God's Greatest Gift to me - Jesus and the Wisemen

Circle Time

            Opening prayer

            Hello song.

Introduction to Bible Lesson

Each one of us is very special to God. The last few weeks we have heard about the wonderful world God created for us. We also learned about the garden that God created for people to live with him in. But Because of Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey, people could no longer live with God. They were sent further out into the world God created and could not live with God anymore because they had sinned. But – God had a special plan. He planned to give a special gift to all people, including you and me, so that we could live with him once again. Let’s hear about God’s special gift to us.

Bible Lesson

 In the desert, wise men were traveling with their camels. On the night that Jesus was born, the wise men looked up into the sky and noticed a very different star. They knew that this star meant a new king had been born. They followed the star all the way to Judea.

The wise men started to ask people where the new king was. When King Herod, the ruler of the land, heard about their inquiries, he called a secret meeting with the wise men. He asked them when the star had appeared and if they had found the child yet. King Herod was very worried because he wanted to stay king. He told the wise men to find the child and to come back and let him know so that he too could worship him.

After the wise men spoke to King Herod, they left to find the child. They didn't know where he was, but they followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child was living.

The wise men were very excited and happy. They found Jesus in Mary's arms and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they gave the gifts that they had brought Jesus. These were very expensive gifts that you would give a king. There was gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Mary thanked them for the gifts.

The wise men decided not to tell Herod about God’s precious gift and left by a different way.

Crafts

1.      Frankincense and Myrrh Christmas Ornaments

Materials: 4 inch round circles of gold material with gold cording threaded through it approx 1 inch in., potpourri, small satin flowers

Put a 1 tbsp potpourri in the center of a material round. Pull the ends of the cording and gather round into a small bag. Stick small flowers onto bag.

2.      Gold Wreath Christmas Ornament

Materials: Gold, pearl and clear craft beads, white chenille stem, gold cording

Children string beads onto chenille stem. Tie into wreath shape. Tie a piece of gold cording on to hang.

Snack Time

Circle Time

            Song 1 – Away in a manger

            Song 2 – We three kings

            Book “The Animal’s Christmas Eve”

Christmas Activities

1.      Nativity Scene

Materials: stickers, nativity scene backgrounds.

Children put stickers on background and make their own nativity scene.

Closing

                        Closing prayer

 Virtue to work on: Thankfulness. Being thankful for every gift we receive.

God's Special Gift To us - Baby Jesus

Circle Time

            Opening prayer

            Hello song.

Introduction to Bible Lesson

Each one of us is very special to God. The last few weeks we have heard about the wonderful world God created for us. We also learned about the garden that God created for people to live with him in. But Because of Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey, people could no longer live with God. They were sent further out into the world God created and could not live with God anymore because they had sinned. But – God had a special plan. He planned to give a special gift to all people, including you and me, so that we could live with him once again. Let’s hear about God’s special gift to us.

Bible Lesson

God loved us so much that he planned a special gift for us. One of the books in the Bible is called Luke. Luke 2:1-20 tells us the story of God’s special gift to us.

Mary was going to have a baby. It was a very special baby, God's son. She and Joseph had to travel far away to Bethlehem because the ruler of the land told everyone that they had to go to the place of their birth to get counted.

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, they couldn't find a place to stay; however, one innkeeper saw that Mary was going to have a baby and let them stay in the stable with the animals. That night Mary gave birth to Jesus. Mary wrapped him in cloths to keep warm and laid him in the manger for a bed. (A manger is a little box where animal food was put.)

At the same time Jesus was born something else was happening. In a field close by some shepherds were watching their sheep, just as they always did. But tonight was different. The shepherds looked up in the sky and saw a bright light. It was an angel. They were afraid. The angel told them not to be afraid and told them to go to Bethlehem where they would find a baby lying in a manger. Then the shepherds heard a beautiful song. Lots of angels were in the sky singing praises to God. Soon it was very quiet again. The angels went back to heaven and the shepherds were excited about the news. They went to Bethlehem to see for themselves.

When they got there, they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. He was lying in the manger just like the angels told them. The shepherds were so excited that they told everyone about baby Jesus, the savior who had been born that day. They told the people about the angels too and everyone believed them. The shepherds went back to their fields to watch over their lambs and they sang praises to God.

When the angel told the shepherds about Jesus, they said that God was telling us he was bringing peace to the earth. When we trust in God, he promises to give us peace too.

Just like God watched over baby Jesus in the manger, God watches over us too. This is because he loves us very much. 

Bible Crafts

1.      Angel Ornament

Materials: doily, gold card, foam hands and face, silver or gold chenille stems, yarn for hair, markers for face, glue

Make body from gold card. Make dress from doily. Glue foam hands to body and dress to body. Draw face on foam circle. Glue to body. Glue hair to face. Make halo out of chenille stems.

Snack Time

Circle Time

            Song 1 – Theme song “God Made Me Special”

            Song 2 – God Made Me

            Book “My little golden book about God”

God Made Me Special Activity

1.      Page 10

My happy heart. Children put foam stickers on page and draw smiley faces on the hearts. Pages are put into book and children can now bring them home.

Closing

                        Closing prayer

Virtue to work on: Thankfulness. Being thankful for every gift we receive.