Session 5 Wise Men Find Jesus Matthew 2:1-12 Worship Theme: Jesus is worthy of our worship. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will give Jesus the gift of their worship because he deserves it. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 25) Fairest Lord Jesus (track 4) To God Be the Glory (track 15) Sing Unto the Lord (track 9) Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (track 1) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver Flashlight, cooler with ice, 2 clear pitchers, water, large sheet of newsprint or poster board, marker, CD player Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Wise Men Worship Jesus Hear the story of the wise men, and put together a star puzzle. * The Wise Men s Gifts Make a snack that reminds them of the gifts the wise men gave. Star Light, Star Bright Make a nighttime sky with flashlights, and praise Jesus. 1 sheet of poster board, foil, scissors 2 clear plastic cups, gold metallic tissue paper, and cinnamon-flavored snack for each child; scissors 1 piece of foil, tape, 1 flashlight per child 58 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) The Wise Men Hear the Bible story, and consider the meanings of the wise men s gifts. * Star Street Make a street of stars to honor Jesus. * Gifts of Worship Commit to worshipping Jesus in a specific way in their lives. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Frankincense Incense Stick 1 chocolate coin per child, matches 1 sheet poster board per 4 children, markers, permanent marker, scissors Doll in a cradle, box, white blanket, paper, pencils Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Give their offerings. Oh, How I Love Jesus Sing Oh, How I Love Jesus as a prayer. You Are Worthy Think of reasons Jesus is worthy of worship and ways to worship him away from church. Offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Oh, How I Love Jesus (track 8) 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 Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 59
Bible Background for Leaders Wise Men Find Jesus Matthew 2:1-12 The wise men, or Magi, were probably religious leaders from Persia or Babylon. They were either astronomers or some type of astrologers. They apparently were not followers of the Jewish religion and had little or no knowledge of God. However, God somehow made it clear enough to them that a special king was being born that they were willing to travel hundreds of miles over dangerous desert wilderness to investigate and worship the new king. All nations had their own objects of worship and usually thought their own gods were better than others gods. So the Magi s journey to worship Jesus in a lowly colony of the Roman Empire had great significance. Jesus is worthy of the worship of the entire world, no matter what others beliefs may be! Some suggest that the star was actually the result of the alignment of planets that happened sometime between 7 and 4 B.C. Others say it was a special, localized phenomenon provided by God specifically to guide the Magi to Jesus. Whatever it was, its timing and movement were used by God to let people outside Israel know about the miraculous birth of Jesus. And no doubt, God intended that the Jews realize from this event that salvation in Jesus was not just for them but for the rest of the world as well. Herod s suspicious response was typical of a paranoid man who had put his own wife and all his sons to death. He not only intended to kill the baby Jesus, but also schemed to use the innocent Magi to lead him to the right baby. When the Magi arrived in Bethlehem, they found Jesus in a house. Though Christmas pageants everywhere depict the Magi visiting the stable on the night of Jesus birth, that time frame is quite likely wrong. It appears that the Magi arrived some months after the birth, and by that time Mary and Joseph were living in a house. Most likely the star appeared to the Magi at the time of the birth, and the months that elapsed before their visit were due to preparation time and for the long, hard journey. The three gifts indicate the wealth and prominence of the visitors, since the gifts were costly, but the fact that there were three gifts doesn t mean there were three Magi. There may have been two or twenty Magi, and they weren t kings as the song says though they may have been representing a king. Devotion for Leaders Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is worthy of our worship and praise. And he s our best friend. How cool is that? Weaving Faith Into Your Life: The Magi recognized the importance of Jesus when they saw the signs in the sky. Worshipping this young king was so important that they traveled many miles and many days to find him. How important is worshipping Jesus to you? You don t need to travel anywhere; you can worship him anywhere and anytime. Make worship a part of every day this week. 60 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
