We can tell others about Jesus birth.

Praise Jesus! Angels Appear to Shepherds Lesson 3 Bible Point We can tell others about Jesus birth. Bible Verse Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone (Mark 16:15). Growing Closer to Jesus Children will n find out why Jesus birth is exciting, n learn that telling others about Jesus is fun, and n tell another class about Jesus. Teacher Enrichment Bible Basis n Angels appear to shepherds. Luke 2:8-20 Luke 2 records that at the time of Jesus imminent birth, Mary and Joseph had to travel from Joseph s home in Nazareth to his ancestral home of Bethlehem, a journey of about 70 miles. Though popular renditions usually show Mary riding a donkey, she and Joseph probably weren t wealthy enough to own one. It s more likely that they had to walk all the way even though Mary was close to her time to deliver. It is significant that Jesus birth was announced first to shepherds, who were not highly thought of. Shepherds were considered so unreliable that their testimony was not accepted in the courts, and they were deemed unclean by the orthodox religious establishment. The fact that Jesus birth was announced first to them indicates that Jesus came to earth for those in need of a Savior. It also foreshadows the common people s acceptance of Christ and the religious leaders rejection of him. Prayer Read Revelation 5:11-13. How does this Bible passage contrast with what you know of the birth of Christ? Pray: Lord, your birth here on earth was an occasion of great joy. Help me encourage my students to tell others about Jesus birth and spread that joy by 35

Lesson 3 Before the Lesson n Collect items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies listed in the chart. n Make photocopies of the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your children. n Pray for your students and for God s direction in teaching the lesson. This Lesson at a Glance Welcome Attention Grabber Bible Exploration & Application What Children Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies Welcome! Receive a warm welcome from the teacher, and make name tags. Show and Tell Draw pictures of their favorite Christmas gifts, and learn it s exciting to tell about Jesus, the greatest gift. The News Game Read Mark 16:15, and give exciting news to classmates. Christmas Packages name tags (p. 23), tape, safety scissors, markers or crayons Paper, markers Bible The Shepherd Hike Go on a hike to Bethlehem based on Luke 2:8-20, and learn how the shepherds responded to the angels news. Caroling We ll Go Spread the good news about Jesus birth to other classrooms with praise and worship, and listen to Isaiah 52:7. Bible, Angels and Sheep patterns (p. 44), safety scissors, newsprint, pencils, tape Bible, CD player Closing Sharing the News Talk about who they ll tell about Jesus, and learn they have special talents from God that will help them. 36

Welcome SUPPLIES: Christmas Packages name tags (p. 23), tape, safety scissors, markers or crayons Greet each child individually with an enthusiastic smile. Thank each child for coming to class today. As children arrive, ask them about last week s Growing Together activities. Use questions such as How did you show your family members they re important to you? and What songs about Jesus did you sing with your family? Say: Today we re going to learn that we can tell others about Jesus birth. Hand out the name tags children made during Lesson 1, and help them attach the name tags to their clothing. If some of the name tags were damaged, or if children weren t in class that week, have them make new name tags using the photocopiable handout. Tell the children that the attention-getting signal you ll use during this lesson will be raising your hand. Ask children to respond by raising their hands as they stop talking and focus their attention on you. Rehearse the signal with the children, telling them to respond quickly so you ll have plenty of time for all the fun activities planned for this lesson. Attention Grabber n Show and Tell SUPPLIES: paper, markers Set out paper and markers and have children each draw a quick sketch of the best present they ever got for Christmas. When the children are finished with their pictures, gather kids in a circle for show-and-tell time. Have volunteers show their pictures and tell about their presents. Limit children to 30 seconds of sharing time, and collect each child s picture after he or she has shared. When all volunteers have shared, ask: What was it like to tell people about a gift you really liked? (I was proud; I liked it; it was OK.) Why did you like that particular gift so much? (Because it was what I always wanted; because it went with my collection.) Say: It s pretty exciting to get wonderful presents, isn t it? As I put these pictures away, let s stop thinking about those presents and begin thinking about the greatest gift anyone has ever received. Put the pictures out of sight. Now try to guess the answer to my riddle. When you guess the answer, don t say anything. Before we start, zip your lips shut tight. Run your finger across your mouth in a zipping motion. Good! Here s the riddle: The best gift anyone has ever received didn t come in a box. It wasn t wrapped in paper and ribbon but in a soft blanket. The gift came long ago in a little town called Bethlehem. Angels told about the gift. Pause. All together, let s say what the gift was: Jesus! Angels Appear to Shepherds It s important to say the Bible Point just as it s written in each activity. Repeating the Bible Point over and over will help children remember it and apply it to their lives. 37

