SERIES: THE CHOICE TO REJOICE LESSON 6 REJOICE: A SAVIOR IS BORN, part 2

Transcription

1 SERIES: THE CHOICE TO REJOICE LESSON 6 REJOICE: A SAVIOR IS BORN, part 2 Bible Reference: Luke 2:1-20 Key Verse: Luke 2:11 OVERVIEW -Introduction Video -Bible Story -Key Verse -Prayer Part -Small Group Activities ITEMS NEEDED: -Signs that say: No Signs Needed -A beard cut out of brown or black construction paper so that it will fit on or around a child s chin. -A blindfold -Signs for: The Lord s Prayer sign -Cupcakes one for each student and drinks -Each small group will need plenty of items to make Graham Cracker Manger Scenes: Sturdy plates one per student 3-4 Graham Cracker boxes 3 frosting containers 10 plastic forks and 10 plastic knives A variety of candy sprinkles Food coloring (older children s only) OPENING ACTIVITY Pin the Beard on the Wise Men SAY: We are so glad that you re here today. Today we re continuing a new series called The Choice to Rejoice and we can rejoice because God sent the Savior. CONTROL TOOL Anytime I say, Rejoice! I want you to say, The Savior is born! Leader: Rejoice! Students: The Savior is born! Practice a few times. REPEAT after me: And we have seen and testify / that the Father has sent his Son / to be the Savior of the world. / 1 John 4:14. Choose one volunteer To represent one of the wise men. Stand him about 5-10 feet from the group. Tell him he can t move. He has to stand still Choose another volunteer Blindfold your volunteer, spin him around, give him a paper beard with tape on the back and see if he can pin the beard on the wise man. 1

2 Have fun playing this game. Let students have turns being the wise man or the blindfolded volunteer. If your students are finding the wise man easily, make it harder spin them around more, make them walk further or around safe obstacles, etc. SAY: After Jesus was born, wise men from the east came to visit Him but the wise men aren t the focus of our story today. Today is about Jesus birth because Jesus is what Christmas is all about! BIBLE LESSON (Based on Luke 2:1-20) SAY: Today we re going to celebrate Jesus birth! But we don t have a lot of time, so we might have to HURRY. On the count of three, everyone touch all four walls in the room as fast as you can without tripping or falling or running anyone down, come back and have a seat Go! SAY: You were in a hurry to get to your chairs and I want you to listen to a story about another group who was in a hurry to get somewhere too. SAY: This is also a story you can encourage your family to read on Christmas morning. It s found in Luke 2. EVERYBODY SAY: Luke 2! Read Luke 2:1-18 from your Bible. ASK In this story who was in a hurry? (The shepherds) ASK Why do you think they were in a hurry? (They had heard that the Savior was born.) ASK Who told them about Jesus? (The angels.) ASK Where did the angel tell the shepherds they would find Jesus? (Lying in a manger.) ASK What was a manger? (In a stable the manger is where food for the animals was put. It was like a trough. The animals stayed in the stable while the people stayed in the Inn.) ASK Why were Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus staying in a stable? (They had traveled from their home in Nazareth for a census [a count of the people] and lots of others were traveling too. The Inn was full and there was no room for them.) SAY: This is where the shepherds found the baby Jesus. Wrapped in clothes and lying in the animals food trough with animals all around. Picture it in your mind. There would have been donkeys and camels and horses and dogs. Mary and Joseph were there and here came the shepherds. SAY: Seeing the angels and going to the stable where Jesus had been born must have been a wonderful and exciting thing. 2

3 ASK Has God ever done something really wonderful in your life? (Take a few answers.) SAY: Everything that happens as a blessing in our lives is because of God s great love for us. ASK How did the shepherds respond to God s blessings? (They glorified and praised God They rejoiced!) SAY: Today, just like the Shepherds, we re rejoicing that Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world. 3

