B i B L e c Od E c R a c K E r S ChRisTmas P U Z Z L E B O O K Crack the code, follow the star, find shepherd twins and explore the Christmas story in a new way! Puzzle through the Christmas story with Bible verses to help puzzlers read the actual story for themselves. Happy Christmas! Collect all five Bible Codecrackers puzzle books: www.scriptureunion.org.uk ËxHSLIOEy27352 z ISBN 978 1 84427 352 2 B i B L e c Od E c R a c K E r S ChRisTmas P U Z Z L E B O O K Elizabeth Leese
Elizabeth Leese 2008 First published 2008 ISBN 978 1 84427 352 2 Scripture Union, 207-209 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2EB, England Email: info@scriptureunion.org.uk Website: www.scriptureunion.org.uk Scripture Union Australia: Locked Bag 2, Central Coast Business Centre, NSW 2252 www.su.org.au Scripture Union USA: PO Box 987, Valley Forge, PA 19482, USA www.scriptureunion.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Scripture Union. The right of Elizabeth Leese to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Scripture quotations are from the Contemporary English Version American Bible Society 1991, 1992, 1995, Anglicisations British and Foreign Bible Society 1997, or from the Good News Bible American Bible Society 1992, both published in the UK by HarperCollinsPublishers. Used by permission. Or New International Version International Bible Society, Anglicisations 2001, used by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. Cover design by Paul Airy (4-9-0) Internal design and layout by Richard Jefferson Illustrations by Pauline Adams Printed and bound in Singapore by Tien Wah Press Ltd Scripture Union is an international Christian charity working with churches in more than 130 countries providing resources to bring the good news about Jesus Christ to children, young people and families and to encourage them to develop spiritually through the Bible and prayer. As well as our network of volunteers, staff and associates who run holidays, church-based events and school Christian groups, we produce a wide range of publications and support those who use our resources through training programmes. This book is dedicated to Lydia Angelica and her grandpa.
What s in this book? Advice for all codecrackers 5 Setting the scene 6 Meet Mary 8 Meet Joseph 10 Friends and relations 12 How many? 16 Emergency in Bethlehem 19 A night I ll never forget 20 Star collection 24 Waiting and waiting 28 Names 30 The journey 31 The nasty king 34 The King of kings 38 Escape and safety 42 α and Ω 44 Questionnaire 47 Light for the world 49 What are we celebrating? 54 Thank God for Christmas 56 Answers to puzzles 58 3
Codecrackers Page Picture codes 7, 13, 42, 54 Missing vowels code 8, 33 Forwards/backwards code 9 Jumbled letters code 12 Down and up code 19 Happy Christmas code 21 Spot the difference 23, 40 Peace code 25 Wordsearch 27 Baby head code 28 Musical code 30 Which way code 35 Maze 37 Missing middles 41 Pairs puzzle 44 Spiral 47 Mobile phone code 52, 53 Word ladders 55 4
Advice for all codecrackers * unlocks the code Make sure you know the 26 letters of the alphabet in the correct order and that you know which are the five vowels. * This is really important. Look closely at the details. * As soon as a night light is lit, Bible verses that tell the story dark shadows, hazards and scary places get brighter. After reading the Bible verses, you might say, Oh! I can see it now! * Think about this story and ask what it might mean to you. * Scattered throughout the book are 12 unusual star shapes with a letter beside them. When you spot one of these stars, carefully copy it in the right place on page 24 and put the letter in the box in the corner of the square. It will help you to work out the Star code. The first star is on the opposite page. Psst: The answers to the puzzles can be found on page 58 63. 5
Setting the scene Matthew 1;1 17 First of all you need to know where you are and what you are looking for. On this map, mark where you live. Now, go back 2,000 years and join a crow flying from your home towards Jerusalem. Using the scale, can you work out how many kilometres you will have travelled? 0 2500 5000 7500 1 cm = 2500 km Most people around you will be busy and look a bit fed up. There is a Roman soldier standing by the well, watching a queue of people giving money to a man who is a tax collector. Two men are whispering around the corner. I am so tired of waiting for a good ruler to come and free us from these Romans who rule in our country. They don t worship our God and they treat us badly. I wish the rescuer, the new King David that God has promised, would come. 6
