Theme: Mary: Christmas Title: Through the Eyes of Mary Target Group: Limited Church Background Age: 11-14 Aim: Equipment: To encourage students to think about God s presence over 2000 years ago God s presence today, even in the midst of difficult circumstances Guess Who questions (plus any of your own); white board and pens; Fact or Fiction questions; What Would It Be Like questions; Bibles Print-outs: Print-out 1 (Caribbean Holiday); Print-out 2 () Bible Base: Luke 1:26 38; Guess Who (5 mins) Arrange students in small groups. Read out the following clues to a famous person one line at a time. Award points based on how soon they get the answer. You may want to add some people and clues of your own. You could include people known to the group, for example a teacher or a parent. He was born on 30 May 1980 in Whiston, England. He progressed through the Youth Academy to first team football. He won the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year in 2001. He is currently captain of the club; He was selected to represent his country for the first time in 2001 - when he scored in England's famous 5:1 victory over Germany. He is famous for his midfield role at Liverpool. Stephen Gerrard He was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut. He received a bachelor s degree in history from Yale University in 1968. He served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. He has twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. He became the President of the United States in 2001. President Bush He invented one of his middle names, Maximilian, because he thought, it sounded good. He was born on the 13th February 1974 at Newcastle-Under-Lyme. He has done advertisements for Reebok, Versace, 7Up, Pepsi and Smart. He first shot to fame as part of a boy band, Take That. His hits include Radio, Misunderstood, Let Me Entertain You, and Angels. Robbie Williams She fell pregnant while still in her teens and suffered much ridicule. Her husband to be stood by her while others questioned the fatherhood of the child.
She and her husband probably suffered rejection and scorn at the hands of their families. She and her husband had to endure an 80-mile trip with a full-term pregnancy. After the birth they had to run for their lives, as someone wanted their child dead. Mary the mother of Jesus Nativity (2 mins) Encourage students to think about their experiences of being in, or watching, a nativity play. List on a white board the things students associate as being part of the nativity. You may want to encourage them in their thinking by asking questions such as: Where have they seen a nativity play? What parts did they have (if any) in nativity plays? The list will probably have some or all of the following in: Mary, Joseph, baby, angels, shepherds, kings or wise men, stable, inn, innkeeper, donkey, star etc. Fact or Fiction? (3 mins) Divide the students into two or more teams and ask the following questions (you may want to add others of your own). You may want to award a prize to the winning team, or if you re in the Christmas spirit, a prize to any team who scores two or more! How many kings brought gifts to the newborn baby? None they were wise men not kings and the number of wise men is not mentioned. Name the animals that were in the stable? Although the presence of animals may be a fair assumption, we are not told that there were any animals in the stable. How did Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem? She probably walked. A donkey does not appear anywhere in the Biblical account. How many Angels sang in the Christmas story? The Bible never says that the Angels sang! Read it closely! In what year was Jesus born? Certainly not in the year zero because there is no year zero in the calendar, which moves seamlessly from 1 BC to 1 AD. There is nothing in the biblical accounts (Matthew and Luke) to date Jesus birth explicitly to a particular day, month or year. Make the point that sometimes we take myth for fact in the Christmas story, but also a danger that we trivialise what actually took place.
Bible (5 mins) Read Luke 1:26 38 Note the key verse: I am the Lord s servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Although troubled, (verse 29) Mary was willing and obedient (verse 38) to God. Although Mary was willing and obedient, it didn t mean that things would be plain sailing, far from it. What Would It Be Like? (10 mins) Divide students into groups of four or five. Read out the questions one by one giving approximately one minute for each question. You may want to encourage same sex groups, with girls thinking from Mary s perspective and boys from Joseph s. Encourage students to think about what thoughts, emotions, and feelings Mary or Joseph might have had. What do you think about teenage pregnancy? Mary s was a teenage pregnancy, and outside of marriage. 2000 years ago this would have been a huge scandal. How would your parents, family members react if in the future you or your partner became pregnant? A likely response from Mary and Joseph s family would have been to reject them, have nothing more to do with them. They, and in particular Mary, had brought disgrace to the family and the local community. How might other people in your local community look upon someone in this situation? For Mary and Joseph there was the likelihood of open scorn, ridicule, and contempt from some people, and the whispers, or smirks, of others. If you and your boy/girl friend had to travel 80 miles from home, to give birth in a place you were not familiar with, in the surroundings of poverty, how might you feel? Although likely to be excited by the impending birth, Mary and Joseph probably felt scared, tired and alone. What would it be like to live as asylum seekers in another country, a country that was under military occupation? After the birth Mary and Joseph had to run for their lives as the local dictator gave an order for the ethnic cleansing of all children aged two and under. For the next few years Mary and Joseph lived as refugees in a foreign country under military occupation. Bearing God s son was the greatest thing that could happen to Mary. Yet there were times when it must have seemed like a nightmare. The reality of the situation was far removed from our experience of nativity plays. To get a clearer understanding of Christmas, we have to get rid of the myths that have become attached to Christmas over the years. Ask the students what their response might be if they were asked to go through what Mary and Joseph did?
Bible Response (5 mins) Encourage a confident reader to read aloud the true story from Print-out 1 (Caribbean Holiday). Make the point that just as the jet pilot was watching the life raft, so God has his eye on us. He sees. He knows. He cares. He is present. Hand to each of the students a copy of (Print-out 2). This would be best printed on card. be with you; he will never leave you nor Encourage students to keep this verse somewhere special as a reminder that even in the midst of difficult situations God is watching over us.
Print-out 1: Caribbean Holiday What began as a holiday voyage in the Caribbean a few years ago turned into a living nightmare for long-time friends Fared Suraleigh and Herbert Clarity. The men were anticipating a relaxing sailing outing, but their plans were violently altered by swirling 70-knot winds, 40-foot waves, relentless rain and an overturned sailboat. The two managed to climb onto a six-foot raft, but were forced to sit waist-deep in freezing water. They sat there, pumping air into their quickly deflating dinghy, which had a hole in one of its tubes. Clinging to the rubber raft with water seeping in and air leaking out for 12 harrowing hours, the men were finally rescued by a Japanese merchant ship. What the men didn t realize, was that during their ordeal, the pilot of a coast guard jet had kept an eye on them. He identified their exact location for the Japanese freighter that rescued them. The men, both in good condition, flew home the next week with a story that would shiver the timbers of the most hardened seafarer.
Print-out 2: This would be best printed on card.