Why We Worship for Leaders The Magi traveled a great distance to give their gifts and bow down in worship to the Christ child. The majesty and wonder of the holy Child was communicated to them through the heavens. We who have received the incomparable gift of that Savior s life and love should be no less diligent in presenting our gifts and our worship to the One who is worthy. Worship is a natural response to Christ s majesty and holiness. When we understand who he is and what he has done for us, we, like the Magi, will fall to our knees, present our gifts, and from the depths of our beings worship the Son of God. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Write the words of Psalm 100 on a sheet of newsprint or poster board, and tape it to the wall. Set out a clear pitcher of water and an empty clear pitcher. Have ice nearby. Star Street Cut sheets of poster board into fourths, a fourth for each child. Use a permanent marker to draw a large star on each piece. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver as children arrive. Ask some children to stand at the door and welcome everyone who comes into the room. Ask the greeters to smile, shake hands, and say welcome! When everyone has arrived, welcome the children warmly. What have you come to children s church for today? (To worship Jesus; to learn about God; to celebrate Jesus.) Let s stand and sing a song about why we come to church. Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 25 Great singing! We ve come here today because of Jesus. When we sing and celebrate Jesus love, hope, and truth, we are worshipping him. When we read in the Bible about Jesus and how much he loves us and all that he s done for us, we want to worship him. When we worship Jesus, he is right here with us, giving us his love. Let s sing a song that describes all that Jesus is. Sing Fairest Lord Jesus. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 4 Sometimes people use word pictures to describe things we can t really see or touch. Sometimes we use darkness as a picture to describe what life without God is like. We re going to make our Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 61
room very dark now. Have helpers close any blinds or curtains. Turn off all the lights in the room, and make it as dark as possible. But when Jesus came into the world, God said we should get up and shine, because [our] light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines on [us] (Isaiah 60:1, New Century Version). Turn on a large spotlight, if possible, or shine a flashlight on the children. Continue reading from the New Century Version of Isaiah 60:1-3. Darkness now covers the earth; deep darkness covers her people. But the Lord shines on you, and people see his glory around you. Nations will come to your light; kings will come to the brightness of your sunrise. Turn on the lights. What a wonderful picture! For our greeting today, turn to one another and say, Jesus is the light! When I clap my hands, focus your attention on me again. Go. Allow a minute for kids to greet one another. Then clap your hands. The Bible uses the word glory a lot. The passage I read earlier said, The glory of the Lord shines on you. Glory can mean many things. It can mean great honor. It can mean something very great and very beautiful. It can also mean praising and giving thanks and great respect. And it can even mean a glow of light. Let s use our imaginations to understand what that means. Pretend you re in a crowded auditorium waiting for your favorite band to give a concert. It s just about time for the concert to begin. You ve been looking forward to this concert for months and months, and you can t wait for it to start. The crowd is noisily chatting while they wait. All of a sudden, the lights go out it must be time! The crowd goes silent. Then a spotlight is turned on, and it shines on the band s lead singer. The crowd goes crazy, cheering, clapping, and whistling as the concert begins. At a concert, why do they turn out the lights in the auditorium and turn stage lights on the band? (So we can focus on the band; because the band is the most important thing at a concert.) At a concert, everyone comes to see the band. The band is the most important thing at a concert. That s why the lights shine on the band. That way, everyone can see the band and cheer for it. That s kind of what glory is like. When we give God glory, it s like shining a big spotlight on him because he s so important. As we sing this next song, think about what glory means. 62 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
