The Gift of Hope. Reflect on the Word BIBLE STORY BIBLE TRUTH VERSE-A-MONTH LESSON HELPS. The Angels Announcements Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25

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1 The Gift of Hope BIBLE STORY The Angels Announcements Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25 BIBLE TRUTH God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. This lesson will help early elementary children... Know that God worked through Mary and Joseph to give the world a Savior Realize that the true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus came to be the Savior of the world VERSE-A-MONTH God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). LESSON HELPS HELPING HAND Tips for teachers. DIGGING DEEPER Important biblical and theological insights. Foundational words of the faith. 1 Week 1 of 4 Reflect on the Word Read Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1: Put yourself in the story of Jesus conception. How would you respond if you were Mary or Joseph? What would your response be if you were Mary s parents or her neighbors? Many people may find the story of Mary and Joseph difficult to believe; Mary and Joseph also found the experience a bit unbelievable at first. Mary did not understand what was going on, so she asked the angel, How will this be since I am a virgin? Joseph couldn t believe his betrothed had remained faithful; he knew the child was not his. Imagine for a minute this same story were taking place in our modern-day setting. A young, unmarried woman claims her child is the divinely conceived Messiah. Her fiancé has second thoughts because he has been faithful, and believes she has not. He plans to leave her and move on. We would be skeptical, and first-century Jews were no less skeptical. Fortunately doubt and difficulty is not the end of our experience with this story. Mary accepts the angel s message. Joseph receives his own angelic visitor which put his fears to rest. Many people put their faith in Jesus. And, we know the final outcome of the story. God often makes a habit of fulfilling His plan through the unexpected, unexplainable, and unbelievable circumstances. Who would have expected that a promise made to a nomadic shepherd named Abram would result in the Israelite nation? Who could explain how a young shepherd boy could defeat a giant warrior with only a sling and stone? Who would believe that a young couple would parent the Savior of the entire world? The short answer is no person! The amazing part of this story is the obedience and trust required of this young couple. Mary, a young teenager, took the angel at his word, and lived obediently. She took responsibility for the child no matter what her fiancé or neighbors believed. Joseph, a righteous man, did not want to embarrass Mary or compromise his morality. He was going to put her away silently. This would have created a financial burden for him as he would lose the money given to Mary s parents. But after the angelic visit, Joseph obediently took Mary as his wife, took the child as his own, and endured the scandal of being the father. When it comes to Christmas, it is easy to get distracted and lose sight of the true meaning amid the competing voices: traditions and family get-togethers, parades, lights, decorations, and gifts. It is easy to forget that this season was birthed out of the obedience and trust of a young couple whom God chose to parent His Son. The angels announcements changed Mary and Joseph s lives forever. It has also changed ours. The birth of Jesus as the Savior of the world changed everything. Jesus birth established the kingdom of God on earth, brought salvation, and gave those gathered in His name a mission. The obedience and trust required of that young Jewish couple is required of us as we live out the message in the midst of the competing voices. OLD TESTAMENT Before Jesus Was Born The Creation Noah & The Ark Abraham & Sarah Exodus 10 Commandments Deborah & Barak Samuel Anoints David David and Goliath Elijah Fed by Ravens Jeremiah & Baruch 6

