Christmas Day: Family Worship Guide by Jenna Hallock This family worship time should take you 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of your family and how much time you would like to devote to worshipping together on Christmas Day. Have you had family worship time before? It s a simple concept: come together as a family for the purpose of worshipping God together through Scripture, song, and prayer. We ve included a couple of fun (optional) activities that we think will make your Christmas Day even more special. We recommend reading through this guide in its entirety at least 2-3 days before Christmas so you have time to prepare. You ll need to gather a very few supplies for the activities: Materials - A nativity scene that includes the three wise men/magi Journey of the Wise men activity A Children s Bible and/or age-appropriate Bible (suggested Bibles can be found at famtime.com: Day By Day Kid's Bible, Day By Day Begin-To-Read Bible, or Hands On Bible) Index cards (or just cut the game from the words provided at the end of the lesson) Prophecy fulfillment game Chocolate, gold coins (optional) Christmas Day Theme: Christmas is All About Jesus Overview: The account of the Christmas story is found in great detail in Luke as well as Matthew. The whole story really starts with the birth of John the Baptist whose birth was also prophesied as the forerunner of the Savior. The other major events of Christ s birth recorded in the Bible include: Mary s visit by the angel to tell he she would be Jesus mother Joseph s decision to marry Joseph, thanks to another angelic encounter The journey to Bethlehem for the census of the Roman world The town being over-crowded, forcing Mary and Joseph to spend the night in an animal stable Angels appearing to shepherds & telling them that Jesus was born Magi (wisemen) seeing the star indicating Jesus birth & traveling to worship Him
1) Start by Reading Scripture: Luke 1: 5 2:21; Matthew 1: 18 2:12 (read all or part depending on the age of your children; allow children to read from their own Bibles if they are able) 2) Sing Songs (use one or all; words are included at the end of the guide): Go Tell It on the Mountain Joy to the World O Come All Ye Faithful MYO (Make Your Own) 12 Days of Christmas 3) Enjoy an Activity: *For younger preschool & elementary aged children: Start the journey of the wise men Maybe you noticed when you read the story of Jesus birth in Matthew 2 that the wise men don t arrive immediately. There are a couple of clues that you should take note of: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? (Matt 2: 1-2) The second clue is: And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. (Matt 2:11a) We see from the scripture that 1) Jesus was already born before the wise men arrived in Bethlehem and 2) they went to a house to see Jesus, not the stable. For this activity, we re going to have fun with the nativity scene! At the beginning of your family worship time, place your nativity under your tree or another spot that is easily accessible to your children. When it s time to start your activity, pick up the wise men figures and say, The wise men had a long journey to get to Jesus. They weren t there when the shepherds were. Then say, We are going to help the wise men make their journey to see baby Jesus! Let children decide where in your home the wise men should start their journey. Throughout the day, we re going to move the wise men closer and closer to baby Jesus. You can set a time to go off every 2-3 hours to remind you to move the wise men. For even more fun, if your children are old enough, encourage them to secretly move the wise men when no one else is looking! By dinner or bed time the wise men should be together with the rest of the nativity scene. When this happens, you may
want to sing one of the Christmas songs together or have a small gift (chocolate gold coins would work perfectly!) for your children to finish the day. *For older elementary & teens: Prophecy Fulfillment matching game What could be more meaningful to older children than teaching them that the story of Jesus birth was actually predicted hundreds of years before it happened? It can be a very exciting discovery and help kids to see that the Bible is all connected and is all true! Here s how you ll play: Cut out the Scripture below into strips or copy each set of verses onto an index card. Mix them up and place them in front of your family and read them one by one. Then, let your kids match the prophesy (Old Testament) to the fulfillment (New Testament). You can use the answer key provided at the end of this guide to help them along. When you re done matching them, you can say: Jesus birth was actually predicted hundreds of years before it happened even as early as the book of Genesis! I wanted to give you this special gift this Christmas to see that the Bible is all connected and is all true. Isaiah 11: 1-5 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Isaiah 60: 1-3 1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Luke 1: 32-33 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 9: 6-7 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Micah 5: 2*-4 2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. Matthew 2: 10-11 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Luke 1: 35 35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Matthew 1: 6 and 1: 17 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah s wife, 17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. Luke 2: 4-7 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
4) Pray Together: Focus on thankfulness for Jesus, for family, for the gifts we ve given and received. Pray for those who received gifts and/or charitable donations you ve made (meals, shoe box gifts, money for water or other sustainability efforts, local children [ie. Toys for Tots], etc). Take a few minutes to ask everyone what they would like to pray for. Then take turns praying and be sure to let children pray for the things that they mentioned if they want to. Prophesy Game Key: Luke 2: 4-7 and Micah 5: 2*-4 (Bethlehem) Luke 1: 32-33 and Isaiah 9: 6-7 ( a child is born ) Luke 1: 35 and Isaiah 7:14 (virgin birth) Matthew 2: 10-11 and Isaiah 60: 1-3 (star & kings) Matthew 1: 6 and 1: 17 and Isaiah 11: 1-5 (Jesse) MYO (Make Your Own) 12 Days of Christmas The intention of this song is to have fun! Of course, praise the Lord with it. (Who is our true love? God the Father!) But this should be a chance to be silly with your kids & personalize the song for your family. Here are a few ideas: On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me Christ Jesus as a baby On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me 2 eyes that see On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me 3 best friends On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 4 favorite toys On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 5 songs to sing On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 6 snowmen smiling On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 7 lights a twinkling On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 8 ugly sweaters On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 9 hugs from grandma On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 10 cards from friends On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 11 games for playing On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 cookies baking
Words and Music for Songs: Go Tell It on the Mountain When I was a sinner I prayed both night and day I asked the Lord to aid me And He showed me the way: When I was a seeker I sought both night and day I asked the Lord to help me And He taught me how to pray Down in a lowly manger The humble Christ was born And God sent out salvation That blessed Christmas morn Joy To The World Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let ev'ry heart Prepare Him room, And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing. Joy to the world! The Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, Rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sin And sorrow grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found. He rules the world With truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, and wonders of His love.
O Come All Ye Faithful O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels; Christ the Lord. O Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation, Sing all ye citizens of heaven above. Glory to God All glory in the Highest; Christ the Lord. Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning, O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing; Christ the Lord. Jenna Hallock; contact me at jenna@famtime.com or c/o Family Time Training 5511 S Youngfield St Littleton, CO 80127