on the back. Print out the lesson and practice the teaching time. The Teacher will narrate the Christmas story from the side while the Helper helps the kid volunteers through their roles. The kids do NOT need to practice before the teaching time. Teacher s Prep REVIEW LUKE 2:8-20. As you study the passage, notice the shepherds great excitement as they spread the news of Jesus birth. Pray and ask God how you can share the good news and joy of Jesus birth with the people in your workplace or neighborhood. Be open to God s promptings. And as you spread the good news, do it with great joy... the joy of knowing that God s Son, Jesus, was born. Consider, too, how you can spread the good news and joy of Jesus birth to the children you know. Maybe it will be through praying they will understand Christmas is about celebrating that Jesus, God s Son, was born. Maybe it will be in showing extra joy while leading or worshipping with the children. Whatever it is, know that your faithfulness in serving His kids is having a great impact on the Kingdom. 2 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

3 Activity Stations (20 MINUTES) Choose which activity stations you will use from the list included in the Activity Stations folder. Creative Bible Teaching (15 MINUTES) [Play upbeat music as children transition to the teaching area. Encourage kids to clap their hands along with you. Clap in a variety of styles like overhead, on your knees, on your belly, etc.] Merry Christmas! My name is, and I m so glad you re here today. Can you say Merry Christmas? [Kids respond.] That was great! It s going to be a great day. We are going to celebrate Christmas. Wiggle your fingers if you like Christmas! [Wiggle fingers.] There are lots of things to like about Christmas. Clap your hands if you like Christmas presents! [Clap hands.] Pat your tummy if you like Christmas cookies. [Pat tummy.] Pat your head if you like Christmas songs. [Pat head.] Wow! Lots of you like Christmas songs. We can sing a Christmas song right now. Let s stand up and sing Jingle Bells. [Invite children to shake pretend bells during the song. Shake the bells up high, down low, on each side, twist while singing, and jump while shaking.] MUSIC Song suggestion: Jingle Bells [Invite kids to sit down on the count of three.] [Whisper.] Guess what? We get to do some more Christmas things. We get to hear the Christmas story from the Bible. This is our helper, [Helper]. She/he might come over and ask you to help us tell the story. If you would like to do that, just come with [Helper] and she/he will show you want to do. Doesn t that sound fun? Click on your listening ears. Click! Click! [Tug on each earlobe.] Now let s put on our special eyes. Shookum! Shookum! [Hold hands to eyes, one at a time, shaping glasses.] I think I see Mary now! [Kneel in the center of the teaching area. Throughout the story, make sure that you stay out of the path of the volunteer characters.] [The Helper picks a girl from the class to be Mary, places the scarf around her shoulders, and leads Mary to bench/chair. The Helper encourages Mary to lie on bench and pretend to sleep.] 3 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

4 [To kids.] That s Mary. And do you remember who came to talk to Mary? [Allow kids to respond.] That s right! An angel. [The Helper picks a child from the class and places a halo on his or her head. The Helper walks the child over to Mary, pretending to float by gracefully raising arms and lowering arms.] The angel said, Don t be afraid Mary. You are going to have a baby. God s Son. The baby s name will be Jesus. [The Helper takes Mary s hand and points up, then helps her stand up.] Mary said, Me? A baby? I m going to have a baby! Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! [The Helper removes the angel s halo and has him/her return to his/her seat. The Helper sits with Mary as they wait for the next scene.] Did you see that? An angel just visited Mary. The angel said, Don t be afraid. [Shake head back and forth.] Say that with me. Don t be afraid. [Shake head back and forth.] Then the angel said, You re going to have a baby. [Cradle arms back and forth.] Say that with me, You re going to have a baby. [Cradle arms back and forth.] And the baby s name will be... [point up and allow kids to answer]...jesus. [The Helper picks a Joseph and places the shirt or tunic on him. The Helper walks Joseph over beside Mary. They act out what the Teacher describes.] There is more to the Christmas story. There was a man named Joseph. He loved Mary. [The Helper has Mary and Joseph give each other a side hug.] Joseph loved Mary, and Mary loved Joseph. Give yourselves a great big hug. [Hug self.] Mary told Joseph that she was going to have a baby. God s Son. And the baby s name would be Jesus. Mary told Joseph about the angel coming to visit her. [The Helper takes Mary s hand and points up to heaven, then rocks her arms back and forth. The Helper takes them both to the side of the teaching area and places the backpack on Joseph s back. Mary gets on the donkey (stick horse or wagon), and the Helper walks them around as if they are on a long trip.] Then Mary and Joseph went on a trip to a far away place. Mary got on a donkey and they went far... far... far away. Watch as Mary and Joseph go on their trip. Pat your hands on your knees and pretend to be the donkey walking. [Model walking hands on knees.] We re walking, we re walking with Mary and Joseph. We re walking, we re walking with Mary and Joseph... and stop! When they got there, they had to find a place to sleep. Watch! 4 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

