Unit 1 Birth of Christ--Lesson 3 NT1.3 Birth of Jesus · Unit 1 Birth of Christ--Lesson 3 NT1.3...

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NT1.3 Birth of Jesus © Beverly Wilson 2015

Unit 1 Birth of Christ--Lesson 3

NT1.3 Birth of Jesus

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Lesson Goal: For 5,000 years God had promised to send a Savior to the people of the earth. In this lesson we will learn how God kept His promise to send His Son Jesus to be our Savior. We will see how God sent angels to tell the shepherds about the birth of His promised Son.

Introduction: This is the third lesson in Unit 1: The Birth of Christ. For 5,000 years God had promised to send a Savior to the people of the earth. In this lesson we will learn how God kept His promise to send His Son Jesus to be our Savior.. The story of the birth of Jesus is told to us in the book of Luke. Luke is one of the Gospels in the New Testament. The Gospels tell the life and ministry of Jesus while He was here on earth. Let's say the names of the gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Attention Getter: When a baby is born the parents are very happy! Here is a picture of my baby David when he was born! I was so happy to have him! When a new family member arrives--then the parents send out a special kind of card out to their friends to tell them about the birth. This card or letter is called a birth announcement. Here are some birth announcement cards. These cards tell the baby's name, the date and time of the birth, how much the baby weighed and how long the baby is. The announcement also tells the parent's name and may include a picture of the baby! God too send out an announcement about the birth of His Son Jesus. He used the angels in a special way to tell the shepherds about the birth.

Opening Prayer: "Dear Father in heaven, help us to understand the real meaning of Christmas. Thank you for keeping the promise that You made long ago to send a Savior to us. You sent Jesus who was born to a virgin in Bethlehem. Thank you for loving us and providing for us a way to heaven. Salvation is the greatest gift we could ever have. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Memory Verse: Our memory verse is Luke 2:11 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Lesson Video: http://youtu.be/Ngj6rWshna0 Living in the town of Nazareth was a young woman named Mary. Mary was a very good girl who loved God with all her heart. She was engaged to be married to a man called Joseph. Joseph worked as a carpenter in Nazareth. He too loved God. God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a message for Mary. "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angels said, "You have found favor with God." "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus," said the angel. "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. His kingdom will never end."

"How can this be," Mary asked, "Since I am a virgin?" "The Holy Spirit will be on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God," replied the angel. "Your relative Elizabeth was promised a baby and she is now six months pregnant. God's Word never fails."

Mary must have been very surprised about her cousin Elizabeth because Elizabeth was an old woman and everyone thought that she and her husband Zechariah would never have children! But Mary knew and believed God's angel. She answered, "I am the Lord's servant. May what you say happen." Then the angel left her.

http://youtu.be/Ngj6rWshna0

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When Joseph found out that Mary was having a baby by the Holy Spirit, he was very upset. He loved Mary and did not want to hurt her but he knew the baby was not his so he secretly planned to break the marriage agreement that had been made. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because her baby is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." Jesus was a very special baby who was to be born miraculously. His father was God Himself.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Joseph was a good and godly man so he did not complete the marriage until after Mary gave birth to her son. Joseph loved Mary greatly and kept good care of her.

While Mary was still pregnant, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth who lived in the hill country of Judea. She and her husband Zechariah had been promised by God they would have a son who would grow up to prepare people for the coming of the Savior of the world. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

In a loud voice she proclaimed, "Blessed are you Mary among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Why am I so privileged, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as you greeted me, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Happy is the woman who believes the Lord keeps His promises!" Mary also burst out in praise, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home to Nazareth.

Caesar Augustus who was the Roman governor issued an order that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Everyone was ordered to return to their family hometown to register. Caesar wanted to get a count of the people so he could tax them! For Mary and Joseph this meant a long trip south to the town of Bethlehem because they were both descendants of King David. Bethlehem was their family's home town. Mary's baby was soon to be born. Mary rode on a donkey and Joseph walked along side of her. They had to travel for three days just to get there.

When they arrived the city was crowded with people. There was no room for them in the inn. Joseph looked from house to house because he knew that Mary needed a place to rest. Finally Joseph found one innkeeper who said, "I do not have any room left in my inn. But I do have one place you could stay--the stable where we keep the animals. Mary and Joseph had no choice; the stable would have to do.

