*Free* Printables to help your children celebrate their moms this Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day! This post contains two printables that you can use to help the kids in your life celebrate their moms! There is a printable for young children as well as one for older kids, so choose your favorite, print it off, and let your kids share how God made their moms special!
I’d love to see some of the finished creations, so feel free to post pictures in our facebook group!
Free Bible Lesson for kids over Mark 2:1-13 with ideas for games, crafts, snacks & MORE!
This lesson is from Journeying Through James:A 35 Week Study for Families and Churches. If you enjoy this lesson, you might enjoy the whole curriculum! It is what we are using right now with our Children’s Church, and today I had my boys help me make a video to go with this lesson. I wanted to share the video with you, so, I thought, “Why not share the whole lesson?” So, here it is! Enjoy!
1. Divide into groups of 5-6. Give each group a large blanket. Then have a race to see who can get their blanket from one side of the room to the other the fastest. The catch? One person has to be ON the blanket, and the others have to be carrying it! On your mark, get set, go! Let the teams have fun carrying their teammate to the other side of the room. Repeat this so everyone gets a chance to be the person in the middle.
If you do not want to have the kids carry another child, divide into teams of four and put a ping pong ball or balloon on the blanket. The kids need to carry the blanket to the other side of the room. If the ping pong ball falls off, they have to go back to the beginning.
Say: Today we are going to be talking about the importance of putting your faith into action. There were some men in the Bible who put their faith into action in a very interesting way, and it involved carrying one of their friends somewhere. We will be talking about that more later.
2. Divide into groups. Give each group a bucket filled with water and an empty bucket. Place the empty bucket on the other side of the room away from the bucket with water. The object of the game is to get the water from the filled bucket to the empty bucket. Designate adult group leaders and give the group leaders empty pitchers and cups. However, the group leaders should not give the kids the pitchers and cups. Instead, when you say “Go”, the adult group leaders should start cheering for their teams as loud as they can, but they should NOT do anything to help – including giving them the pitchers and cups. Let this go on for awhile, with you saying such things as, “Why aren’t you guys going? Come on, the game has started!”
When the kids have had enough, say: What was the problem with this game? Why wasn’t it working? Discuss. This game reminds me of our verses from James for today. Listen to them. Read James 2:14-17. How was this game similar to those verses?
Play the game again, but this time the group leaders should step in and help. They should give the kids the cups and pitchers and even help the kids complete the task. When the game is finished, say: What was different this time around? Your group leaders actually DID something, didn’t they? In the same way, we also need to DO something with our faith. We need to put our faith into action!
3. Play a game to help your kids MOVE. Play some upbeat music and the kids need to move around as much as they can while the music is playing, but as soon as the music stops they must FREEZE exactly how they are when the music stops. Then they must hold that position until the music starts back up again. Have fun laughing at some of the silly positions! If someone moves while the music is off, he has to sit down until the end of the game. (In the same way, if he is not moving around while the music is playing, he is out. Be sure to have adult leaders keep a close eye on the group during this game!) Play until you have a winner!
Say: This game was meant to get you MOVING! When we follow Jesus, we also need to move. Today we will talk more about what that means!
The Lesson:
Say: Are you ready to move? Are you ready to put your faith into action and DO something for Jesus? Read James 2:14-17. What kind of faith do you have? Today we are going to talk about some people who put their faith into action. They saw something that needed to be done and, instead of simply talking about it, they came up with a plan and did something about it! Watch this.
If you do not want to use the video, use the following script:
Paralyzed Man: Hello everyone! I want to tell you something amazing that happened to me. Do you see this mat? This used to be my home! I mean, really . . . it was my home. I spent all my time lying on this mat. You see, I couldn’t walk. I was completely paralyzed. If I wanted to eat, I had to have my friends help me. If I wanted to change my clothes, I had to have my friends help me. If I had to do anything, I had to have my friends help me. All I could do was stay on this mat, day after day after day. I couldn’t DO anything . . . but my friends could, and they DID. They helped me every day!