5 [The Helper walks Mary and Joseph to the middle and stands them behind the manger.] Joseph said, This stable is the only place I could find to sleep. Mary said, This stable has a lot of animals. There are sheep, cows, donkeys, and pigs. But it will be okay. [The Helper brings Joseph to the front of the manger, opens the backpack, takes out the blanket or sheet and spreads it out.] Joseph said, Let s try to get some sleep. [The Helper has Joseph and Mary lie down with their backs to the children. The Helper turns her/his back to the audience, quickly takes the doll out of the backpack, and gives it to Mary so the kids can t see it.] [Stand behind manger. Start in a whisper.] Shhhh. Mary and Joseph went to sleep. They went to sleep with all the animals. There were cows. What sound does a cow make? [Kids respond moo. ] There were donkeys. What sound do donkeys make? [Make donkey ears as the kids respond hee-haw. ] What sound do pigs make? [Kids respond oink. ] Oh!...[whisper] but remember, Mary and Joseph were sleeping. And that night, something very special happened. A baby started to cry. [Sit on Mary s chair/bench at the side of the teaching area.] [The Helper has Mary and Joseph stand up and move behind the manger. The Helper wraps Baby Jesus in a towel and helps Mary place Him in the manger. Mary and Joseph look at Baby Jesus.] Mary said, I am so happy! Baby Jesus is born! God gave us Baby Jesus! And Joseph said, God loves us so much, He gave us Baby Jesus. Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! And Mary said, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! Did you see the special thing that happened? Baby Jesus was born! Pretend to rock baby Jesus. [Cradle arms back and forth.] God loved us so much, He gave us Baby Jesus. Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Let s stand up and sing a song about Baby Jesus! [During the song, Mary and Joseph stay in front. The Helper gets the angel from the class again and puts a halo on him/her. The Helper also picks a child to be the shepherd and hands him/her the toy sheep to hold.] MUSIC Song suggestion: It s Christmastime [Invite kids to sit on the count of three.] There is more to the story. The angels were so happy Jesus was born, they wanted to tell everyone, even the shepherds. Watch! I think I see a shepherd now! 5 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

6 [The Helper walks the shepherd up front and has the angel wait to the side, behind the Christmas tree if it s a standing tree.] Baa, baa, baa, baa. The shepherd said, It s been a long day of taking care of the sheep. I gave them food and combed their hair, and tonight, I have to take care of my sheep by watching them and keeping them safe. Let me make sure they are all here. One, two, three... [The Helper brings the angel over to the shepherd, pretending to float again.] The angel said, Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! [The Helper takes the halo and returns the angel volunteer to his or her seat.] The shepherd said, I want to go see Baby Jesus! I m going on a trip to go see Baby Jesus. [The Helper walks the shepherd slowly around the room in a circle back towards the manger. The Teacher follows them.] The shepherd is going on a long trip to go see Baby Jesus! Let s pretend to walk with the shepherd by patting our hands on our knees. [Pat hands on knees.] We re walking, we re walking to go see Baby Jesus. We re walking, we re walking to go see Baby Jesus. Let s watch as the shepherd sees Baby Jesus. [The Helper has the shepherd set down the sheep on the floor and stand next to the manger.] The shepherd said, There He is. There is Baby Jesus! And Mary said, God loves us so much, He gave us Baby Jesus! And Joseph said, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! And the shepherd said, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! I want to tell everyone about Baby Jesus! [The Helper runs the shepherd to the right.] Jesus is born! [The Helper runs the shepherd to the left.] Jesus is born! [The Helper runs the shepherd to the center.] Jesus is born! Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! Friends, let s all say thank You to God. Can you stand with me? Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Let s try our deep voices. Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and 6 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