Later that night, something wonderful happened: God's Son was born! Joseph and Mary must have thought that He was the most beautiful baby ever! Mary wrapped her first born son in long white cloths to keep him warm. Joseph looked around for something to use as a cradle. He found a manger, which is a box that is used to hold food for the animals. It was just the right size. Joseph must have smiled as he watched Mary gently lay the baby Jesus in the manger. Jesus, the Savior of the world had arrived, just as God had promised.

Meanwhile there were some shepherds living out in the fields nearby Bethlehem. They were watching their flocks of sheep graze at night. As the shepherds sat in the darkness, they huddled closer around a little fire. Suddenly the darkness was lit up brighter than at noon! "What is happening?" the shepherds must have wondered. Suddenly an angel appeared and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The shepherds were terrified. These men were in for a big surprise!

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ, the Lord! You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." The shepherds could hardly believe their ears! The people in Israel had been waiting a long, long time for the Savior God had promised to send. Could it really be true that the Messiah had really been born?

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Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests." The shepherds listened to them in amazement and silence! When this great army of angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on! Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing the Lord has told us about." Imagine how excited these shepherds were! They ran to Bethlehem and they soon found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. It was just as the angel had said! The shepherds knew that Jesus was not just any baby--He was the perfect Son of God. They looked at him in awe, bowed down and worshipped Him because they knew that God had kept His promise to send a Savior!

The shepherds were so excited that they woke everyone up and began telling them what the angel had said to them about this child! "Jesus the Savior of the world is born! The Messiah is born in Bethlehem!" All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished. Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them. Then the shepherds went back again to their fields praising God for the visit of the angels, and because they had seen the child that the angel had told them about. They thanked God for everything that had happened that night!

Every Christmas we celebrate the good news that Jesus was born. We are glad God sent Jesus to be born to be our Savior and Lord! Sometimes we get so busy and excited about all the fun things we do to celebrate Jesus' birth that we forget how important His birth was! Just think! One of the greatest event in all history had just taken place! Jesus, the creator of the whole universe (Colossians 1:16), had left the glorious spender of His home in Heaven and came to earth in the form of a little baby and was born in a stable.

God loved us so much that He sent Jesus, the perfect God-Man to come and take the punishment for our sins. He died on the cross for us. He paid the price for OUR sin. Jesus did it willingly because he knew it was our only hope of salvation! That's the amazing and wonderful gift from God. Like the shepherds did, we should tell others about God's gift of Jesus. Let's think of some people with whom you could share the good news of the birth of Jesus. Do you have some family members who do not go to church? Like an aunt or an uncle? How about a boy or girl who is in your class at school? Could you tell them about the real meaning of Christmas?

One way you can tell others about God's gift of salvation is to go Christmas caroling. Because many Christmas carols tell the story of the birth of Christ singing is a great way to remind others about the real reason for the season--Jesus! Remember Christmas is a great time to tell others about Jesus.

Review Questions: Retelling Story using a Nativity Scene Use the figures from a nativity scene to retell the Bible story. Use a child proof nativity with figures out of cloth or plastic so the pieces will not break easily injuring little fingers. Have children move the figures around to retell the angel appearing to Mary, Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem, the innkeeper saying no, the angels appearing to the shepherds, and the shepherds coming to the manger. This is a great teaching/ review method. OR you can use the following questions in a game of your choice.

1. What town did Joseph and Mary live in? Nazareth 2. What did Joseph do for a living? (He was a carpenter.) 3. Why did Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem? (to pay the taxes; for the census) 4. How did Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem? (Joseph walked and Mary rode a donkey.) 5. Where did Joseph and Mary stay while they were in Bethlehem? (in a stable) 6. Why did Jesus come to earth? (to show us how God wants us to act and so that He could take the

punishment for our sins.) 7. What did the shepherds see the in the nighttime sky? (An angel) 8. What did the angel tell the shepherds? (A Savior is born in Bethlehem and He is lying in a manger.) 9. Where did the shepherds go after the angels went back into heaven? (They went to Bethlehem to find the

baby.) 10. Whom did the shepherds see when they found the barn or manger? (They saw God's Promised Son,

baby Jesus, sleeping in the manger.) 11. How do we know the shepherds were happy to see God's Promised Son? (They told everyone they met

that they had seen God's Promised Son, Jesus.)