One day, something AMAZING happened! One day, Jesus came to town. Have you heard of Jesus? When my friends and I heard that Jesus was in town, we knew we had to DO SOMETHING! We HAD to get to Jesus! He could make me well again! He could make me walk!
My friends decided to DO SOMETHING and they carried me all the way to Jesus. They took me on my mat and they walked, and walked, and walked, all the way to where Jesus was. But when we got there, we saw something horrible. The entire room where Jesus was was packed with people. There was no way we could get in to see Jesus!
But my friends did not give up. My friends knew they had to DO SOMETHING! They walked to the roof of the house and started digging a hole! Then they lowered me right down in front of Jesus. There I was, on my mat, right in front of the one person who could make me well!
Well, I think you know the rest! Jesus saw the faith that my friends and I had and he rewarded that faith by healing me! Not only did Jesus heal me physically by making me walk, but he also healed me spiritually by forgiving my sins. I have not been the same ever since that day when I met Jesus! I am so glad that my friends and I had the faith that Jesus would make me well . . . but not only that we had faith, but that we DID something about it! If we hadn’t DONE something, I might still be lying on this mat.
Before I go, I have one question for you. How are you going to show YOUR faith? What are YOU going to DO?
(Paralyzed man picks up his mat and walks out of the room)
Read Mark 2:1-13 to the group. Use the following questions to aid in your discussion:
How did the men in this passage put their faith into action?
When Jesus saw the man in front of Him, the Bible tells us he saw their faith. How did he see their faith? What showed him that they had faith?
Say: Jesus saw their faith by the actions they had done. If they didn’t have faith, they would not have gone through the task of carrying their friend or digging the hole and lowering him down in front of Jesus. They put their faith into action – just like the Bible tells us we should do in James 2:14-17.
What are some ways that we can put our faith into action today?
Divide into groups. Give each group construction paper strips of various colors. Have the kids in the group select several of the construction paper strips – they are going to be making a mat with the strips! Before they make the mat, however, have them decorate the strips with pictures or words of ways they can put their faith into action in practical ways. Discuss these ideas and then weave them all together to make a mat. You can have the kids make their own mat, or have them make a large one as a group. Pray together for opportunities to put these ideas into action. Find directions for how to weave a mat here.
A great video to end with:
Additional Activities:
1. Spend time today helping the kids put their faith into action. Organize a service project that the kids can do during today’s time together and carry it out!
2. Help the kids make a craft stick house with craft sticks, construction paper and cotton balls. Discuss how the men in today’s lesson put their faith into action by taking their friend to Jesus and digging a hole through the roof. We need to put our faith into action, too!
3. Make a craft to illustrate the lesson found in Mark 2:1-13. Give the kids graham crackers, frosting, and a variety of colored candies and let them make their own house. Then give them gummy bears, teddy grahams, or E.L. fudge crackers to be the people in the story and a fruit roll up to be the mat (or use graham crackers for the mat) Let them act out the story and then eat the snack.
4. Give the kids pieces of cardboard boxes, construction paper, ribbon, yarn and brads and let them make their own “people”. They should cut out heads, arms, legs, and bodies and connect them all with the brads. The brads will give them moveable arms and legs, and they will be able to make their person “move”. Let them use the construction paper, ribbon, and yarn to make clothes, hair and other accessories. Encourage creativity! Remind them of the importance of MOVING and doing something for God!
5. Have the kids draw pictures of one way they can put their faith into action. Then take an actual picture of them, print off the photograph, and have them cut themselves out of the photograph and glue themselves to the picture they drew. (For example, if a child says he is going to rake leaves for a neighbor, have him draw a picture of a tree, lots of leaves, leaves in a pile, and a rake. Then he will add his photograph to the picture so it looks like he is holding the rake.) Encourage the children to put their faith into action this coming week.