It s time to work out what this promise that God made is all about! It was a promise that the prophet Micah told people about, over seven hundred years earlier. Work out God s promise with this picture code. The Roman emperor was called Augustus and the king in Jerusalem was called Herod. Quirinius was the Roman governor. Nazareth in Galilee, where the story begins, is about one hundred and fifty kilometres north of Jerusalem, the main city in Judaea. Joseph, the carpenter, lived in Nazareth. His family had moved there from Bethlehem long ago and he was a descendant of King David. He loved Mary, a young girl who lived nearby. She was gentle and thoughtful and they both wanted to serve God. Joseph was happy because Mary had promised to marry him soon. When he had finished his day job preparing things for other people, he enjoyed making some special furniture for their home. 7
Meet Mary Luke 1;26 38 One day when Mary was at her home, she suddenly realised she was not alone in the room. She saw someone bright and strong and she felt a bit surprised and rather afraid. This is what he said: Missing vowels code Missing vowels a e i o u Y _r_ tr_ly bl_ss_d! Th_ L_rd _s w_th y. It was an angel, called Gabriel, bringing a very strange message: D_n t b fr d! G_d _s pl s_d w_th y, _nd y w_ll h_ve _ s_n. H_s n_m_ w_ll b_ J_s_s. H_ w_ll b_ gr t _nd w_ll b_ c_ll_d th_ S_n _f G_d M_st H_gh. Th_ L_rd G_d w_ll m_k_ h_m k_ng, D_v_d w_s. H_ w_ll r_l_ th_ p pl f Isr l f_r _v_r, _s h_s _nc_st_r _nd h_s k_ngd_m w_ll n_v_r _nd. This is quite impossible, said Mary, because I have not yet married Joseph and I have not had another boyfriend. What did the angel say next? You might want to discuss with an adult how to complete the Forwards/backwards code. 8
Forwards/backwards code Look at the vowels then at z, y... Complete the grid first before you do the puzzle. 1 26 24 2 23 21 3 20 19 17 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 16 4 15 14 12 11 5 10 9 7 6 n o p q r s t u v w x y z 11 21 2 21 4 18 7 12 15 3 13 3 11 9 3 18 18 25 4 17 2 24 4 9 16 11 4 7 4 5 1 16 24 22 4 24 12 15 4 9 2 13 9 3 18 18 25 4 17 2 4 10 2 13 7 4 5.. Your child will be called the holy Son of God. Nothing is impossible for God! Use the same code to find out what Mary said. Mary said, 3 1 17 11 21 2 18 4 13 24 12 12 2 13 10 1 16 11! 18 2 11 3 11 21 1 15 15 2 16 1 12 7 4 5 21 1 10 2 12 1 3 24.. And then Mary saw that the angel had gone and she was alone. She felt confused and worried and wondered whatever Joseph would say. 9
Meet Joseph Matthew 1;18 24 Let us find Joseph in his wood shop. He has so much to think about and he cannot concentrate on his work. He knows that Mary is having a baby and he knows he is not the father of her baby. Has Mary had another boyfriend? He hoped she was waiting specially to marry him. Perhaps he should call off their engagement. That night, as thoughts went round and round in his head, he felt there was someone in the room and then he heard a voice. It was God s messenger, an angel, who had come to explain things. Mary has been chosen by God to do a very important task. She is going to give birth to God s son. She will need you to care for her during the months of pregnancy. You must protect her from all that will harm her. The baby will be a boy and his name must be _ Angels are God s special messengers. We do not know what they look like but their appearance is frightening. The first thing they usually say is Don t be afraid! Sometimes they appear in human form and are thought to be people. 10
Use bubble writing for the baby s name and complete the pattern in the frame. Put the 19th letter of the alphabet colourfully in each space to write down the meaning of the name. Baby s name He will ave hi people from their in. I love my thoughtful, gentle, loyal Mary and I ll care for her, Joseph thought. He wanted to do the right thing. 11
