Session 3 Jesus Is Born Luke 2:1-20; Hebrews 1:1-4 Worship Theme: Jesus is born. Weaving Faith Into Life: Kids will worship Jesus and give God glory because he was born as a small baby for everyone. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing O Come, All Ye Faithful (track 2) Love Each Other (John 15:12) (track 9) Silent Night (track 3) Glory to God (Luke 2:11) (track 4) I Am the Way (John14:6) (track 12) Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6) (track 17) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, tape, decorations, cake and supplies to serve it, birthday candles, matches, box, black paper (to cover windows) Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Glorious Night Pretend to be angels or shepherds to help tell the Bible story. Jesus Birth Celebrate Jesus birth by making a manger scene and joining in a clapping rhythm. Born for Everybody Talk about Jesus being born to save everyone, and finish their manger scenes. Bible, box, scissors, wrapping paper, tape, 1 flashlight and 2-foot length of gold garland or 1 pillowcase per child, safety pins Photocopies of Manger Scene (at the end of this session), scissors, glue sticks, crayons Confetti, Manger Scene cutouts, glue sticks, yarn, scissors, stapler 32 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Silent Night Use sign language to experience the Bible story. * Celebrate Jesus Decorate balloons for balloon bouquets to celebrate Jesus birth. * Light of the World Fill a dark room with light, and discuss Jesus, the light of the world. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Silent Night (track 3) CD player, candles, matches Colored-paper photocopies of Balloon (at the end of this session), tape, scissors, markers, ribbon Pillar candles, matches, flashlights Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Give their offerings and worship God. What a Difference Reflect and add to a prayer. Glory to God Imagine they re angels and say what the angels said. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: O Come, All Ye Faithful (track 2) Offering bowls, CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Let s Learn the Point! Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 33
Bible Background for Leaders Jesus Is Born Luke 2:1-20; Hebrews 1:1-4 These two passages describe the incarnation of Christ in different ways. Luke presents the concrete historical facts, while the writer of Hebrews explains how the appearance of Jesus fits into the big picture of God s working in and through human history. Luke 2:1-20 describes Joseph and Mary s continuing hardships. Certainly it had been difficult for them to overhear the snickers of acquaintances who noticed that Mary had become pregnant prior to the completion of her marriage. Now she and Joseph had to travel from his home in Nazareth to his ancestral home of Bethlehem, a journey of about 70 miles. Though popular renditions of this trip 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. The exact date of Jesus birth is impossible to calculate. According to Luke 2:2, the census occurred when Quirinius was governor of Syria. His first term occurred from 6 to 4 B.C., so Jesus was likely born between those dates. Unfortunately, the date of Jesus birth was miscalculated when the Christian calendar was created. It is significant that Jesus birth was announced first to shepherds. In those days, shepherds were not highly thought of. They 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. The significance of Jesus coming is described in Hebrews 1:1-4. Prior to Jesus incarnation, God spoke through the Old Testament writers. Their writings pointed to the advent of the Messiah. With the coming of Jesus, a new era was ushered in as God revealed himself in a new way. In the past he had spoken through faithful people. Now he would speak through the life, actions, and words of his own Son. Hebrews 1:1-4 focuses on the superiority of Jesus revelation over that spoken through the prophets. First, he is an heir the very Son, in fact of God, not just a servant. He is the creator of our universe. He shows us the radiance of God s glory. He is God himself! He continues to hold together all that exists. He brought salvation for us through his death on the cross. And he is now sitting in heaven with God, ruling over all creation and interceding for those who believe in him! Jesus is the living Word of God, who came to show us who God is and to make it possible for us to live in relationship with God himself. Even the angels, as exalted as they were in Jewish culture, were a far distant second to God s supreme revelation of himself in Jesus! Devotion for Leaders Jesus was and always will be the best Christmas gift ever! Share the truth of Jesus with someone else today. Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving! Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Reread Hebrews 1:1-4 as a way to celebrate the truth of Christmas. No matter what you think of Christmas, when you make Jesus the focus, it becomes the best holiday ever. Is Christmas a happy time for you? Jesus presence can kick it up a notch. Is Christmas a sad time for you? Jesus can fill the void you feel at this time of year. Give him the chance, and he ll bring true joy to any situation. 34 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