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Free printable prayer calendar for February. Each day includes a Bible verse and prayer idea focusing on LOVE.
Each day on this prayer calendar for kids includes a Bible verse and prayer idea with love as the theme. Read the verses with your family and then spend time praying these verses for your lives.
Teach your kids to serve with this easy to use lesson for preschoolers over John 13:5-20. Includes ideas for games, snacks & crafts!
I hope you are able to use this Bible lesson for preschoolers over John 13:5-20. This lesson teaches kids that they should serve one another — just like Jesus served His disciples when He washed their feet. Please feel free to adapt if however you need to in order to best meet the needs of your group.
1. Have a fun race to start your time together! Line the kids up and then have them run to a particular spot in the room. Have a towel waiting for them. They have to put the towel around their waists (holding it there is fine) and then run back to the starting line. (If you are doing this as a relay race, when they get back, the next person runs.) Do this several times to see how fast the kids can accomplish this task. When you are finished, say: You did a great job running with this towel around you! What are some things you do with a towel? Today we are going to talk about someone who used a towel to serve others . . . and we can serve others, too!
2. Beforehand, cut some feet out of cardstock. Line the feet up at one side of the room. Then give your kids beanbags (or something similar) and have them try to toss their beanbags so that they land on the feet. Each time, pretend the beanbag is something disgusting that you would not want to step on (for example, say: Let’s pretend this beanbag is a mudpuddle! Can you get your mudpuddle to land on the foot? If they are successful, say: Oohh . . . now this foot is really dirty! It has yucky mud all over it!) When you finish the game, say: Wow! We got these feet really, really dirty! Who would want to clean up these dirty feet? That is not a job that sounds fun at all – it certainly is not a job that I would want to have . . . but sometimes we need to do those jobs that no one else wants to do. We need to be SERVANTS! Today, we are going to talk about someone who did just that.
The Lesson:
Needed: bowel/bucket of water and a towel
Gather all the kids together for the lesson time. Say: Can I see your feet? Hold your feet up for me! (Give the kids time to hold them up). Let’s see what kind of fun things we can do with our feet! Can you hop on one foot? (Lead the kids in doing this). Can you stomp your feet really hard? (Lead the kids in doing this). How fast can you run in place like this? (Demonstrate running in place. Then let the kids try to run in place).
Have the kids sit back down. Say: We do all sorts of things with our feet! Our feet can get really dirty and stinky, too! Jesus and his disciples had feet that got dirty and stinky – and they really needed to be washed. Let me tell you what happened.
One day, Jesus and his disciples were going to eat a special meal together. Now, before they ate this meal, it was right for someone to wash their feet. Their feet got really dirty because they walked everywhere with sandals on! Normally, the servant in the house would be the one to wash everyone’s feet, but there wasn’t a servant at this house! There was nobody to wash the disciples’ feet!
Take out the bowl of water and the towel. Say: Do you know what happened next? JESUS got up and took a towel and a bowl of water and he started to wash everyone’s feet! Walk around to each kid, kneel down and hold their feet up, one at a time. Talk as you are holding their feet. He washed Andrew’s feet, he washed Matthew’s feet, he washed James and John’s feet! He washed all 12 of the disciples feet. It was a dirty, stinky job . . . not a job that everyone would like to have.
Jesus showed the disciples that NO job was too yucky for them to do . . . and no job is too yucky for us, either! Jesus showed the disciples what it meant to be a SERVANT – what it meant to serve other people. Jesus was a servant, and we should be a servant, too!
What are some ways that we can serve others? Encourage the kids to answer this question. If they have trouble answering, help them come up with some answers.
Help the kids trace their feet on a piece of paper. Inside the outline of their feet, have them draw or write ways that they can serve others. Lead the kids in praying for opportunities to serve others this week. (Optional: draw an outline of a foot on paper beforehand and have the kids draw or write their ways to serve inside of that outline).