Sing To God Be the Glory. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 15 When we worship Jesus, we praise him. We describe how wonderful he is. Let s look at how the writer of Psalm 100 worships God. Point to the newsprint with Psalm 100 written on it, and lead children in reading it aloud. When we really think about what this psalm says that God is good, that his love endures forever, and that he is faithful to every generation we realize how wonderful God is and how worthy he is to be praised. Knowing that should make us feel joyful just as the psalm says. Let s shout for joy to the Lord and serve the Lord with gladness as we come before him with this joyful song. Sing Sing Unto the Lord. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 9 You re really worshipping God with your voices this morning. We ve been talking about worshipping Jesus. It can seem confusing because sometimes we say God and sometimes we say Jesus. God is Jesus Father, but Jesus is also God. How can that be? Well, let s take a look at something all of you know about. Open a cooler with ice in it, and put some ice in a large clear pitcher. Have another clear pitcher nearby filled with water. What do you see in this pitcher? Point to the pitcher of water. (Liquid; water.) What do you see in this pitcher? Point to the pitcher of ice. (Ice; frozen water; a solid.) What is ice? (Frozen water; water that got really cold.) So ice is really water that looks different. That s a lot like God and Jesus. When we read praises to God in the psalms, they are also praises to Jesus. Let s sing a song now that worships Jesus. Sing Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 1 Let s worship Jesus with a prayer. Jesus, we praise and worship you because you are God. You came to us as a person, and you showed us how very much God loves us. You are the light of God s love to a dark and lonely world. We praise you and thank you for bringing that light to us. Amen. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 63
Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages 65-66 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. ALLERGY ALERT See Session 3. Elementary Activities The Wise Men You may want to have older children read or tell this story. The Bible tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time Herod was king of the country of Judea. Wise men who lived in a country far to the east saw a new star in the sky. They knew that this star was a sign of a new king, so they traveled to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they asked where they could find the baby who was born to be king. King Herod heard about the strangers. King Herod had his helpers find out where God had promised that the special king would be born. Then he met with the wise men and told them to look in Bethlehem. Herod told the wise men that he wanted to know where they found the baby so he could worship him, too. But Herod really wanted to make sure the baby would never be king. The wise men followed the star until it stopped over the house where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were staying. The wise men bowed down before Jesus and gave him the gifts they had brought: gold, incense, and myrrh. The gifts they gave to Jesus have important meanings. The first gift they gave was gold. Gold was just as valuable in Bible times as it is today. A gift of gold was the kind of thing you might give to a king. Gold is a gift for kings. We recognize that Jesus is our King. Distribute the coins, and let the children eat them. While you re eating the chocolate, think about how Jesus is worthy of a gift as precious as gold. Why do you think Jesus is worthy of a gift as precious as gold? (Because Jesus is God; Jesus is the King of kings.) (continued on page 67) 64 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
Preschool Activities Wise Men Find Jesus Session 5 Worship Theme: Matthew 2:1-12 Using Theo Jesus is worthy of our worship. Easy Prep for Leaders Wise Men Worship Jesus Prepare a glittery star-shaped puzzle with five pieces, using the picture below as a guide. Use poster board to make the puzzle, and cover it with foil or glue glitter. The Wise Men s Gifts You ll need gold metallic tissue paper, clear plastic cups, and a cinnamon-flavored snack. Cut the tissue paper into 8-inch squares. Star Light, Star Bright Make a star out of aluminum foil, and tape it to the ceiling. Gather as many flashlights as you can. Wise Men Worship Jesus Gather the children in a circle. As you tell the story, place the pieces on the floor in the center of the circle. As we hear the story today, we re going to put together a puzzle. It ll be a clue to something that happens in the story. Listen carefully and see if you can guess what the puzzle will show. After Jesus was born, wise men came from far away to Jerusalem, where King Herod lived. They asked the king where they could find the new baby who was born to be the king of his people. The wise men told the king about something special they had seen. It had led them to Jerusalem. The wise men told the king that they had come to Jerusalem to worship the new king. Place the first piece of the puzzle on the floor. Can you guess what the puzzle is yet? Well, that made the king angry! King Herod was afraid that he couldn t be king if there was a new king. So King Herod started plotting. Place the second piece of the puzzle on the floor. Can you guess what the puzzle is yet? First King Herod asked his helpers to find out where God said the special baby would be born. His helpers told him the new king was born in Bethlehem. So King Herod told the wise men to look for the new king in Bethlehem. Place the third piece of the puzzle on the floor. Can you guess what the puzzle is yet? Then King Herod told the wise men to come back to Jerusalem and let him know where he could find the new king. Now here comes 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 guess what the puzzle is. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit created to tie in to this week s worship session. the sneaky part. King Herod told the wise men that he wanted to go and worship the new king, too. But King Herod really wanted to kill the new king. Place the fourth piece of the puzzle on the floor. Can you guess what the puzzle is yet? The wise men went to Bethlehem. And the special thing they had seen earlier led them to Jesus. Place the last piece of the star on the floor to complete the puzzle. What was the special thing that led the wise men to Jesus? That s right! God created a special star that shone in the sky and led the wise men to Jesus! The wise men were so happy! The wise men got down on their knees and worshipped and praised Jesus. They opened the presents they had brought to Jesus gold, incense, and spices. God wanted to protect Jesus from the bad and sneaky King Herod. So that night God warned the wise men. God told the wise men that they shouldn t go back and tell King Herod where to find Jesus. So the wise men traveled back to their country a different way. And everything turned out right. The wise men were happy because they had worshipped Jesus, the new King. Joseph and Mary were happy because the wise men had come to see Jesus. And the wise men protected Jesus by not telling King Herod where to find him. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 65
Preschool Activities * The Wise Men s Gifts Today we re going to make a snack that ll remind us of the special gifts the wise men gave to Jesus. First let s make something golden. Give each child a tissue paper square and two clear plastic cups. Show the children how to make a gold cup by nesting the cups together with the tissue paper acting as a lining between the cups. While the children are making their gold cups, talk about giving and receiving gifts. Now let s fill our gold cups with a sweetsmelling snack to remind us of the sweetsmelling gifts the wise men gave to Jesus. Invite the children to fill their cups with a scoop of the cinnamon snack. While they re enjoying the snack, talk about why Jesus was worthy of such wonderful gifts. Star Light, Star Bright How do you think the wise men knew which star to follow? God created a special star for the wise men to follow. The wise men studied the skies, and they knew about all the stars. When they saw a new star, they knew it was special. Let s make a starry sky. Each one of you is going to get a flashlight to make a star on our ceiling. Don t turn on the flashlights until I tell you to. Distribute the flashlights, one to each child. If you don t have enough flashlights for everyone, have the children form pairs and share flashlights. Turn off the lights and close window shades and curtains to make the room dark. Turn on your flashlights and point them toward the ceiling so we have a night sky full of stars. Let the children admire the effect for a bit. If you could give Jesus a special gift for Christmas, what would you give him? The wise men gave Jesus gifts because they knew that Jesus was important. We give gifts to people because we love them. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Jesus loves the gifts we give him especially our gifts of praise. The night sky is full of stars, but it was one special star that God put in the sky to show the wise men where to find Jesus. Shine your flashlight on the aluminum foil star. This star was different from all the other stars because it led to a baby who was different from every baby who has ever been born. Jesus is the Son of God, and he came to show us how much God loves us. We can worship Jesus just as the wise men did. Let s worship Jesus with our lights. I ll say some things about Jesus. After each one, we ll all say, Praise Jesus while you wiggle your flashlights to make the lights dance on the ceiling. Ready? Jesus was a special baby. (Praise Jesus!) Jesus loves everybody. (Praise Jesus!) Jesus is God s Son. (Praise Jesus!) Jesus takes care of us. (Praise Jesus!) Jesus is God. (Praise Jesus!) Jesus is the most special baby that was ever born. That s because Jesus is God s Son, and God sent him to the world to help us. Jesus is worthy of our worship. We can worship Jesus just as the wise men did. 66 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
(continued from page 64) Offer a silent prayer to Jesus, telling him why he s worthy of the gift of gold. Pause as children pray. Incense is the second gift the wise men gave. Light the Frankincense Incense Stick. Have an adult walk around the room, carrying the incense until the scent has permeated the room. Frankincense was a special kind of incense. It was used in the Temple when the priests made sacrifices to God. Frankincense is a gift worthy of God. We recognize that Jesus is God. Breathe deeply and think about what qualities Jesus has that prove that he s God. What qualities does Jesus have that prove he s God? (He can save us from sin; he loves everyone; he did miracles.) Offer a silent prayer to Jesus, telling him why he s worthy of the gift of frankincense. Pause as