Lesson 3 It s fun to tell friends about things we re excited about. Today we re talking about the gift of Jesus birth. We can tell others about Jesus birth. And it can be fun and exciting. Bring out the stuffed animal from the Learning Lab. Explain that it will represent baby Jesus. Pass the stuffed animal around the circle so that each child has a chance to hold it for a moment. When it is each child s turn to hold the stuffed animal, have him or her share one thing about Jesus he or she is excited about; then have the child pass the animal to the person sitting next to him or her. For example, a child might say Jesus is God s Son! or Jesus loves me! Then lay the stuffed animal on a bed of manger hay in the middle of the circle. Then ask: What would you tell someone who has never heard of Jesus? (I would say that he loves them; I would say that Jesus died for them; I would tell them about how he came back to life.) Why is Jesus more special than anyone else? (Because he s God s Son; because he can heal people; because he can do miracles.) Say: We can tell others about Jesus birth just as we tell people about other things that are important to us. Let s find out more about telling others about Jesus. Place the stuffed animal and manger hay back in the Learning Lab. First- and second-graders are just beginning to understand their role in relationships with their peers. They initially may feel reluctant to share the news of Jesus birth with others. Remind your children that the message of Jesus birth is just as exciting and wonderful today as it was when the shepherds heard it from the angel. When children are excited about that message, they ll also be excited to tell others about it. Bible Exploration & Application n The News Game SUPPLIES: Bible Say: We re going to play a game to find out how much fun it can be to share the news about Jesus birth. Each of you can be a good-news teller. The Bible tells us how. Our Bible verse for today comes from Mark 16:15. Listen to what it says: Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. When it says we should preach the news, that s just a fancy way of saying we should tell everybody the news. Give each child one of the shiny shapes. Say: We re going to do just what that verse says. We can t go everywhere in the world, but we can start right here in our own class. Pretend the shape you have stands for the good news about Jesus birth. When I hit the tambourine, give your shape to someone and say, Jesus is God s Son! When someone gives a shape to you, give it to someone else as fast as you can. Try not to have more than one shape at a time. I ll hit the tambourine again when it s time to end the game. Are you ready? Strike the tambourine to start the game. Remind the children to say, Jesus is God s Son! when they give away their shapes. After two minutes of lively play, call time by striking the tambourine. Then raise your hand and wait for the children to raise their hands and focus on you. Collect the shiny shapes and return them, along with the tambourine, to the Learning Lab. 38

Angels Appear to Shepherds Help children form pairs and have partners discuss these questions: What s the best news you ve ever received? (That I was going to have a new brother or sister; that my birthday was coming; that my grandma was coming to visit.) When you got that good news, who did you tell? (I told my teacher; I told my best friend.) What is it like to share good news? (I feel important; good.) Say: We can tell others about Jesus birth. It s great and exciting news, and we can spread the news everywhere. n The Shepherd Hike SUPPLIES: Bible, Angels and Sheep patterns (p. 44), safety scissors, newsprint, pencils, tape Before class, cut a 36x6-inch strip of newsprint for each child. Photocopy and cut out the Angels and Sheep patterns. Help your children make these decorations to use in telling the Bible story. Have half of the children make paper garlands of sheep. Have the other half make paper garlands of angels. Give each child a newsprint strip and a sheep or angel pattern. Set out safety scissors and pencils. Have the children fold their newsprint strips in half three times so they end up with strips about 4½ inches long. Help the children trace the angel pattern or the sheep pattern on their folded newsprint and cut out the shapes, being careful not to cut through the folds. Have the children unfold their garlands. Have those who made sheep garlands tape the sheep on a wall that s far away from the Nativity mural the children made in Lesson 2. Then gather everyone in a circle, and open your Bible to Luke 2:8-20. Say: Chapter 2 in the book of Luke tells the good news of Jesus birth. Pretend you re the shepherds in the story. Listen carefully and act out what the shepherds did. One night, the shepherds were in the fields outside of Bethlehem taking care of their sheep. They sat under the stars and watched the sky. Then an angel appeared in the sky above them. God s glory was shining all around, and the shepherds got scared. Show me what you would have done if you were one of the shepherds. Pause while children pretend to be shepherds reacting with surprise or fear. The angel said, Don t be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. A manger is a feeding box that animals eat out of. Then many more angels from heaven appeared. Have the children who made angel garlands tape them to the wall above the sheep. The angels praised God, saying, Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. Then the angels went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, Let s go to Bethlehem! Let s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. Let s pretend we re going on a journey to find baby Jesus. Have the children line up by the sheep garlands. Have the last person in line run to the front of the line. Then have the new last person in line run to the front of the line. Make your way across the room in this manner toward the Nativity mural. When you reach the Nativity mural, have the children sit in front of it. Continue the story. If you re running short on time, you may choose not to make the paper garlands but to go straight to the Bible story. 39