Additional Activities:
1. Make a craft using the verse from Galatians 5:12, “Serve one another in love”. First, have the kids trace their feet (barefoot if possible) on colorful paper. Then, write “Serve one another in” on top of the page (or on a bulletin board) and have the kids write the word “LOVE” using their feet to make the “V”. Let them decorate the rest of the page/bulletin board.
2. Give the kids a chance to do a service activity in your classroom! Give each kid a rag (or baby wipe) and have them look for areas that need to be cleaned up! Encourage them to “dust” toys, books, tables, walls, etc. If you can, take them to other areas of the building and have them clean. Let them know that they can be a servant wherever they are!
3. Eat a fun snack to help the kids remember the lesson about Jesus washing his disciple’s feet! You need teddy grahams and vanilla pudding. Put some vanilla pudding in a bowl for each of the kids. Then give them teddy grahams. The teddy grahams are the disciples! Have the kids dip the teddy grahams feet in the pudding to remind them of how Jesus washed the disciples feet! (Add blue food coloring if you want to make the pudding look more like water).
4. Make “fake mud” with the kids. Mix 1 cup flour and 1 ¼ cup water in a bowl. Add cocoa powder until the mud reaches the desired darkness. You can also crunch up chocolate cookies and mix them into the mud if you’d like. Once you have made your fake mud, let the kids play with it! You might even choose to have them “paint” with it (perhaps a cutout foot). Talk about how mud is messy . . . just like the disciples feet! But Jesus washed them, anyway. He was a servant, and we can be servants too!
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Free calendar and lesson plan with 25 Scriptures and Activities for Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Today I have a new reading schedule for Christmas! This schedule has 25 days with 25 different Scriptures and suggested activities. You can download in a calendar format or as a lesson plan with more detailed instructions . . . or, scroll down, and find the whole thing on this page! (Tip: If you use the calendar, you might want to have your child color in each space as you go to keep track of your progress!)
I hope you are able to use this with your family this Christmas!
Turn off all the lights in your house. Then plug in your Christmas lights. Notice how the light shines in the darkness – the same way Jesus did and the same way we should! Don’t have your Christmas tree up yet? Light a candle!
These verses show us the prophecy that Jesus would be from the line of David – and the fulfillment of that prophecy! Jesus’s earthly parents were both descended from David. David was in his family tree! Use your Christmas tree to explain the idea of a “family tree”. Start at the top of your tree – if David was the top branch of the tree, his son (Solomon) was the branch right under him . . . and so on . . . Go all the way until you get to the bottom of the tree . . . then Jesus came along! He is the most important branch on this tree! The one who holds the whole tree up! Without Jesus, this tree would fall down. Jesus is the foundation of this tree – just like He should be the foundation of our lives!
This is another prophecy about Jesus! According to these verses, Jesus was going to be called Immanuel, which means God with us! Isn’t it amazing to think of God living right among us as a baby? That’s exactly what happened!
When people are expecting a baby, they often have a baby shower – a special party to celebrate the fact that a baby is coming. Have a baby shower for Jesus today! Eat cupcakes, drink punch, and celebrate!
Go out and buy a new baby shower gift – diapers, an outfit, anything at all! Take this gift to your local Pregnancy Resource Center to be used to help pregnant moms who could use the extra help!
Mary was chosen to be the earthly mom of Jesus! She wasn’t sure how this was going to happen, but she trusted God and did what He wanted her to do. Who told Mary that she was going to be the mother of Jesus? The angel Gabriel. If you have a nativity scene, act out this passage using your Mary and angel pieces. If you don’t have a nativity scene, you can use dolls, minifigures, or even yourselves!
Yesterday we read Mary’s story. Here’s Joseph’s! Joseph also did what God told him to do – even though it seemed to go against what he thought he should do at first! He also trusted God. Do you trust God? Are you willing to obey Him no matter what?
Joseph was also visited by an angel! Make another angel craft – this one using paint and your child’s handprints! Use handprints for the wings and body and then draw (or glue a circle cut out of paper) for the head. Let your child draw the facial features and anything else he/she wants to add to the picture.