Friends and relations Luke 1;5 20, 39 56 Have you got a large family and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles and second cousins? Mary had a relative called Elizabeth who was married to Zechariah. They were good people who served God. They lived near Jerusalem and Zechariah worked in the temple. He and Elizabeth had always hoped to have a baby but Elizabeth did not become pregnant. One day Zechariah was in the temple thinking about God when he saw an angel. Imagine how he felt! Yes, he was confused and afraid. But the angel said: Jumbled letters code Write the message underneath the angel s words. od tno eb diarfa chhiaraze! Gdo hsa rehad oryu yerpras. Yrou fiwe zbtheilae lliw veha a ons dna ouy stum amen mhi ojnh. Pssst: The Bible verses in the night light will help you! 12
Use the picture code to work out what the angel said John would do when he grew up. Zechariah did not believe what the angel said. So the angel said he would not speak until after the baby was born. Soon Elizabeth knew she was having a baby. Mary decided to go to see Elizabeth. While Mary was there, she said some very important things to show that she had thought carefully and had understood the job God had called her to do. Her baby was coming to help God s people. He was going to change the world and change people s thinking and behaviour! Put the 19th letter of the alphabet in each space. Elizabeth s baby was to be God s ervant, preparing the way for God s on. Mary s baby was to be the on of the Mo t High God, the aviour. 13
What plans has God got for you? Talk about that with your mum or dad or someone you know who loves God. Thank God that he has a plan for your life. After staying with Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary went back home and Joseph looked after her. Elizabeth had her baby, a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her when she thought she could not have a child. They all rejoiced with her. But when it came to choosing the baby s name, they caused trouble! It happened a week after John was born at a special naming ceremony. Elizabeth said that the baby was to be called John and not be named after his dad, Zechariah. That was the name the angel had told Zechariah. The neighbours and family were very unhappy about this. So they asked Zechariah to tell them. (Remember, he had not spoken since the angel had met him in the temple, many months before.) How many tablets/square shapes can you find in the picture on the next page? Write down the letters on each tablet in this box, then juggle them up to find out what Zechariah wrote. Zechariah got hold of a writing tablet and wrote:. Straightaway Zechariah was able to speak. He had done what the angel had told him! 14
15
How many? Luke 2;1 5 Quirinius, the Roman governor, had the job of charging people taxes. He decided to carry out a census (the smart word for a head count) to find out who was in his province. People had to go to the place where their families came from. Nobody wanted to go but they had to. You remember that Joseph s ancestors used to live in Bethlehem. So that was where Mary and Joseph had to go. Mary s baby was due very soon. The census was about counting heads. We shall count stars. Have you any idea how many stars there are? Some Australian astronomers have calculated that there are 70,000 million million million stars in the known universe. It s quicker to say 70 sextillion! It s a long job to write it because you need seven followed by 22 zeros. Make this the correct number. 70 000 0 0 000 0 0 000 000 0 0 That s about ten times as many stars as grains of sand on all the world s beaches and deserts. Try this pattern. Take your time! You need a ruler and a sharp pencil. Start at 12 and in your mind count round clockwise 5. You get to 5. Join 12 to 5 across the circle. Now count on 5 more and you get to 10. Join 5 to 10 across the circle. You ll join 10 to 3 next. Keep going round the circumference in 5s until you get back to 12. 16
B i B L e c Od E c R a c K E r S ChRisTmas P U Z Z L E B O O K Crack the code, follow the star, find shepherd twins and explore the Christmas story in a new way! Puzzle through the Christmas story with Bible verses to help puzzlers read the actual story for themselves. Happy Christmas! Collect all five Bible Codecrackers puzzle books: www.scriptureunion.org.uk ËxHSLIOEy27352 z ISBN 978 1 84427 352 2 B i B L e c Od E c R a c K E r S ChRisTmas P U Z Z L E B O O K Elizabeth Leese