children pray. The third gift the wise men brought was myrrh. Myrrh was used as part of a holy oil that was used when people were selected for special roles. It was also one of the sweet-smelling spices that was used when people prepared bodies to be buried. We ve been celebrating Jesus birth at Christmas, but we know Jesus came to die for us. Offer a silent prayer to Jesus, telling him why he s worthy of the gift of myrrh. Worship Leader Tip It can be tough to find an inexpensive substitute for myrrh. If you don t have a source for real myrrh, you may want to check the trunks of pine trees and scrape off a small bit of resin or sap to pass around for the children to smell. Another idea is to buy a package of violin rosin from a music store; it ll cost about four dollars. Sand it lightly to release the scent. As the children pass it around, the warmth of their hands will make it slightly sticky. The piney smell will linger on their hands. * Star Street Let s show Jesus that we think he s worthy of worship. In California, they honor movie stars by giving them stars in the sidewalk in the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. We re going to make a street of stars that honors Jesus. Hand out markers and the poster board sections you prepared earlier. Have the children spend 10 minutes decorating their stars to show how Jesus is worthy of their worship. After 10 minutes, have volunteers share with the class what they drew on their stars. Then have the children create a street with their squares by laying them out in a long strip. Look at all these reasons Jesus is worthy of our worship. We serve a wonderful King! Let s offer him our gifts. * Gifts of Worship The wise men brought gifts to the Lord Jesus when they came to worship him. They brought gold, incense, and a special spice. We are going to bring our gifts to Jesus, but our gifts will be gifts we can give from our hearts and gifts of our actions. Think for a minute about what you could do that would be a gift to Jesus. What could you do that would be an act of worship and Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 67
love that would bring joy to Jesus? Do you need to have a better attitude? Is there someone you could show kindness to in Jesus name? What about setting aside some time each day to really pray? How about reading your Bible each day? Think about what you can give as you are given paper and a pencil. Draw a simple symbol or write a short description that illustrates your gift to Jesus. Distribute paper and pencils, and allow kids time to create their gifts. While kids work, wrap a doll in a plain white baby blanket. Put the doll in a cradle (or a box covered with another blanket) at the front of the room. Set a smaller box on the floor in front of the doll. This baby represents the Christ child. We re going to present our gifts to Jesus just as the wise men did. Come forward, kneel down, and place your gift in the box in front of the baby. As you do, say a silent prayer in worship as you give your gift to Jesus. Allow time for all the children to present their gifts. Let s Pray! The Offering Every time we come to church, we have an opportunity to do what the wise men did. When we give our offerings, we re giving Jesus a gift just as the wise men offered their gifts to Jesus. Sometimes it s a sacrifice for us to give an offering. We all have a lot of things we d like to buy with our money. But when we take a portion of our money and give it to Jesus, we re telling Jesus that we think he s important. Giving gifts to Jesus is a way to worship him. And Jesus is worthy of our worship. As we take the offering today, tell Jesus that you think he s worthy of your worship. If you didn t bring a gift of money today, tell Jesus about another gift you d like to give him. Pass the offering bowls, and have the children put in any offering they brought. Oh, How I Love Jesus Jesus is God s Son. He is God s promise. He is a treasure, a gift from God. He is the King. Jesus is love, truth, and hope. He is God, and we worship him. Jesus is worthy of our worship. One of the best ways to worship is through singing. Let s sing Oh, How I Love Jesus as a worship prayer. Sing Oh, How I Love Jesus. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 8 68 KidsOwn Worship Winter Quarter
You Are Worthy Take a moment to think about a reason to worship Jesus. Think about what he has done and who he is. Allow time for the children to do this, and then signal for their attention. Now think about a way you can worship God away from church. Will you pray and praise him with your words? Will you sing a song of worship and praise to him? Will you kneel down and offer him a gift from your heart? Take a moment to decide how you will choose to worship God at home this week. Allow the children a minute to consider. Jesus, we praise you and offer you our worship. You are the Son of God, and because of you we can become God s children. You created the world we see and then opened heaven to us. You are worthy of our worship! We worship you together, and we will worship you at home. Amen. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 69