Eat angel food cake!
December 6th:
Read Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
Here is a birth announcement for Jesus – hundreds of years before he was born! Look at the names that are used for Jesus in these verses. Write the names on index cards and hide each card somewhere in your room. Send your child on a “Name of Jesus” search. Each time he/she finds an index card with a name of Jesus on it, stop and talk about what that name means. Play this game as many times as your child wants!
Find a fun song for these verses here:
December 7th:
Read Micah 5:2-5
Here’s another prophecy – this one telling us where Jesus was going to be born – hundreds of years before his birth! Where does Micah say Jesus will be born? The town of Bethlehem!
Here we see the fulfillment of yesterday’s Scripture. Mary and Joseph have to travel to Bethlehem for the census, and while they are there, Jesus is born!
Make a baby Jesus snack using string cheese and ham! Cut the string cheese in half and wrap the ham around it . . . just like Mary wrapped baby Jesus in swaddling clothes. Go even further and make a manger out of pretzels and use shoestring potatoes for straw! Put baby Jesus in the manger!
December 9th:
Read Luke 2:8-20
Make candy cane cookies to remind you of the shepherds’ staffs! Don’t want to make cookies? Eat a candy cane instead!
Act this passage of Scripture out using your nativity scene (or anything else you have)
December 10th:
Read Luke 2:21-38
Jesus is now 8 days old and he is presented at the temple – where he meets two people who have been waiting for the Messiah to be born! How do you think Simeon and Anna felt when they saw Jesus?
It was at this time when Jesus was given his name. Make a name of Jesus ornament for your tree! One way you can do this is to cut 5 circles out of different colored construction paper. Put one letter of Jesus’s name on each circle using glitter, stickers, markers, paint, or anything else you have on hand! Punch a hole in each circle and tie them together with ribbon. Hang it on your Christmas tree!
December 11th:
Read Psalm 72:8-13
Another prophecy! This one prophecies the kings coming to visit Jesus and bringing Him gifts!
Have you done any Christmas shopping yet? Wrap some of your presents and put them under the tree!
Make a homemade gift for someone who could use some cheering up. Wrap it up and take it to that person!
December 12th:
Read Matthew 2:1-12
The Magi saw the star and followed that star to find Jesus! Make a star craft for your tree. Cut a star shape out of any type of paper and give your child craft supplies to decorate it. Punch a hole in the top and use ribbon to attach it to the tree!
Play “follow the star”. Similar to follow the leader, except one of you is the “star”. You could even make a star and hold that star up as you lead. Have fun following the star to Bethlehem!
December 13th:
Read Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:13-14
King Herod did not like the fact that a new king was born and Jesus was in danger! Joseph was warned in a dream, and the family quickly left for Egypt. Find Egypt on a map. Find Bethlehem. Discuss the trip they took to get to safety.
Jesus was a King! Make a crown ornament for you tree. Trace the shape of a crown on hard paper, cut it out and let your child decorate it. Use ribbon to attach it to the tree.
December 14th:
Read Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16-18
This is a very sad passage of Scripture, but it is part of what happened when Jesus came to earth as a baby. Talk with your child about the terrible things that happened because of Herod’s hatred towards Jesus. Herod did not value human life at all – and today, many people still do not value human life. But we know that every life is precious because every person was made in the image of God.
Spend time today praying for people to realize that every life is precious!
December 15th:
Read Luke 2:39-40
Now they are living in Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Jesus grew up . . . just like you are growing up. Talk about some of the things that Jesus may have done as a child. What things are similar to what you do? What things are different?
What do you think it was like to be the brother or sister of Jesus? Mary and Joseph had other kids after Jesus was born . . . can you imagine having Jesus as a big brother? Help your child write (or draw) what that would have been like.