4 KEY VERSE Read Luke 2:11 from your Bible. Have your student repeat it after you. SAY: Jesus is the Savior of the world. He was born to die, to pay the price for our sins so that we could be saved. ASK What does it mean to be saved? (It s not something physical like someone pulling you out of a swimming pool or a close call where you almost got hurt This is something spiritual that happens when a person gives his life to Christ. Jesus saves people from a life without Him; He saves them from being empty and alone; He also saves them so they can go to heaven when they die.) Teacher s Testimony Share your salvation testimony with the students. Keep it brief no more than 90 seconds. They don t need your life story, just that you realized that you had done wrong things and that you needed a Savior. Then share how you heard about Jesus and how you gave your life to Him you prayed and asked Him to forgive your sins. [Avoid saying, I asked Jesus into my heart. Children are literal and a child who hasn t been around churchy language might not understand this.] Because of this, you know for sure that you re going to heaven. Also, if you ve already shared your testimony, do it again. TELL the students who told you about Jesus. ASK Who told you about Jesus or led you to the Lord? ASK Who told the shepherds about Jesus? SAY: God used angels to deliver his message about Jesus birth, but God doesn t use angels to preach the Gospel. He uses you and me. ASK Have you ever told someone about Jesus? Tell us about it. SAY: This Christmas we have a challenge for you. Anytime your family celebrates Christmas, whether it s just your family or if there are aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas there, ask if your family can read the real Christmas story That s what we read today. And if someone asks where it s found, we want you to know. EVERYBODY SAY: Luke 2! SAY: It s found in Luke 2 beginning with verse 1. It s as simple as that. Then, if you re willing why not tell them what Jesus means to you or about how Jesus came to be the Savior of the world. CONTROL TOOL Leader: Rejoice! Students: The Savior is born! 4

5 PRAYER PART For yours is the kingdom, glory, power forever. Amen Choose 2 volunteers to hold the Lord s Prayer sign. Ask your kids to say it with you. SAY: We ve been saying the Lord s Prayer each week using posters and again today we re going to say it two times Once with the posters and once without the posters. Say the Lord s Prayer together looking at the posters. Then hide the posters by having your volunteers turn around. ASK: What do you think the very last part means For yours is the kingdom, glory, power forever. Amen? (Take a few answers.) SAY: We can rejoice because we have a Savior whose kingdom and glory and power will NEVER go away and those of us who have given our lives to Jesus get to be with Him forever. SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAY: In a minute we re going to celebrate Jesus birth by eating cupcakes! But first I want us all to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and then pray.because Christmas represents His birth. Let s sing Happy Birthday. (NOTE: While you sing, close your eyes. Make this a prayer.) PRAY ASK Who would like to pray and thank Jesus for being born to be the Savior of the world? (If no one volunteers, then have a teacher pray or have the students pray silently for about ten seconds.) Dismiss to Small Groups SAY: Right now it is time for our small groups, so I m going to dismiss you one row at a time. Dismiss rows of chairs to the tables in the rooms. Give them specific directions where to go. 5

6 Graham Cracker Manger Scenes SMALL GROUPS Eat the Cupcakes Give each student a cupcake to eat and while they are eating and making their Graham Cracker Manger scenes, use the time to build and deepen relationship with your students. Here are some discussion starters: -What is your family doing for Christmas? -When and where will you celebrate Christmas? -What do you think you re getting for Christmas? -What is your favorite Christmas tradition in your family? (This is another good time to encourage them to read Luke 2 with their families.) INSTRUCTIONS: Make Your Own Manger You will need: A lot of Graham Crackers, frosting, plastic forks and knives, a variety of candy sprinkles and food colorings, etc. Please help the students when mixing the food coloring with frosting. Also, use sturdy plates for the base for these Graham Cracker Manger scenes. The students will take their scene home at the end of class. This is also a lengthy craft, so give them plenty of time and have fun with them, but also watch the time and give them several warnings before you have them put everything up and help clean up.) SAY: Now here s your challenge. I want you to make a manger scene using Graham Crackers, frosting and candy. You can build the stable if you want. You can build the manger. You can chew out the shapes of animals. You can lay several crackers down flat and use the frosting to paint the manger scene. There are lots of way to do it, and we re doing it not only to have fun, but to celebrate that Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world. Prayer Take prayer requests and pray with your students. 6