2 LESSON PLANNER Choose from these activities to support the Bible story. See Hear & Say Sing Do Solve Read & Write Attention Getters Bible Explorations Connections To Life Build a Crèche Memory Game Resources, Item 2 Decorate the Tree Resources, Item 4 Optional Activity: Words of Faith Resources, Item 3 Bible Story Resources, Item 1 Bible Story Review Resources, Item 5 Optional Activity: Mary, Joseph, and the Angel A Gift Given, a Gift Received Connections, Sheet 1 The Best News Connections, Sheet 1b Closing and Prayer Adventures; Parent Connections; Connections, Sheet 15 Optional Activity: The Gift of Love PRE-SESSION POPPERS Picture a Dream Before class, Cover a table with long sheets of paper. If your church does not have large rolls of paper, check with your local newspaper. End rolls can be purchased for a few dollars and will have enough paper on them for several art projects. Set out crayons and colored pencils. In class, When a child arrives early, ask if he or she would like to draw. Ask early arrivers if they would be willing to draw a picture of Long pieces of paper Crayons or colored pencils one of their dreams. Have the children draw their dreams and then sign their names. NOTES NEW TESTAMENT When Jesus Was On Earth After Jesus Went Back To Heaven YOU ARE H E E R Birth of Jesus Jesus As A Child Jesus Baptism Jesus Calms the Storm Jesus Raising Lazarus Mary Anointing Jesus Cross, Tomb & Ascension Disciples Praying Philip & the Ethiopian Mission Work 7

3 Attention 8 Getters Use these activities to help focus the children s attention and prepare them to learn today s Bible Truth. [Eternal Life] Through Jesus we can live forever with God in heaven. [Worship] Ways to let God know we love Him more than anything. [Savior] Jesus sets us free from sin. He is our. Resources, Item 4 Magnetic board Magnetic strips Scissors Laminator or clear Con-Tact paper Lesson 1 O ption Build a Crèche Memory Game Before class, Punch out all the crèche pieces from Resources, Item 2. Laminate or cover the pieces with clear Con-Tact paper for added durability. Put a magnet on the back of each piece. Set up the magnetic board. Write the Verse-a-Month Club Bible verse on the white board. Copy and enlarge the diagram to use as a guide. In class, Say, Let s say the Verse-a-Month Club Bible verse together. Say the verse together two or three times. Give each child a piece from the crèche. Say, Put together the Verse-a-Month Club Bible verse crèche. Use the diagram as a guide. Give the children a few minutes to study the diagram. After they have put the crèche together, say the verse again as a class. Take away the diagram. Say, Now, I am going to time you to see how fast you can put the crèche together in verse order. This will be trickier since you won t be looking at the diagram. Say the verse again after everyone is finished. TRANSITION: Say, The Verse-a-Month Club Bible verse gives us clues about today s Bible story. We will hear a story about the best gift ever given. Decorate the Tree Before class, Cut the Christmas light strip from the Christmas tree poster. Cut apart the Christmas lights and angel. Laminate or cover with clear Con-Tact paper for added durability. Put magnets on the back of each piece. Hang the Christmas tree poster onto the magnetic board. In class, Give each child a Christmas light to add to the tree. Say, We are going to put lights on this Christmas tree. Each of you will take turns adding a light and telling the class your favorite thing about Christmas. After each child has had a turn, add the angel to the top of the tree. Share with the children your favorite thing about Christmas. TRANSITION: Say, The angels play an important role in our Bible story today. Listen to find out what happens that is so important. Words of Faith Before class, Make copies of the unit s Faith Words: Eternal Life, Worship, and Savior. Savior is a review word. Write the simple definitions, found in the HELPING HAND, on the backs. Cut open the bottom and one side of each business-sized envelope. Seal the flaps down on each envelope. Slip a Faith Words word card inside each envelope. Set up the CD player and CD. In class, Have everyone stand in a circle. Show your class each of the Faith Words and read the definitions to them, repeat, and then place the cards in the envelopes. Say, When I turn on the music, I want you to pass these three envelopes around the circle. (Start each envelope at different points in the circle.) When the music stops, the three people with the envelopes will take turns peeking inside and reading only the definition of his or her Faith Word. The other children will guess which of the Faith Words matches the definition. If time allows, play until each person has a turn to hold an envelope and read a definition. Resources, Item 2 Magnetic strips Magnetic board Laminator or clear Con-Tact paper White board Dry erase marker and eraser Stopwatch Diagram, enlarged Resources, Item 3 3 business-sized (No. 10) envelopes Scissors CD player and CD TRANSITION: Ask, Why do you think these words are important? Our Verse-a-Month Club Bible verse and our stories in this unit prove the importance of all these words. Listen to today s Bible story for the Word, Savior.