December 16th:
Read Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus humbled himself – he became like a servant – and we need to be servants, too! What are some ways that you can serve the people around you? Look for ways to be a servant today.
Someday every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus is Lord! Eat fruit roll ups today (let the fruit roll ups remind you of tongues!)
December 17th:
Read Matthew 26:47-56
Now we are getting to the reason Jesus came to earth. He came to die for our sins! This passage talks about what happened when Jesus was arrested.
Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Make a snack using pretzels, Hershey kisses, and red and green m&ms. Put one kiss in the center of each pretzel. Cook them in an oven (350 degrees) for 3 minutes. Place an m&m on each kiss and push it down. Let it cool. Now you have a Christmas snack you can eat that can also remind you of the night Jesus was betrayed.
Use pretzel rods to make a cross snack! Melt chocolate chips (or white chocolate) and dip the pretzel rods in the melted chocolate first. Then add sprinkles. Let it harden and then eat your snack.
December 19th:
Read Matthew 27:57-66
Jesus died on that cross and then he was placed in a tomb. A rock was placed in front of the tomb. Paint a rock today. Add it to your Christmas decorations.
Use playdough to make a tomb. Put your painted rock in front of it. Leave it there overnight.
December 20:
Read Matthew 28:1-10
Yay! Jesus is alive! Have a race to see who can get to Jesus’s tomb first . . . designate a place as the tomb and have races to see who can get there first!
Make empty tomb crescent roll snacks. Roll a marshmallow in sugar and cinnamon, place the marshmallow inside a crescent roll, cook the crescent roll according to package instructions. When you take it out of the oven, the marshmallow should be gone!
December 21st:
Read John 20:19-31
Make a wreath showing the life of Christ! Use a paper plate, ribbon, and muffin tins. Cut out the center of the paper plate. On the muffin tins, draw a different scene from Jesus’s life. Some things to include could be his birth, the shepherds and angels, the wise men, his crucifixion, and an empty tomb. Glue the muffin tins around the outside of the paper plate. Put a bow on the top and you now have your own wreath!
Find some nails. Tie them together with ribbon and hang them on your tree to remind you of Jesus’s sacrifice.
December 22nd:
Read Acts 1:1-9
Jesus wants us to be his witnesses to the whole world! Make a world ornament today. Use a plain glass or plastic ornament, a map of the world, and mod podge. Cut several circles out of your map of the world and then mod podge them onto the ornament. If you’d like, add a cross over the map to remind you to take the Gospel into the whole world. Tie a ribbon through the top and add this to your tree.
Going into the whole world starts with your own neighborhood! Make Christmas Cookies and pass them out to your neighbors. Add a homemade card with a Bible verse or an invitation to come to church with you. Deliver them to your neighbors!
December 23rd:
Read Romans 5:6-11
Jesus died for you! Make a beaded ornament to remind you of what Jesus did for us! Use a pipe cleaner and add beads for the following colors: Black: sin, Red: the blood of Jesus, Blue: Baptism, White: Jesus cleanses us from our sins, Green: growing in Jesus, Yellow: the promise of heaven. Do those colors in the same order over and over until the pipe cleaner is filled. Shape it to be a circle (wreath) and attach it together. Add a ribbon and tie it on the tree.
Make a photo ornament craft.
December 24th:
Read Acts 2:37-47
Make church window cookies to remind you of the importance of meeting together as a church! Melt one bag (or more) of chocolate chips in a pan on the stove. Allow it to cool a little and then add an equal amount of bags of mini colored marshmallows. Mix it together. Then split the mixture up into rolls on waxed paper and put them in the refrigerator to harden (at least 24 hours). Take them out, unwrap them, and slice them and you have yummy church window cookies!
Buy presents and take them to someone who is in need!
December 25th:
Read John 3:16-17
Spend time today thanking Jesus for his gift to us!
Merry Christmas!!
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Looking for a great Christmas gift for your kids this year? Check out this fun devotional!