Why We Worship for Leaders Today our worship takes the form of celebration we are celebrating Jesus birth. We celebrate new life each time a baby is born; how much more should we celebrate the one who gives new life? The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God s glory, so let s make this worship session full of joy and glory. We ve all heard the Christmas story many times, but it will never lose its wonder and its awesome power for our lives. Let s help children celebrate not only Jesus birth but also what he has done in our lives. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Put birthday candles in a small box with matches, and have the candles and a cake available. If it s practical, provide one candle for every child. If your room has a window, cover the window with black construction paper to block out the light. Celebrate Jesus Photocopy the Balloon handout (at the end of this session) onto colored paper so that you have a balloon for each child, and cut out the balloons. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver as children arrive. Greet them by name, and say to each one Jesus was born! Let s celebrate! Provide party decorations and tape, and ask the children to decorate the room while they wait for the worship session to begin. When the room is sufficiently decorated and everyone has arrived, set a cake at the front of the room and begin the session. Hello, everyone! Today we re celebrating because Jesus was born. It s almost Christmas! Let s make a circle around the cake as we sing, O Come, All Ye Faithful. Sing O Come, All Ye Faithful. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 2 Have a child open the box to find the candles. Distribute the candles to the children so they can put the candles on the cake. Light the candles, and turn off the lights in the room so that the candles provide the only light. The glow from the candles lights up your faces. You reflect the candlelight. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus reflects God s glory. Glory means beauty and wonder. The verse says that Jesus shines with God s beauty and majesty. Jesus came to show us how wonderful God is. That s why we celebrate Jesus birth. As we blow out the candles, try to make your faces shine with Jesus love. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 35
Blow out the candles with the children. We blew out the candles so we could eat the cake, but the light of Jesus never goes out. It shines through us to other people because Jesus is the light of the world. Let s continue to worship, and we ll enjoy eating the cake together soon. ALLERGY ALERT See Session 1. Have adult volunteers cut the cake and place the pieces on paper plates to be served later. Today we re celebrating Jesus birth because it s almost Christmas. Jesus came into the world because God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to show everyone in the world what God is like. We came here today to celebrate God s love and Jesus birth. We could say that love is what brings us together. Sing Love Each Other (John 15:12). Track 9 Lyrics are in the back of this book. Let s celebrate Jesus birth with another song that many of us know: Silent Night. Sing Silent Night. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 3 Different people celebrate Jesus birth in different ways. How does your family celebrate Jesus birth? Allow several children to share briefly. You may have heard people say, Jesus is the reason for the season. It s important to remember that Christmas is about celebrating Christ s birth. Celebrating makes us feel happy. It s good to share our happiness with others by telling everyone why we re celebrating! Let s sing Glory to God. Sing Glory to God (Luke 2:11). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 4 We have many reasons to shout the good news about Jesus from the mountaintops! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. What an exciting reason to celebrate! Sing I Am the Way (John 14:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 12 Before Jesus was born, people desperately wanted a savior. They knew the Scriptures said that the Savior was coming, and they could hardly wait. The prophet Isaiah described Jesus long before he was born. Let s sing the words of Isaiah. Sing Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 17 Let s eat our cake to celebrate Jesus birth now. We waited a long time, but the time is finally here. 36 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
Serve the cake. As the children eat, continue the discussion. Was it hard to wait to eat the cake? How was waiting for this delicious cake like waiting for the Savior? (It wasn t like waiting for the Savior because I knew I d get the cake soon; it was sort of similar because I kept thinking about the cake.) People waited a long time for the Savior to come. They anticipated his coming. That means they were excited and could hardly wait. Their anticipation was like the excitement you re feeling as you wait for Christmas to come and like the joy you ll feel when Christmas is finally here. God, we thank you for sending Jesus into the world. We celebrate Jesus birth today. Help us understand why Jesus is so special. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages 39-40 At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Silent Night Our Bible story is the story of Jesus birth, found in the second chapter of Luke. We re going to tell the story using American Sign Language (ASL). First we ll learn some simple signs to go with the Bible story. Then we ll perform the story for each other. I ll read the Bible verses aloud while you sign. Use the following narrative from Luke 2:1-18 (Kids Devotional Bible: New International Reader s Version). Refer to the pictures in the margin to see how to make the signs. After the children have learned the signs, dim the lights, light candles, and play Silent Night on the CD. Read the narrative aloud as the children sign in the appropriate places. Track 3 In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world All went to their own towns to be listed. shepherd angel care, sheep scared Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 37