4 Bible Story Before class, Punch out the bulletin board pieces from Resources, Item 1. Cover the bulletin board with a solid color Christmas paper or other paper. Wrap pictures 1-4, individually, in gift wrap. Staple the bulletin board gift box and title pieces onto the bulletin board. Use the diagram as a guide. In class, Say, We all love to receive gifts. We all have favorite gifts. What is the one thing you want more than anything else, wrapped, and under the tree with your name on it? (Let children answer.) Today we are going to hear about the greatest gift of all time for all people. Resources, Item 1 Bulletin board paper Gift wrap and removable tape Stapler and staples Use these activities to help the children learn from the Bible story. The Angels Announcements Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25 Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Mary s heart raced and she could barely breathe. Was this an angel? Mary wondered. It was frightening! Nothing like this had ever happened to Mary before. Mary cowered before this angel. She squinted and used her hand as a shield. She waited. What would happen next? Why was this angel speaking to her? She was no one special. Her hands began to tremble, then her arms and legs, and soon her entire body shook with fear and nerves. The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. Still Mary waited and listened. You will be with child and give birth to a son, announced Gabriel. You are to name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. When Mary heard the angel say give birth to a son, a small gasp escaped her and everything went numb. A baby boy? Mary, a mother! But she wasn t even married. She placed her small hand over her tummy. How will this be? asked Mary. I am a virgin. The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and God s power will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called The Son of God. Mary listened. She tried to understand. Mary, Gabriel said. Even Elizabeth is going to have a baby. Nothing is impossible with God. Mary nodded. Her voice was almost a whisper, I am the Lord s servant. May it be to me as you have said. Then, Gabriel left Mary alone. It did not take long. Joseph heard the news about Mary. A baby? he wondered. Deeply hurt and disappointed, Joseph knew this baby was not his child. Joseph cared for Mary. She was his bride-to-be. They were promised to each other. But what had she done? What must he do? Joseph did not want to humiliate Mary. If he divorced her in public, people would know and judge her to be a bad person. He could just divorce her quietly. Joseph fell asleep thinking about the troubling news. Soon, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. This did not happen by accident. This was a part of God s plan. He had even told about it through the prophet Zechariah. We can read about it in the Old Testament. Joseph awoke from his sleep. He stretched. Now he knew what to do. Joseph loved God. He obeyed the angel s directions. Mary and Joseph became husband and wife. They would care for God s own Son. When Jesus was born, Joseph named Him. What did He call God s Son? Jesus, of course, just like the angel told him to do. After the story, Choose a child to open the gift picture. Hold up picture 1 from Resources, Item 1. Ask, How would you feel if an angel came to you and told you God had a difficult thing for you to do? (Let children answer.) It must have been hard for Mary to understand why God chose her. No one else in the whole world would ever raise the Savior of the world, God s Son. Let s add this picture to our bulletin board. God worked through Mary and Joseph to give us a Savior. God asks ordinary people to do extraordinary jobs. 9

5 ETERNAL LIFE: Life with God begins when we receive Jesus as Savior. It continues through life and forever with God in heaven. WORSHIP: Telling and showing God that we love Him more than anyone or anything else. SAVIOR: A savior sets people free from something bad. Jesus is our Savior. He came to earth to show us God s love. He died to set us free from our sins. Lesson 1 O ption Bible Story Review Before class, Punch out the sand pan figures from Resources, Item 5. Laminate or cover with clear Con-Tact paper for added durability. Glue a craft stick to the back of each piece. Fill the pan half full with the sand. In class, Divide the children into two teams the Mary team and the Joseph team. Each team will take a turn telling the story using the sand pan figures. The Mary team tells the story from Mary s point of view and the Joseph team from Joseph s point of view. Say, Each team will take turns telling the story. If you are on the Mary team, you will tell us the story from Mary s point of view. This means pretending to tell it as if Mary is talking. If you are on the Joseph team, you will tell the story from Joseph s point of view. Give each team time to tell the story. Ask questions to help prompt them if necessary. Encourage them to tell the details they can remember. Mary, Joseph, and the Angel Before class, Ask three adults or teens in your church to act out the story of Mary, Joseph, and the angel. The fourth person can be a narrator. Make three to four copies of the story and give one to each guest storyteller. Encourage them to come in costume robes, sandals, etc. In class, Gather the children in a semicircle on the floor. If you are able, turn out part of the lights Resources, Item 5 Laminator or clear Con-Tact paper Craft sticks Glue Pan Sand Three to four guests Three copies of the Bible story Bright flashlight in your classroom, or if you have windows, turn out the lights completely. Point the bright flashlight just above the angel s head so as not to blind him, but to give him a glow. Encourage the children to listen to the story. Choose from these activities to help students connect the Bible Truth to life. A Gift Given, a Gift Received Before class, Remove Connections, Sheet 1 from the Connections books. Set out enough colored pencils for each child to have a choice in colors. In class, Say, What are some things you do not want to be given for a Christmas gift? (Give each child an opportunity to share.) Teacher, be willing to share something as well. Ask, When you get a gift Connections, Sheet 1 Colored pencils you do not want, what do you do with the gift? (Give each child an opportunity to share.) Jesus is the best gift ever. What do you want to do with Jesus? (Let children respond.) Give the children Connections, Sheet 1. Have them draw pictures of things they do not like to get for Christmas presents in three of the gift boxes. Then have them trace the trace word in the fourth gift box. As an option, you can also have children talk about and write a few items they would like to receive for Christmas. 10