Looking for some fun — yet challenging — lessons for your kids? Try this one:
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A FREE Bible Lesson for elementary aged kids about the birth of Jesus Christ! Use this lesson to help your kids understand that Jesus was — and still is — the best gift of all!
This is a lesson to help introduce the Christmas season with your elementary aged kids. It focuses on the Old Testament prophecies related to the birth of Christ and ends by reinforcing that Jesus was — and still is — the best gift of all!
1. Beforehand, have a small Christmas tree set up in the corner of your room. As the kids arrive, give them different ornaments and decorations to help decorate the tree. Play Christmas music as they are doing this. Say: Christmas is coming soon! It is fun to decorate for Christmas and to celebrate Christmas, isn’t it? And it’s fun to get and give gifts on Christmas day! Today we are going to talk about the greatest gift of all! (If you don’t want to have a Christmas tree set up, you could do the same thing with a bulletin board. Draw a Christmas tree and have the kids draw/color/glue decorations on that tree.)
2. Have a gift wrapping race! Divide your kids into groups. Give each group tape, wrapping paper, and a box. They have to be the first group to wrap their “present”. The catch? Each person can only use one of their hands – -and NOT the hand they normally use! For example, if they write with their right hands, they can only use their left hands for this task! Good luck! When the kids finish, laugh at the experience (and the wrapping job) and say: You guys did a pretty good job wrapping these gifts. Wrapping gifts at Christmas time can be fun. It is fun to give and get gifts, isn’t it? Today we are going to talk about the very best gift ever given – and this gift is the reason we celebrate Christmas today!
3. Bring in a few of your favorite Christmas gifts from years past. Show the kids these gifts, telling them why you like them so much. Then ask the kids: What was one of the best Christmas gifts you’ve ever gotten? Let a few of the kids answer. Say: Can anyone tell me exactly what you are going to get for Christmas this year? How about 3 years from now? Who can tell me exactly what gifts will be under their Christmas tree ten years from now? No one can honestly answer those questions – we just don’t know. There was one gift, however, that came 2000 years ago, and several people told us exactly how this gift was going to come – hundreds of years BEFORE that gift arrived! We are going to talk about this very special gift today.
The Lesson:
Beforehand: Cut out the Scripture strips at the end of this lesson, put each scripture strip in a box and wrap it like a present. If you have a Christmas tree set up in the room, put the Scripture strip presents under the tree. (You can also use stockings and have one Christmas strip in each stocking if you prefer). (See the downloadable pdf for a copy of the Scripture Strips Sheet).
You will also need either one large present with one large cross inside (or several little crosses – one to send home with each child), or several small presents wrapped with crosses inside (enough for each child to have his/her own present). These crosses can be as simple as a cross cut out of construction paper.
Gather the kids together and have them sit in a circle. Point to the tree and say, Christmas will soon be here. On Christmas, we remember the greatest gift ever given – the gift of Jesus Christ! Jesus came to earth as a baby over 2,000 years ago . . . but did you know that it was prophesied that he would come long before that? Hold up your Bible. This Bible is divided into two sections – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tells about the history of God’s people before Jesus came to earth as a baby. It starts with creation and ends about 400 years before Jesus was born. In this section of the Bible are some prophecies that were spoken about the birth of Jesus – hundreds of years before He was born – and EACH ONE happened, just like it was said! Today, we are going to look at some of these prophecies.
Take the first present out from under the tree. Play some music while the kids pass the present around the circle. When the music stops, whoever has the present needs to open the present, take out the Scripture Strip, and read the verse on the Scripture strip. Discuss each verse right after it is read. Then repeat the game until all the Scripture strips have been read and discussed.
Discussion Guide:
1. Isaiah 11:1-2: These verses tells us that Jesus would be from the family of Jesse – who was the father of King David. In other words, Jesus would be born into the same family that King David was! This happened! Both of Jesus’ earthly parents – Mary and Joseph – were in the family of King David!
