Kindergarten-2nd

December 15-16, 2012

Matthew 2

The Wise Men Worship

The Wise men worshipped Jesus—and we can too.

Hang out with kids (10 minutes)

Large Group (30 minutes)

Small Group (20 minutes)

Video and Song Review (10 minutes)

Does your time in the room seem chaotic? Come up with a game plan before the kids arrive. You can use the first 10 minutes of class to play a group game like Simon Says or Follow the Leader. You can also set up stations around the room for the kids to join as they enter the room.

As kids leave, tell parents that the star ornament they’re taking home is not just another ornament to add to the tree…they should ask their kids why the symbol is significant.

Today we’re talking about worship. Our kid definition is this: “Worship is telling God we love him and think he’s great!” We’re talking about a couple of different ways we can do that.

                                                                                                               

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Goal: to reinforce the story of the wise men—specifically their journey to worship Jesus—and give kids a tangible symbol of the wise men’s journey. Why? The Christmas story may be familiar to the kids, but the hope is that kids will remember the worship emphasis of today’s story and share that at home.

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CONNECT 1. What’s one way that you’ve

worshiped God? (Or a way you’d like to worship God?)

REVIEW 1. How did the wise men worship

God? (They gave gifts to Jesus.) 2. How did the wise men find

Jesus? (They followed a star that appeared when Jesus was born.)

3. Who did they visit during their journey? (Herod, the ruler)

4. Why did Herod want to kill Jesus? (He didn’t want a new king to be born.)

5. Once they found Jesus, did the wise men tell Herod where to find him? (No! God kept him safe.)

6. Why were the wise men searching for Jesus? (They wanted to worship him.)

RELATE 1. Why do we still worship Jesus

and God today? (God sent Jesus as our king and rescuer, too! That’s pretty GREAT!)

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SAY: Since it’s so close to Christmas, we’re making a star ornament to hang on your tree. Every time you look at it, remember the star that appeared when Jesus was born, the wise men that followed it, and that we should all worship Jesus the king! Think you can do that? DO: Give each kid a star ornament and scratching tool. (Collect scratching tools when kids are finished.) As kids color, review what the star should remind us of: Jesus was born, a star appeared, wise men followed it, wise men worshipped, WE can worship! Then go around the table and ask kids to answer this question: *How will YOU worship Jesus this Christmas?

QUESTIONS ACTIVITY

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Tip: While kids are working on their ornaments, revisit the connect question. Talk about practical ways to worship.

                                                                                                               

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QUESTIONS ACTIVITY

                                                                                                               

Today’s lesson is about the wise men that went to worship Jesus. They worshiped with gifts, but there are other ways to worship. Talk about what worship is today: telling God you love him and think he’s great!  

The story of the wise men could be a familiar one for some kids. Really play up the motivation behind their journey: their desire to WORSHIP Jesus!  

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*Christmas carols play as kids enter the room. WELCOME Merry Christmas, everybody! It’s really getting close! Who’s excited?! I know I am! And since we’ve already learned the Christmas story, we’re actually going to find out what happened right after Jesus was born. A few really smart dudes did something that YOU might want to do this Christmas. WORSHIP But before we talk about that, let’s worship God. Worship is when we tell God we LOVE him (put arms across chest like a hug) and think he’s GREAT (give a big thumbs up). Everybody say, “I love you, God! You’re great!” (Model with motions and let kids respond.) That’s worshipping God. And another way we can worship is by singing to him. So let’s sing! Worship song: You Come in a Hurry Song: Joy to the World REVIEW Okay, so let’s get back to those smart guys, whose story starts right AFTER Jesus was born. See, a lot of crazy things happened when Jesus was born. Does anybody remember what they are? (Show slide to jog kids’ memories--1. An angel announced he was coming, 2. John the Baptist jumped in his mom’s belly, 3. Angels appeared to shepherds, 4. A star appeared, 5. Wise men began following the star, 6. God kept Jesus safe, 7. Joseph had dreams.) Great job!

