The Christmas Cross All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10 Week 1: The Christmas Star John 8:12; Isaiah 52:10 Getting Ready Find a way to darken the room in which you meet. For safety's sake, it need not (and should not) be completely dark. Have a large candle in a stable base and a match or lighter, too. If you prefer, or if safety codes require it, an electric candle will work just as well Mark Micah 5:2 in your Bible so you can read it to the children. Introduction When all the children have gathered, turn out the lights. Then ask, "What can you see? What would make it better for us to see in this room? Yes! We need light!" (Light the candle and continue.) Today we're going to talk about light about several kinds of light. And all of them are gifts from God. This candle is one of them: light we can see with our eyes. Here's another kind of light. (Show the children the first piece of the magnet.) What do you notice most:1 Yes, a star shining bright above a city. There's an angel, too. These are two beautiful ways God chose to announce the birth of his Son Jesus, Getting to the Heart Right now, we are going to focus on the starlight over the town in this picture. (We'll talk about the angel again another day.) The town is called Bethlehem. Listen to what the Bible tells us about Bethlehem. (Read Micah 5:2.) God planned for Jesus to be born in this little town of Bethlehem years and years and years before it happened more than 700 years ahead of time! God's people waited and waited and waited! Do you have trouble waiting for Christmas to come? Then you know a little bit of what the waiting was like. One night, at last, all the waiting was over. Starlight burst into the darkness in the little town of Bethlehem. God sent the star as a sign to tell everyone that Jesus was born! He came into our world to save us.
Why did we need to be saved? The Bible says/all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), No one had to teach you to do wrong things like lie, cheat, or take things that don't belong to you. No one had to teach me to be selfish or to say unkind things. You and I knew how to do all those things already! It's a darkness called sin, and it is from that darkness our sin that Jesus was born to save us. Jesus once said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). This is a different kind of light not a light you can see with your eyes, but real light anyway. When we trust Jesus as our Savior and follow him, the darkness of our sins fades away. Jesus takes away our sins. Jesus takes away our dark fears. Jesus takes away our sadness. When we know Jesus' love, we live in the light of his forgiveness, joy, and peace. We live in the light of God's love. Now here's another kind of light. Did you know that you can be a light, too? That's right. Jesus says that as we follow him, the light of God's love will shine from us. Really! It's not a light you can see, like this candle or the star above Bethlehem. It's the light of God's love. We do kind things for others. We say thoughtful words to others. Most of all, this Christmas and always, we can tell about Jesus' love. When we do that, like the Bible says, "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52:10), People everywhere will see our love and want to know Jesus! Taking It Home Today I have one magnet piece for each of you to take home. If you come every week, you'll get three more pieces. When you have all four pieces, you can put them together like a puzzle to tell the whole Christmas story. Let's pray together: Dear God, thank you for light for candlelight, for starlight, and most of all for the light of your love. Thank you for sending Jesus into this dark world to take away our sins and to shine your love into our hearts. Shine in love through us into our dark world this Christmas and always. Amen. 2009 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. Scripture taken from the King James or Authorized Version. #CCR9DF
Week 2: The Manger Luke 2:7; Isaiah 52:10 Getting Started The Christmas Cross All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10 Mark Luke 2:7 in your Bible and hold the Bible open on your lap as you begin the devotion. Introduction Imagine with me! Imagine that a new king has been born today. What would that mean? The television news and newspapers would explode with excitement. They would give the new king's birth nonstop coverage. The new baby king's family would have redecorated a special room for him in their mansion, their palace. Can you imagine the new baby king's nursery?! It would be filled with heaps of the finest of linens, blankets made of the softest silk, and a royal crib. Maybe that crib would be made of gold and decorated with precious stones! Getting to the Heart That's not how it was with Baby King Jesus, was it, boys and girls? Yes, Jesus was royalty. He was a" King, our Savior! However, he was a different kind of king. He was born in a very humble place in a very quiet way. (Let the children see you are holding your Bible open as you read Luke 2:7.) King Jesus was not born in a mansion or a palace, but in a smelly stable, a place where cows, donkeys, and sheep lived. His royal crib was not made of gold and decorated with precious stones. Jesus lay in a manger, a trough that held food for the animals in the stable. Jesus had no heaps of fine linens; he slept on a bed of prickly straw or maybe hay. King Jesus did not have blankets made of warm, soft silks. Instead, Mary wrapped him in strips of ordinary cloth to swaddle him. Jesus was a different kind of king. He was God's Son, and God had a wonderful plan for Jesus. The Bible says God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. It tells us that when you believe Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in you and you can count on his love for you (1 John 4:15). Wow! What love God has for you and for me! As Christmas comes each year, we get to think about God's special love. We may exchange gifts with our family and friends at Christmastime. Giving and getting gifts is one of the fun parts about Christmas. But most of all, Christmas is about King Jesus,
born to save us on that first Christmas day! God sent his Son so that "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52:10), Mary's heart was filled with joy that first Christmas night, God wants to fill our hearts with joy, too! The Bible says, "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). She kept memories of these events so she could treasure them. Each time you look at the manger, treasure all that God has done for you. Think and think and keep on thinking about all the love God has for you! Let that love fill your heart with joy! Taking It Home I have the second piece of our magnet puzzle to give to you today. This shows King Jesus' crib. (Hold the magnet piece so that all of the children can see it.) This isn't a picture of a gold crib in a palace, is it? No, it is a picture of something far greater. When you look at this, remember the birth of King Jesus, the baby born to be the Savior of the world. Let's pray together: Father, thank you for sending your Son to be the Savior of the world. Thank you he is our Savior! Thank you for the humble way he was born, reminding us that he is a different kind of king. Remind us to treasure your special love for us this Christmas and always. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen. 2009 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. Scripture taken from the King James or Authorized Version. #CCR9DF
