Lesson 2 – The Savior is Born
Christmas Theme:
OVERVIEW
Key Point: The Savior has Come.
Bible Story: Jesus is born
Bible Reference: Luke 2:1-20
Challenge Verse: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Younger option: “A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
ITEMS NEEDED
Cupcakes—one for each student and drinks
A note telling the teachers where to get the cupcakes and drinks.
Items to make Graham Cracker Manger Scenes:
Sturdy plates—one per student
3-4 Graham Cracker boxes
3 frosting containers
10 plastic forks and 10 plastic knives
A variety of candy sprinkles
Food coloring
Three candy canes for each student
Snowman Ornaments—These can be ordered from Oriental Trading at www.orientaltrading.com or you can have your kids make their own using white construction paper.
A note telling each class where to hang up their snowman ornaments.
Sharpie Markers
Slips of paper for Christmas Chains
Scotch Tape or glue to put the Christmas Chains together
Bible Verse Poster
BEFORE CLASS
– Put on some Christian Christmas music to set the mood.
– Put up the Bible Verse Poster for today.
– Set out any items you need for today’s lesson
– Pray for each student by name.
AS STUDENTS ENTER
– Greet each student by name as they enter.
– Give each student an attendance sticker for the attendance chart.
– Get to know any guests.
– IMPORTANT: As your students enter, have them use a sharpie marker to write their names on snowmen ornaments. They won’t get to take these home, but at the end of class, they will hang them one of the trees that decorates the church or the children’s area.
OPENING ACTIVITY
Control Tool
Anytime you say, “What’s Christmas all about?” students should shout back, “It’s all about Jesus!” Feel free to have a boys vs. girls or a side vs. side competition to see who can say it the loudest. And remember that students are going to mimic how you say it–so be excited.
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
SAY: After everything I say, say NO!
Is Christmas about getting gifts? NO!
Is Christmas about stockings and stuffing? NO!
Is Christmas about ribbons and bows? NO!
Is Christmas about fruit cake!? NO!
Is Christmas about egg nog and turkey? NO!
Is Christmas about your little sister breaking your new toys? NO!
Is Christmas about elves and reindeer? NO!
Control Tool
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
BIBLE LESSON
SAY: Today we’re going to celebrate Jesus’ birth! But we don’t have a lot of time, so we might have to HURRY. On the count of three, everyone touch all four walls in the room as fast as you can without tripping or falling or running anyone down and have a seat in the circle. 1-2-3-Go!
SAY: You were in a hurry to get to your chairs and I want you to listen to a story about another group who was in a hurry to get somewhere too.
Read Luke 2:8-18 from your Bible.
(Be sure to mark this in advance.)
Ask the students—Who was in a hurry? (The shepherds)
Ask the students—Why do you think they were in a hurry? (They had heard that the Savior was born.)
Ask the students—Who told them about Jesus? (The angels.)
SAY: Seeing the angels and going to the stable where Jesus had been born must have been a wonderful and exciting thing.
Ask the students—Has God ever done something really wonderful in your life?
SAY: Everything that happens as a blessing in our lives is because of God’s great love for us.
Ask the students—How did the shepherds respond to God’s blessings? (They glorified and praised God.)
SAY: Today, just like the Shepherds, we’re praising God that Jesus was born.
Ask the students—Who would like to pray and thank Jesus for being born to be the Savior of the world? (If no one volunteers, then have a teacher pray or have the students pray silently for about ten seconds. There will be three times your class will pray today. We want to avoid having the same person pray three times.)
DISCUSSION AND CUPCAKES
SAY: Let’s find out how much you know about Jesus’ birth.
Ask the students—Who can tell me where Jesus was born? (In Bethlehem.)
Ask the students—Who can tell me when Jesus was born? (This is the year 2007—which is dated from Jesus’ birth. His birth was so incredible it even changed how we date our calendar!)
Ask the students—Who can tell me where in the Bible you can find the story of Jesus’ birth? (In the Gospels in Matthew and Luke. Mark and John begin the story of Jesus with him as an adult.)
Choose one volunteer—To find Matthew and Luke on the Bible Book Chart.
Ask the students—Who remembers what “Gospel” means? (Good News. That Jesus was born was Good News because the Savior had come.)
SAY: In a minute we’re going to celebrate Jesus’ birth by eating cupcakes! But first I want us all to sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus and then pray.
Control Tool
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
Sing “Happy Birthday” and Pray
SAY: Because Christmas represents His birth. Let’s sing “Happy Birthday.” (NOTE: While you sing, close your eyes. Make this a prayer.)
PRAY: Thank Jesus for the cupcakes and for coming to earth to be the Savior of the world.
Eat the Cupcakes
Use the time while you’re eating cupcakes to build and deepen relationship with your students.
Control Tool
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
LESSON ACTIVITY
Make Your Own Manger
You will need: A lot of Graham Crackers, frosting, plastic forks and knives (you won’t need one for each student), a variety of candy sprinkles and food colorings, etc. Please help the students when mixing the food coloring with frosting.
Ask the students—Where did the angel tell the shepherds they would find Jesus? (Lying in a manger.)
Ask the students—What was a manger? (In a stable the manger is where food for the animals was put. It was like a trough. The animals stayed in the stable while the people stayed in the Inn.)
Ask the students—Why were Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus staying in a stable? (They had traveled from their home in Nazareth for a census [a count of the people] and lots of others were traveling too. The Inn was full and there was no room for them.)
SAY: This is where the shepherds found the baby Jesus. Wrapped in clothes and lying in the animals’ food trough with animals all around. Picture it in your mind. There would have been donkeys and camels and horses and dogs. Mary and Joseph were there and here came the shepherds.