                                                                                                               

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INTRO: WISE MEN This week, we’re going to look at what happened when the star appeared (point to star on screen). Now, the Bible tells us a star appeared, but we don’t know if it was a big star or a planet…or what! But we DO know that some wise men started following the star. And it led them to Jesus. Sometimes we call these guys “magi.” Can you guys say magi? (Let kids respond.) Yep, it just means “wise men.” Let’s find out WHEN the magi started following the star. We know the star appeared right when Jesus was born, but to find out how long it took for the magi to find Jesus, we’re actually going to check in with Shrimpola. Ask Shrimpola: Magi THE JOURNEY Wow, so when the magi got to Jesus, he probably wasn’t a baby anymore. But they started looking for Jesus right when the star appeared! (Show picture of three wise men.) First, they asked the ruler, Herod, where Jesus was. They said: “Where is the new king? We saw his star and we want to worship him!” Now, how do you think Herod felt when he found out a NEW king had been born? Was he happy about that? (Let kids respond.) NO WAY! He was MAD. He decided he would kill Jesus, but he didn’t tell the wise men. He said: “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” Did Herod really want to worship the new king? (Let kids respond.) NO! He wanted to get rid of Jesus. But God kept Jesus safe. He warned the wise men in a dream NOT to tell Herod where Jesus was. (Change to picture of wise men on a journey.) And instead, the magi kept following the star. Up mountains… down valleys… through rivers… they traveled until they finally saw the star in Bethlehem, right where Jesus was born! FINDING THE KING The Bible tells us… [SLIDE: When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.] (Bow to demonstrate and open the present with gold in it.) So what did the wise men do when they got to the house and found Jesus? (Let kids respond.) Yes, they WORSHIPED him. And does anybody remember what it means to worship God and Jesus? (Let kids respond.) That’s right, it means we tell them we LOVE (hug yourself) them and think they are GREAT (thumbs up)!! Let’s say, “Jesus, I love you! You’re great!” (Model with motions and let kids respond.)

                                                                                                               

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WE CAN WORSHIP TOO Remember, there are different ways we can worship. How did we worship at the beginning of Kids’ Club today? (Let kids respond.) We sang songs to God! Another way to worship is to pray and talk to God—or even just obey him by following him. When we follow God, we’re showing him that we LOVE him! How did the wise men worship? (Show picture of wise men holding gifts again and let kids respond.) Yep, they bowed (demonstrate again) and gave Jesus gifts! (Hold up the gift) As we get ready for Christmas, there’s a lot of talk about gifts. We can’t visit baby Jesus, but what are some gifts YOU can give to worship God this year? (Let 3-5 kids, following NORP, share examples—remind kids that we are following God when we give gifts to others or show love to our family members by being generous.) See if you guys can worship God this Christmas, like the wise men. Before we end large group today, let’s worship God together in ONE other way. Can anybody guess what that is? (Let kids respond.) Yep, we worship God when we talk to him! PRAY Does someone want to pray for us today? Since this is our last day at Kids’ Club for a couple weeks, let’s watch one last video together. Music Video: We Wish You a Merry Christmas On your way to small group today, wish somebody a “Merry Christmas!”    

                                                                                                               

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Coloring pages: A Gift 1 Star ornament per kid (ribbon pre-assembled): (OT: IN-57/6561) 1 scratching tool per kid for use during KC only, not for take-home (1 tool per 2 ornaments are included in kit)

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1. Pre-wrapped gift box (can be opened and re-closed without being unwrapped) 2. Some sort of shiny gold paper inside to represent the wise men’s gift of gold

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1. Christmas Intro Slide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AzA-MwsSmM (play at least first 2:33 seconds—can loop it at that point or let it keep going) 2. Song: You Come in a Hurry 3. Song: Joy to the World 4. Image of events surrounding Jesus’ birth (jpeg in curriculum folder) 5. Video: Ask Shrimpola / Magi 6. Image from “Waiting for the King”: picture of 3 wise

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men holding gifts (right before page with this text: “At the same time, three wise men…” etc.) 7. Image from “Waiting for the King”: wise men journeying, with text removed (text on page begins, “At the same time, three wise men…” etc) 8. Slide: Matthew 2:10-11 (exact wording in script) 9. Image (use #7 again) 10. Music Video: Merry Christmas! (With intro removed from http://www.jellytelly.com/video/we-wish-you-a-merry-christmas-sing-along/?utm=search)

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Tell me about the wise men. Why did the wise men bring gifts to Jesus?

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We talked about another part of the Christmas story today: the wise men. They made a tough journey because they were so eager to worship the newborn king. Ask your kids about it. And ask them how they plan to worship Jesus this Christmas. If you want to read the story together, check out Matthew 2 in the Bible.