2.Jeremiah 23:5-6: These verses also tell us that Jesus would be born from the same family as King David. King David himself was even promised that one day one of His descendants would be a king that would reign forever – and Jesus does! Jesus’s kingdom will never end!
3. Isaiah 7:14: This verse tells us that Jesus would be born of a virgin – a woman who is not married and had never been with a man like a married woman is! Guess what? Jesus’s earthly mother was Mary – a young lady who was not yet married and had never been with a man. This is a miracle – but it really happened – just like Isaiah said it would! This verse also tells us that His name would be Immanuel. Do you know what Immanuel means? It means “God with us”. Jesus was God coming down to earth to be right here with us!
4. Micah 5:2: This verse tells us EXACTLY where Jesus was going to be born! What town did it say? The town of Bethlehem. Micah wrote these words hundreds of years before Jesus was born – and they came true! Jesus’s earthly parents had to travel to Bethlehem right before Jesus was born and Jesus ended up being born while they were there – just like Micah had prophesied hundreds of years before!
5. Psalm 72:10: What does this verse sound like it is prophesying? After Jesus was born, some people called Magi (also known as wise men or kings) came looking for him. They saw a special star in the sky that told them a special king had been born, so they went searching for him. They brought him special gifts – does anyone know what they were? Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrhh. These verses in Psalm predicted that those kings would come looking for Jesus and that they would bring him gifts!
6. Jeremiah 31:15: These verses tell of something very sad that would happen close to Jesus’s birth. When the Magi went looking for Jesus, they went to the palace first. That makes sense, doesn’t it? If you are looking for a king, wouldn’t you expect him to be in the palace? However, Jesus wasn’t in the palace – but King Herod was. When King Herod heard that a baby had been born who would one day be king, he got very jealous. He ordered all the baby boys age two and under to be killed! That made so many people very, very sad . . . which is what this verse is talking about. Jeremiah told what King Herod would do hundreds of years before it happened!
When all the gifts have been opened, say: All of those verses we just read were written by people hundreds of years before Jesus was born – and each one of those verses happened just as they were written! Isn’t that amazing to think about? God had the plan to give us this greatest gift of all from the very beginning!
But what was so special about the gift of Jesus? Why did we need a gift like that?
Take out the last present. (If it is possible, have individual crosses wrapped for each of your kids so that they can each open their own present. You could also do this with one large box that has several little crosses in it and pass the crosses out after opening the last present.)
Say: Jesus was a very special gift. He never did anything wrong! He lived a perfect life, and when He grew up, He gave us an even greater gift. Do you know what that gift was? There’s a hint in these presents. Let’s open them and see!
Open the last present (or give each kid a present and let them open up their own present to reveal the cross inside. Say: When Jesus was older, He took the punishment for every wrong thing we have ever done by dying on a cross. That’s what this cross is for! This cross can help us think about and remember that Jesus died for us!
Jesus died and was buried, but three days after He died, He rose from the dead! He was alive again and many people saw Him, talked to Him, and ate with Him! Jesus is alive today and He is getting heaven ready for us. One day, we can go to heaven and be with Jesus.
You see, Jesus truly was – and is – the greatest gift of all!
Read John 3:16 from your Bible.
End with a prayer – thanking God for sending the greatest gift of all – Jesus!
3. Make chocolate covered crosses using pretzel rods, melted chocolate chips and sprinkles! For added fun, let the kids add sprinkles to their crosses. Talk about the gift that Jesus gave when He died on the cross for our sins!
4. Make a Christmas wreath depicting the different prophecies and how they came true. Use paper plates and paper muffin tins (red and green ones would look nice). Give the kids the red and green tins and have them draw pictures to represent the different verses you read today on each tin (a different story on each tin). Help them cut the center out of the paper plate and then glue the tins to the paper plate. Put a bow on the top. (You can print the attached one on red or green construction paper and let them use that one if you want).
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Looking for a Christmas gift for your preteen? Check out this fun devotional!
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