6 These four lessons will help children know that God sent Jesus to be our Savior; experience the joy of God s gift, Jesus; thank God for sending Jesus; and accept God s gift of salvation and obey Him. Verse-a-Month Club Bible Memory Verse: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Faith Words: ETERNAL LIFE Life with God begins when we receive Jesus as Savior. It continues through life and forever with God in heaven. WORSHIP Telling and showing God that we love Him more than anyone or anything else. SAVIOR A savior sets people free from something bad. Jesus is our Savior. He came to earth to show us God s love. He died to set us free from our sins. Dear Parent, What a privilege to partner with you in teaching your child the true meaning of Christmas. This is a wonderful time to teach your child what it means to give a gift from the heart. Many people are struggling financially due to the dive in our economy. One family had no money for gifts, but they turned this into a wonderful opportunity. It was a homemade Christmas for this family. When we teach our children that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas, and build our tradition around the truth of this, we can cut back on our consumer gluttony. In this consumer-focused world, we find it hard to imagine any reason to celebrate without presents. But we have every reason to celebrate even without all the tinsel or the latest gadget wrapped in shiny paper. Make an effort to focus more on the birth of Jesus. Minimize the importance of presents and make the most out of being present to one another. Celebrate God s love for you and your love for one another. Peace and Joy! Take time out during the Christmas season to not only read the Christmas story, but to act it out. After you read the story together, assign roles: shepherds, angel(s), Mary, Joseph, the magi, and a Baby Jesus (you may want to use a doll). Create costumes out of towels or robes. Each person will act out his or her part as you reread the Christmas story. If your children like to memorize, you might give each family member a portion of Luke 2:1-20 to learn. Then have them tell the story in turn. Throughout the Christmas season the story can be acted out and told more than once. Each family member can have an opportunity to take another role. It is interesting to consider the story of Jesus birth from each person s perspective. This may become a favorite holiday tradition for you and yours. The Best News Before class, If you have not done so, remove Connections, Sheet 1b Connections, Sheet 1b from the Connections books. Pens or pencils Set out pens or pencils. In class, Ask, Have you had any good news lately? What is the best news you have ever received? (Let children share.) What is the good news of Christmas? (Let children respond.) Give children Connections, Sheet 1b. Have them read the directions. After they have traced the trace words in the Bible Truth, say the Bible Truth together as a class. Ask, Who is our Savior? We are blessed that God sent Jesus to save us from sin and to give us eternal life. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He is God s greatest gift to the world. Closing and Prayer Adventures for each child Parent Connections Verse-a-Month Club verse reminder (Connections, Sheet 15) A gift-wrapped box (box, gift wrap, tape) Before class, Wrap a box in Christmas paper. In class, Have everyone stand in a circle. Say, God has given us the greatest gift of all Jesus, our Savior. Through Jesus we have the hope of eternal life. I am going to pass the gift box around the circle. Each of you will have an opportunity to hold the gift box and share with us what you want to give to Jesus. After everyone has had a turn, take a few minutes to say a prayer of thanks and praise for God s gift to us His Son, Jesus. Say, We can always choose to give our love, obedience, and praise to Jesus, our Savior. Hand out Adventures, Parent Connections, and Verse-a-Month Club verse reminder from Connections, Sheet 15, for each child to take home and enjoy with family. The Gift of Love Plain wooden blocks Permanent markers Gift wrapping paper Ribbon and bows Transparent tape White board Dry erase marker and eraser Before class, Gather supplies. You will need a wooden block for each child. Set out supplies. Write the word LOVE on the white board. In class, Ask, What is one gift that we can give to everyone? (Let children answer.) We can all show love to one another. God loves us and wants us to show love to others. Love is a gift we can offer to everyone. Give each child a block. Say, Take a permanent marker and write the word LOVE on your block. You may decorate your block. Then wrap the block in wrapping paper and decorate the outside of the package. Think of someone you want to show love to this week. Give this gift to that person as a reminder of your love for him or her. Then think of some kind things you can do to show your love throughout the rest of the week. Connections to Life Lesson 1 O ption Winter We e ks 1 t h r o u g h 4 Parent Connections for families of young children CHRISTMAS A GIFT FROM GOD Bible Truth: Jesus is God s greatest gift to the world. Spiritual Development Can Be Fun 11