7 pretend to rock a baby]! Let s try our quiet voices. Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! [The Helper gathers the costumes and sheep from Mary, Joseph, and the shepherd and takes them back to sit down.] Friends, let s all clap for the great job these kids did! [Applaud.] God gave us Baby Jesus! That makes me so happy. Let s sing a song about the Christmas story in the Bible. MUSIC Song suggestion: Who Was There I love to sing songs about Jesus, because Jesus is born! Let s have some more fun singing with our scarves. [Scarves are optional. If they are used, encourage the children to twirl their scarves in circles, on the side, above their heads, by their toes, and throw them up in the air and try to catch them.] MUSIC Song suggestion: Good, [Collect scarves and invite children to sit down.] Life Application Activity (10 MINUTES) Don t you just love the Christmas story? We aren t done yet, though. Right now I m going to pretend I m Mary. [Or Joseph. Hold the Baby Jesus doll.] I want to show you Baby Jesus. God gave us Baby Jesus. [Show doll.] Pretend you are holding a baby like I hold Baby Jesus. [Encourage children to pretend to rock a baby.] Joseph [or Mary] and I take care of Baby Jesus. We feed Him. Let s pretend to feed Baby Jesus. [Model by making munching noises and spooning food to Baby Jesus.] Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus. We put Baby Jesus to bed to go to sleep. Let s pretend to put Baby Jesus to sleep. [Model by laying doll in a pretend bed. Pretend to put a blanket on him.] Shhhh...Baby Jesus is sleeping. Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus. We hug and love Baby Jesus. Let s pretend to hug and love Baby Jesus. [Hug self.] Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! 7 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

8 Friends, you are so good at taking care of babies. Good job. Now we are going to see what it was like to be an angel and tell people about Baby Jesus. God gave us Baby Jesus. I love saying, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus by playing with instruments with my friends. [Teacher and Helper pass out instruments to children. Shake them in a variety of styles: high in the air, down by the toes, on each side, jumping up and down, and marching. Tell the children to freeze four or five times. Each time you freeze say, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! ] Wow, that was fun! Now let s pretend to be the shepherd in the Christmas story. The shepherds took care of sheep. They were the very first people to see Baby Jesus. After seeing Baby Jesus, they were so excited they went and told everybody they knew about Baby Jesus. God gave Baby Jesus to everyone. I brought some special pictures of people, because I love telling people that Baby Jesus is born. Lesson 4 LG 9 Look at the first picture of people. [Display Family picture.] This is a family. There is a mommy and a daddy. Wiggle your fingers for your family. [Wiggle fingers.] We can tell our families that Jesus is born! Look at this picture. [Show Grandparents picture.] Who do you see? I see a grandma and a grandpa. Pat your head for grandmas and grandpas. [Pat head.] We can tell our grandmas and grandpas that Jesus is born! Look at the next picture. [Show Friends picture.] These are friends playing. Clap your hands for your friends. [Clap.] We can tell our friends that Jesus is born! Let s tell everyone... Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Thank You, God, [hold both hands overhead, palms open upward] for Baby Jesus [cradle arms and pretend to rock a baby]! Lesson 4 LG 10 Today we heard the Christmas story, and we want to say, Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus. [Lead the children in the following finger play.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Give a little clap. [Clap hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Fold them in your lap. [Fold hands in lap.] Lesson 4 LG 11 [Invite the children to repeat after you as you pray.] Dear God, Thank You for Baby Jesus. Please help us tell others about Baby Jesus. Thank You for our snack. In Jesus Name, Amen. 8 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4

9 Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus! Lesson 4 LG 12 Snack and Coloring Activity (15 MINUTES) This is the time for you and the children to build community. A great way to let the kids know you care about them as individuals is to ask them questions about themselves. GIVE each child a snack to eat. GIVE each child a Key Concept sticker to put on their shirt while they are eating their snack. GIVE each child a coloring sheet to color while they are waiting to be picked up. Tell them they can cut out the story characters at home to make their own finger puppets, and then retell the Christmas Story. ASK each child a question or two: What was your favorite part of the Christmas story? Which character in the story would you like to play? Thank You, God, for Baby Jesus. Baby Jesus is Born (Luke 2:1-7) Lesson 4 LG 13 9 Winter Quarter 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 4