SAY: Now here’s your challenge. I want you to make a manger scene using Graham Crackers, frosting and candy. You can build the stable if you want. You can build the manger. You can chew out the shapes of animals. You can lay several crackers down flat and use the frosting to paint the manger scene. There are lots of way to do it, and we’re doing it not only to have fun, but to celebrate that Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world.
Control Tool
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
Make Manger Scenes
(Use sturdy plates for the base for these Graham Cracker Manger scenes. The students will take these home at the end of class. This is also a lengthy craft, so give them plenty of time and have fun with them, but also watch the time. You’ll need about 15 minutes to complete the lesson. Give them several warnings before you have them put everything up and help clean up.)
CHALLENGE VERSE
You will need enough candy canes for each student in your class to have three.
SAY: Get your Bibles ready for a Bible Drill.
Ask the students—Who knows an easy way to find the Gospels? (Turn to the middle of the Bible—You’ll probably find Psalms. Then turn halfway through the section to your right. You’ll usually end up in the Gospels.)
Ask the students—What four books make up the Gospels? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.)
Ready…Luke 2:11…Go!
Read the verse.
SAY: (Refer to your challenge verse poster.) Jesus is the Savior of the world. He was born to die, to pay the price for our sins so that we could be saved.
Ask the students—What does it mean to be saved? (It’s not something physical like someone pulling you out of a swimming pool or a close call where you almost got hurt—This is something spiritual that happens when a person gives their life to Christ. He saves them from a life without him; He saves them from being empty and alone; He also saves them so they can go to heaven when they die.)
Teacher’s Testimony
Share your salvation testimony with the students. Keep it brief—no more than 90 seconds. They don’t need your life story, just that you realized that you had done wrong things and that you needed a Savior. Then share how you heard about Jesus and how you gave your life to Him—you prayed and asked Him to forgive your sins. [Avoid saying, “I asked Jesus into my heart.” Children are literal and a child who hasn’t been around churchy language might not understand this.] Because of this, you know for sure that you’re going to heaven. Also, if you’ve already shared your testimony, do it again. Our kids have heard mine countless times, but I still share it because it is my testimony and they need to hear it.
TELL: the students who told you about Jesus.
Ask the students—Who told you about Jesus or led you to the Lord?
Ask the students—Who told the shepherds about Jesus?
SAY: God used angels to deliver his message about Jesus birth, but God doesn’t use angels to preach the Gospel. He uses you and me.
Ask the students—Have you ever told someone about Jesus?
SAY: I’m going to show you a way you can tell others about Jesus.
Ask the students— Think about the shepherds. What did they carry? (A staff, which would have looked like this candy cane.)
Show the students a candy cane but don’t distribute them yet.
SAY: The staff would have been about as tall as the door and would’ve curved at the end just like this candy cane.
Ask the students—Why do you think they curved? (So a shepherd could reach out with it and pull a sheep back from danger or to put him back on the right path.)
Ask the students—When I turn the candy cane upside down, what letter do I have? (The letter “J”)
SAY: Here’s how you can use a candy cane to tell others about Jesus. Upside down it spells a “J.” The “J” would stand for Jesus.
Ask the students—What do you think the red strip would stand for? (The blood Jesus bled when He died on the cross to die for the wrong things we’ve done.)
Ask the students—What do you think the white strip would stand for? (That if you ask Jesus to forgive your sins, He’ll take them away and make you clean again.)
Practice it again:
What does the “J” stand for?
What does the red stripe stand for?
What does the white stand for?
SAY: Before you leave class today, I’m going to give you three candy canes. One for you and two to take to school and give to friends. But when you give them to your friends be sure to tell them what it stands for and by doing so, you’ll be telling your friends about Jesus.
GREAT IDEA: Here’s another way you can use this idea. If your class at school is having a Christmas Show-and-Tell or if your teacher will let you, get enough candy canes for each student in your class. Then tell them all what the candy cane can stand for and how much Jesus loves them.
[NOTE: According to law a student has the right to talk about Jesus at school, even in front of the class as a part of a project, assignment, show-and-tell, or class function (such as a “Winter” party). Students also have the right, with the teacher’s permission, to distribute items such as flyers, candy, etc. as long as it does not interrupt the class and there are enough for each student to have one.]
SAY: Next week I’m going to ask you how you used your candy canes to share about Jesus. So have fun with it.
HANG THE SNOWMAN ORNAMENTS
Let each student get the snowman ornament he put his name on when he came into class. Be sure to tell them that they don’t get to take these home. These are decorations for the Christmas tree(s) in the Children’s Area.
CHRISTMAS CHAINS
Give your students slips of paper. Tell them to write on them things they want to give others for Christmas and to make them into chains—Sometimes we think only of ourselves and what we want, but God wants us to think about others too. (NOTE: For younger students, you can have them draw a picture of these and then explain it to the class.) Attach these to the chains from the previous week. Have them share pray requests while they do this also.
[NOTE: We will keep building onto these chains throughout December. Then we will keep these in the rooms until we “Break the Chains” in an activity in January.]
PRAYER TIME & WRAP UP
Control Tool
Leader: What’s Christmas all about? / Students: It’s all about Jesus!
SAY: Just like the shepherds took care of their sheep, Jesus takes care of us.
Pray and thank Jesus for being the Savior of the world.
List Prayer Requests Here
Be sure to pray specifically for each request above.
EXTRA TIME
Use any extra time to:
– Help your students memorize the verse for today
– Practice extra Bible Drills
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