Lesson 3 Say: When the shepherds found the baby Jesus, they told what the angels had said about the baby. The people were amazed at what the shepherds said. Mary treasured the words in her heart and thought about what the angels said. Then the shepherds returned to their sheep. They praised God and thanked him for everything that had happened. It had been just as the angel had told them. Ask: Why do you think God wanted the shepherds to know about Jesus? (Because they had waited for him for a long time; because God loved them.) Why do you think the shepherds were so excited about the angels visit? (They had never seen an angel before; because the angels told them Jesus had been born.) What would you do if an angel visited you with good news? (I d hide; I d run and tell everybody.) Say: We can tell others about Jesus birth. The shepherds were excited to see the Messiah everyone was waiting for. They were excited about the angels. We can get excited about Jesus, too. Bible Insight We don t really know the date of Jesus birth. He was probably born on a warmer night than December 25 in the Northern Hemisphere would indicate. Because the shepherds were pasturing their sheep at night, the season was probably spring or summer. During colder months, shepherds generally pastured their flocks only during sunlight hours. Roman Christians adopted December 25 as Jesus birthday to supersede a Roman festival scheduled at that time. HANDS-ON BIBLE Before the activity, cut 5x5-inch squares of gold or silver foil, one per child, and set aside some tape. Also count out enough plastic spoons for each child. Have the children open their Hands-On Bibles to the Armies of Heaven activity found in Luke 2. Read Luke 2:13-14 aloud and encourage the children to follow along as you read. Hand a plastic spoon and piece of foil to each child, and distribute permanent markers for children to share. Assist the students through the activity to create their spoon angels using the foil squares and the plastic spoons. They can also make faces for their angels with the permanent markers. When children have finished, ask: How many angels are in an army of heaven? (A whole bunch; thousands; too many to count.) If you saw that many angels at once, what do you think you d do? (I d yell: I d duck down: I d run and hide.) Say: When Jesus was born, a great number of angels a whole army of them! came to tell the shepherds what had happened. God could still send angels out into the world to tell people about Jesus, but we can tell others about Jesus birth, too. Encourage children to take their spoon angels home and display them. When the children are asked about the angel, they can tell the story about Jesus birth. 40

Angels Appear to Shepherds n Caroling We ll Go SUPPLIES: Bible, CD player Before class, arrange to visit one or two other classrooms track 5 to spread the good news about Jesus with a Christmas carol. During class, teach children the words to Joy to the World! You can find the lyrics at the back of this Teacher Guide. The children can also sing along with the song on the CD (track 5) to practice. Say: This song is about being joyful because Jesus, the king, has come. Everybody on earth can sing about Jesus birth, and all of God s creation even nature itself will sing about it, too. Sing the song two or three times. When children are confident in their singing, say: We can tell others about Jesus birth. Let s share our song with another class. We can also use instruments to tell others about Jesus and celebrate his birth. While we are sharing our song with other classes, you will have a chance to play an instrument. Think about ways you can praise Jesus with your voices and with instruments. Pass out the two inflatable bongo sticks, tambourine, bell, clicker, bead ball, and minimaraca to children in the class. Explain that it doesn t matter which instrument they use; everyone can celebrate Jesus birth in his or her own way. Visit other classes and worship joyfully with singing and praise music. You may also want to bring the CD for accompaniment. If you have a large class, have the children switch instruments after each verse so everyone has an opportunity to play an instrument. Have the children sing quietly as you return to your classroom. Collect the instruments and return them to the Learning Lab to reduce distraction. Ask: How did it feel to tell others about Jesus birth? (Good; embarrassing; fun because I like singing.) How did we tell others about Jesus birth by singing and playing musical instruments? (People like music so they listened to us; our song talked about Jesus birth; playing instruments is fun, and Jesus birth is fun to tell about.) How can you tell others at home or school about Jesus birth? (I can sing them a song; I can invite them to church; I can offer to pray with them if they want.) Why is it important to tell others about Jesus birth? (So they can know who Jesus is; because Jesus told us to; because we want to share our good news.) Say: We can tell others about Jesus birth! Telling others makes us happy, and it makes others happy, too. Listen to what the Bible says about people who share good news. Read Isaiah 52:7 aloud. Thank you for being beautiful people and helping me spread the good news about Jesus birth! If the weather is nice, you may want to go outside and carol around the church grounds. To use a bongo stick, inflate the tube. Then fold the tube in half and bang the two sides of the tube together. This will result in a bongo noise. To use the clicker, hold down the small plastic rectangle on the bottom of the clicker. Then simply press and release the metal tab to produce a clicking sound. 41