Week 3: The Shepherds Luke 2:8-15; Isaiah 52:10 Getting Started The Christmas Cross All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10 Mark Luke 2 in your Bible so that you're ready to read sections from the Christmas story to the children. Introduction Who here does chores around the house:5 What kind of chores do you do? What chores do you kind of like doing? Which chores do you wish you didn't have to do? If you had to pick the dirtiest or most boring job at your house, what job would that be? Many years ago, when Jesus was born, one of the worst jobs was being a shepherd. It was boring most of the time; you had to just sit there and watch the sheep eat and sleep. It was dirty, because you often had to sleep on the ground all night with the sheep. And it was dangerous; every once in a while, wolves or even bears would attack the sheep. If the shepherds didn't protect the sheep from these enemies, the sheep would be dead. Few people wanted to be shepherds! Getting to the Heart But it would have been wonderful to be a shepherd the night Jesus was born! Listen to what the Bible says about that. (Read Luke 2:8-10.) These men were tough. Living outside, dark night after dark night, hearing the sounds of all the prowling animals was nothing to them. But the angels made them tremble! The shepherds had never seen anything so bright and beautiful. The glory of the Lord! The angel had to tell the shepherds, "Fear not!" Oh, but there was more! Listen to what else the angel told them. (Read Luke 2:10-12.) The shepherds must have been amazed! All the glory! All the words! Such good news! And it was for them! The good news was meant even for shepherds even for the poor, the lowly, the uneducated. Most of all, this good news was for sinners. It was for those who disobey God. It was for us. The Savior born for us! Pullout Reproducible Page * * * Christinas Cross Magnet * * * Pullout Reproducible Page
Here's what happened next. (Read Luke 2:13-14.) The shepherds must have fallen on their knees! If one angel had frightened them, can you imagine how they felt to see and hear hundreds or thousands of angels praising God? What do you think that the shepherds did next? The Bible tells us. (Read Luke 2:15.) Perhaps they slowly got up from their knees, still stunned by all they had just seen. But then they hurried off toward the little town of Bethlehem to see everything the angel had told them about. The Lord told this great, good news to shepherds. They were just regular people like you and me. As Isaiah 52:10 says, "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." God's Word came true for you and me! God loves everybody. It doesn't matter what kind of job your parents have. It doesn't matter if you are the smartest in your class. It doesn't matter what kind of clothes you wear. God chose to send his Son just for you. Jesus is your Savior. This is what Christmas is all about! Taking It Home God sent his angels to tell the shepherds the good news of his love. God gives us the Bible so we will hear this same good news. He gives us pastors and teachers and parents to share his love and forgiveness with us. The magnet piece I am giving you today pictures a shepherd. Each time you see it, remember that God's good news about our Savior is for everybody and then share that good news with others. Let's pray together: Father, we want to praise you just like the angels did. Glory to God in the highest! Thank you for sending an angel to tell the shepherds. Thank you that you want all people to know and believe your salvation in Jesus. Help us to share this good news with others. Amen. 2009 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. Scripture taken from the King James or Authorized Version. #CCR9DF
Week 4: The Wise Men Matthew 2:1-2; Isaiah 52:10 Getting Started The Christmas Cross All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10 Mark Matthew 2:1-2 in your Bible for easy reference. Introduction Have you ever waited for a friend to come to your house? Was it hard to wait? Did you go to the window over and over? Did your grandparents or your friends ever tell you they would honk their horn or give a special knock at the door so you would know they had arrived? God's people waited and looked for years and years before the Messiah, the Savior, was born, God had given them special signs to look fotvcan you name a few? (Allow children to answer if they can. For example, the Savior would be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, be a descendant of King David.) Getting to the Heart Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, one of God's prophets told of a star that would rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17). Those who studied God's Word knew about that star. They knew it would mean the Savior had been born, (Read Matthew 2:1-2.) The Wise Men, also known as Magi, were important rulers, perhaps kings of small provinces, (Hold up the final magnet piece, the one with the Magi.) You and I listen for a knock on the door or the honk of the horn to tell us when our grandparents or friends have arrived; the Wise Men looked for the star God had promised to send. When they saw the star, they knew that a new kind of king had been born. They wanted to see him, and so they set out on a long journey. They traveled hundreds of miles. It took a long time to arrive. But finally they did. They came to worship Jesus. When the Wise Men saw the Savior for the first time, they were overjoyed! They knelt in worship. Way back then and still today, worship happens from the inside out. (Point to your heart as you begin to kneel) The love in our hearts makes our knees bow in worship to our Savior, Even if we can't get down on our knees like this, we can worship Jesus all of the time (stand or sit again), because worship begins with love for God that he himself puts in our hearts.
The Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus, We do that, too. The greatest gift you can offer Jesus is your love. We show our love for Jesus most of the time by what we say and do for others. We can say kind things. Our feet can take us to places where people need our help. We use our hands to share and serve. In all these ways, we worship Jesus, These acts of love and worship are the gifts he treasures most! Taking It Home Today I will give you the last piece of the magnet puzzle. When you put it together, it will make a cross. It will remind you of Jesus' love. Jesus came to die on the cross so we could be forgiven. He came to die for all those times we fail to read and obey God's Word. He came to die for all those times our hearts are filled with wrong attitudes and for all those times our thoughts and actions are sinful. Because Jesus did this for us, our hearts are filled with joy at Christmastime and all year long. We want to worship Jesus. We want to show our love for him by loving others. That way, "All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52:10). Let's pray together: Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus to be our Savior, Fill us with joy so that we worship you with our hearts, words, and actions. We praise you, and we love you. Amen, 2009 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. Scripture taken from the King James or Authorized Version. #CCR9DF