not, afraid gospel Savior, born glory, God go, see So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was He went there with Mary to be listed. She was expecting a baby. While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn. There were shepherds (sign shepherd ) living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. (Sign care and sheep. ) An angel of the Lord (sign angel ) appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified. (Sign scared. ) But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. (Sign not and afraid. ) I bring you good news (sign gospel ) of great joy. It is for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior (sign Savior and born ) has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said, May glory be given to God in the highest heaven! (Sign glory and God. ) And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth! The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, Let s go to Bethlehem. Let s see (sign go and see ) this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. (Kneel.) After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. (Pretend to tell people something.) All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. * Celebrate Jesus Have kids sit at tables, and set out the colored-paper balloons and markers. 38 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter Sometimes we celebrate special events with balloons. Today we celebrate a really special event the birth of Jesus. We celebrate Jesus birth because of the tremendous difference he makes in people s lives. One way that Jesus has made a difference in my life is by giving me joy. How does Jesus make a difference in your life? (Jesus makes me feel loved; Jesus helps people get along.) Think of something that represents a way Jesus has made a difference in your life. Then write or draw it on your balloon. For example, you might write the word joy, or you could draw a smiling face to represent joy. (continued on page 41)
Preschool Activities Jesus Is Born Session 3 Worship Theme: Jesus is born. Easy Prep for Leaders Luke 2:1-20; Hebrews 1:1-4 Glorious Night Attach a safety pin to each pillowcase. Cut gold garland into 2-foot lengths, and tape the ends together to form halos. You ll need a pillowcase or a halo and flashlight for each child. If you don t have enough flashlights, give kids a 2-foot length of gold garland to wave in the air for that section of the story. Gather the pillowcases, halos, flashlights, and a Bible, and put them into a box. Wrap the box in colorful wrapping paper. Jesus Birth Make one photocopy of the Manger Scene (at the end of this session) for each child. Cut out the manger, the baby, and the people. Set the people aside for the Born for Everybody activity. Born for Everybody Cut a 2-foot length of yarn for each child. Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo pretend to be an angel during the Glorious Night activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Glorious Night Have the children sit on the floor in a circle. Show them the box, and ask them to open it. Then place a pillowcase on your head, and pin it to suggest a shepherd s head covering. Help children who would like to be shepherds do the same thing. Place halos on the heads of those who want to be angels, and give each angel a flashlight. Open the Bible to Luke 2, and show it to the children. Ask the children to help you tell the Bible story. Tell the story as follows, pausing after each line to let the children repeat your words and follow your actions. There were shepherds Watching their sheep in the field. All of a sudden, Angels appeared. (Shepherds wave.) (Shepherds shade their eyes as if looking far away.) (Shepherds look surprised.) (Angels wave.) The angels said, (Angels cup their hands around their mouths.) A Savior is born. (Angels pretend to rock a baby.) The shepherds said, Let s go see the Savior. So they went to find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. The shepherds worshipped Jesus. The angels said, Glory to God in the highest! (Shepherds cup their hands around their mouths.) (Shepherds point in one direction.) (Shepherds walk in the direction they pointed.) (Shepherds kneel.) (Angels cup their hands around their mouths.) (Angels turn on their flashlights and wave them in the air.) Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 39
Preschool Activities Jesus Birth It s almost Christmas so today we ll celebrate Jesus birth. We re very happy that Jesus was born. What is special about Jesus? Why do we celebrate Jesus birth? God gave us Jesus to show us what God is like and to show us the way to God. Jesus was born to give us life. Let s make a manger scene that you can take home to help you remember that Christmas is about celebrating Jesus birth. Born for Everybody Jesus was born for you. Jesus was born to save you. Jesus was born to give you life. Jesus was born to help you. Point to each child as you mention the things Jesus was born to do. Who else do you think Jesus was born for? Give each child a few pieces of confetti, and ask children to hold onto the confetti until you tell them what to do with it. When people are celebrating something special, they sometimes throw confetti in the air. Today we re celebrating Jesus birth. Jesus was born for everyone. Open your hand and look at the confetti I gave you. Pick out one piece and hold it up. Jesus was born for you. Now put that piece on the table and pick out another piece to hold up. Jesus was born for your family. Put that piece on the table. Pick out another piece and hold it up. Jesus was born to save your friends. Put that piece on the table. Now let s see how many other people Jesus was born to save. When I say go, we ll throw all of our confetti up into the air. Who was Jesus born to save? Give each child a paper manger and baby Jesus, and help kids use glue sticks to glue the baby Jesus picture to the manger picture. If you have time, have the children color the baby and the manger with crayons. Let s celebrate Jesus birth with a clapping rhyme. Have children join you in clapping to the rhythm of the following words using one clap per syllable. Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Hallelu! Now let s thank God for sending Jesus. Let s all shout, Thank you, God, for sending Jesus! Jesus was born to save everybody! Let s celebrate! Ready? Go! Have children throw their confetti in the air. To help us remember that Jesus was born for every person, let s add some people to our manger scenes. Give each child a people cutout. Help the children glue the mangers they made in the previous activity to the people cutout. Then staple both ends of a length of yarn to each manger scene to form a hanger. You can hang this manger scene in your room so you can see it every night. When you pray at night, you can look at the people kneeling around the manger and thank God for sending Jesus for you. What are these people doing at the manger? They re worshipping Jesus because they re so happy that God has sent him to show them the way to God. Let s form a circle and kneel to worship Jesus. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus for everybody. In Jesus name, amen. 40 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
(continued from page 38) Encourage kids to come up with several different ways Jesus has made a difference: bringing life, forgiving, and loving are some examples. After the children have drawn or written on their balloons, give each child a wide ribbon to tape onto the bottom of the balloon. Help the children tape the balloons to the wall and gather all the ribbons at the bottom to form one or more balloon bouquets (see the earlier illustration). Let s step back from the wall to admire our work. Our balloon bouquet reminds us to celebrate Jesus, and it reminds us what he has done in our lives. When I say go, let s applaud and shout, Thank you, Jesus! Ready? Go! Warning Because balloons present a choking hazard to children, make sure you pick up all pieces of popped balloons and throw them away immediately. * Light of the World Ask the children to stay very quiet as you turn off the room lights. Make sure the room is very dark, and keep the lights off for at least 30 seconds, then Listen to what the Bible says. In the darkness, recite John 8:12b : I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus was born to be the light of the world. Light a candle. What effect did this candle have on our dark room? (It made the room a little lighter; it helped us see.) Extra Impact Have a helper play soft worshipful music as the children light their flashlights or candles during Light of the World. Music played by a musician in your congregation would add even more to this activity. What effect did Jesus birth have on the dark world? (Jesus brought love to make the world brighter; Jesus shows us the way to God.) Jesus is the light of the world, and we can show his light to others. Walk quietly among the children, and randomly distribute flashlights or battery-operated candles. If there aren t enough flashlights to go around, encourage the children to share them. Ask each person to turn on the flashlight as you hand it to him or her. As the light grows, How is what s happening to the level of light in this room like what happens when we let Jesus light live in us? (We can make the world brighter with Jesus love; when we share about Jesus, more people let Jesus light live in the world.) Let s see what this world would be like today if Jesus had not been born. Turn off your flashlights. Blow out your candle. We would be in darkness. But the Bible verse we read tells us that whoever follows Jesus will never walk in darkness. Light your candle again. Let s place the lights on the table. If you would like to thank God in your own words for sending Jesus to be the light of the world, turn on a flashlight and say your prayer. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to us. We celebrate Jesus birth this week. In Jesus name, amen. Turn on the room lights. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 41
Let s Pray! The Offering Let s give our offering today as we sing, O Come, All Ye Faithful. The song says, O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. Let s be joyful as we give our offering. As you place your offering in the bowl, give a shout of adoration. Adoration means love and praise, so you might shout, I love you! or I adore you. Let s finish with a round of applause in adoration. Sing O Come, All Ye Faithful. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 2 What a Difference Take a minute to think about what a difference Jesus birth has made in your life. For example, I ll think about Jesus giving me love. Let s make a circle. I ll begin the prayer. I ll say, Thank you, Jesus, for giving me Then you take turns around the circle saying one word. God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to be born. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me [pause as each child adds one word]. In Jesus name, amen. Glory to God Imagine how thrilled the angels were to announce that the Savior was born. Let s use the words of the angels for our closing prayer. Have the children form three sections. When I point to the first section, you will say, Glory to God in the highest! The next section will say in louder voices, Glory to God in the highest! The third section will say it even louder. Fill the room with your praise. Then we ll all say together, Peace on earth! 42 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
Balloon Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Winter, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 43
Manger Scene Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Winter, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com 44 FaithWeaver Winter Quarter
Encouragement for Leaders Thank you for being a person in children s lives that they can trust. You are teaching children the foundations of trusting in Jesus.