Lesson 3 Closing n Sharing the News SUPPLIES: none Have children sit in a circle. Ask: What have you been learning about today? (That we can tell others about Jesus birth; that telling about Jesus is fun.) Say: We can tell others about Jesus birth. Say that with me: We can tell others about Jesus birth. God gives each of us special abilities so we can spread the news about Jesus to people we know and even to people we don t know. Some of you can draw pictures to tell about Jesus. Some of you can tell stories about Jesus. Maybe you can sing songs to tell others about Jesus. Jesus came from heaven to earth to die for our sins, but he came back to life and lives in heaven. If we tell God we re sorry for our sins and believe in Jesus, we will live with him in heaven someday. Everyone can choose to believe in Jesus, but first they ve got to hear about him. Now think about something you can do to tell others about Jesus. Tell someone sitting next to you what you ll do. Give children a moment to share. Say: Now think of all the people you know. Think of people who know about Jesus and people who don t know about Jesus. Think of one person you d like to tell about Jesus this week. Tell someone sitting close to you who you ll talk to about Jesus. Give children a moment to share. Say: Now let s practice what we re going to say about Jesus. Think of a reason why Jesus birth is special. Let s tell Jesus our reasons in a prayer. Pray this prayer. As you go around the circle, let each child finish the sentence by telling why Jesus birth is special. Pray: Dear Jesus, we re so glad you were born. Your birth really is good news, and we want to tell others about you. We want to tell others that you re special because Let each child finish the sentence. Kids might say, You re God s Son, You died for us and came back to life, or You love us. When everyone has added to the prayer, say: In your name we pray, amen. 42

Angels Appear to Shepherds Growing closer to Jesus extends beyond the classroom. Photocopy the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your children. Encourage children and parents to use the handout to plan meaningful activities on this week s topic. Follow up the Growing Together activities next week by asking children what their families did together. 43

Angels and Sheep Photocopy and cut out each pattern. 44 Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible Curriculum Grades 1 & 2 granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Avenue, Loveland, CO 80538. group.com

Jesus Birth 3: We can tell others about Jesus birth. Bible Story Angels appear to shepherds. (Luke 2:8-20) Key Verse Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone (Mark 16:15). Today your child learned that it s exciting and fun to tell others about Jesus birth! God sent angels to reveal Jesus birth to shepherds in a field. Now God asks us to share the wonderful news about Jesus with those around us. Have fun spreading the news with your child this week. Sweet News Make trail mix with nuts and Christmas candies. On slips of paper, write messages of Christmas cheer such as Jesus was born for you. Put a handful of the trail mix on a square of red, gold, or green foil. Add one of the message slips. Then wrap up the mix in the foil and tie the top with a coordinating Christmas ribbon. Give the packets to friends and family. Now Presenting Send a fun holiday greeting to family or friends who live far away. Make an audiotape or video of your family singing Christmas carols and telling the Christmas story. Talk about why Jesus birth is good news. End with family news and wishes for a happy holiday. Angels Make these angels for your holiday table. Cut out angel shapes from colored or stiff white paper. Stiff wrapping paper also works well and looks pretty. Stack the angel shapes and fold them lengthwise. Staple them on the fold line. Crease the fold line and separate the shapes so the angels have full robes and many wings. Bedtime Moments As you put your child to bed this week, let your child know why you love him or her. Complete one of these sentences: When I found out you were going to be born, I was so excited I or When you were born, it was good news because Then say a prayer of thanksgiving for your child and thank God for the birth of his Son, Jesus. Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible Curriculum Grades 1 & 2 granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Ave., Loveland, CO 80538. group.com 45