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12. How can we know that Jesus is God? (He was born of a virgin; He healed the sick; made the lame to walk and the blind to see. We have the testimony of the shepherds, Mary and Joseph.)

13. How can we know that Jesus is man? (He got hungry, tired, thirsty, etc.) 14. Why was the birth of baby Jesus such good news? (He was the Promised Messiah who would someday

die on the cross for our sins.)

Bible Memory Verse Activity: Wrap a Gift Our memory verse is Luke 2:11 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." The shepherds heard the best news ever. The Son of God was born! Jesus had finally come. That is why we celebrate Christmas. Have children locate the verse in the Bible. Read the verse aloud with children several times. The greatest Christmas gift ever given was when God gave His Son to be our Savior. Explain that the children will make a Christmas gift today that will remind us about God's greatest gift Jesus. Give each child a gift box and some wrapping paper; some ribbon and a stick on bow. Show the children how to wrap the paper around the box and hold it in place with cellophane tape. Wrap ribbon around the box and secure with clear plastic tape. Stick the bow on top. As the children work remind them that at Christmas we remember that God send His Son just as He promised He would do. God always keeps His promises. Give each child a self-adhesive label with today's Bible verse written on it to stick on the outside of the gift. Have the children say the Bible verse with you.

Group Learning Activity: "I Spy" Christmas Cards Collect a box of used or new Christmas cards with the nativity scene on them. Before class the teacher should tape the Christmas cards around various parts of the room. The Christmas cards should picture people in the story of Jesus' birth including Mary, Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, the angel, the multitude of angels, etc. Make sure that you have at least one or more cards for each child. Play a game like "I Spy" to identify characters from the story. Let the children find the card with that character's picture on it. Talk with the children about the pictured character every time and repeat what role they played in the Bible lesson today. Say: "Today in our Bible story angels told the shepherds where Jesus was born! The shepherds were glad. Can anyone spy the card with the angels? Can anyone find the card with the shepherds?" Then allow the child who finds the card with their eyes to remove it from where it is taped. Repeat until all the cards are taken. Use such questions as "Which picture shows baby Jesus? Which picture shows the group of angels saying praises to God in the sky?" Hold the open Bible. Say: "Our Bible says it is good to give thanks to the Lord. We can thank God for Jesus, and we can tell others about Jesus' birth. Who can you tell about Jesus' birth? What can you say? (Jesus is born.) After the activity you can use the cards in a variety of ways; sort by category (cards showing the angels; cards showing the shepherds, etc.) or you can put the cards in story order. Which picture came first? Optional Follow Up Activity: You can cut the Christmas cards into simple puzzle shapes. Put the shapes in the center of the floor and let children find the pieces to their puzzle.

Craft Learning Activity: Christmas Tissue Paper Wreaths Give each child a paper plate with the center cut out. This paper plate ring will serve as the base for making the Christmas wreath. Give each child a stack of green tissue paper pieces approximately 2-3" squares. Crunch the tissue paper around the eraser end of pencil so that the edges of the tissue form a cup like shape. Put a drop of glue on the bottom of the cup shaped tissue and stick it to the paper plate form. Stick as many of the green tissue paper cups to the paper plate as possible. This forms a three dimensional green tissue wreath. Add a red crepe paper bow and some red crepe paper rolled into balls for holly berries. Attach bow and berries to the wreath. This is one of my favorite Christmas crafts! The results are quite impressive and easy for all children to do.

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Craft Learning Activity: Decorate a Garland with Cookie Cutter Shapes Draw a garland on a long sheet of butcher paper. Use green magic markers to draw holly leaves or green evergreen needles on the garland. Provide various colors of construction paper pieces the size of Christmas cookie cutter shapes. Collect a variety of Christmas cookie cutters in the shape of stars, balls, bells, and angels. Let the children use the cookie cutter shape as a outline to trace those shapes on the construction paper. Provide scissors for children to cut out the shapes. Attach the shapes with glue or tape to the garland. Use the garland to decorate your classroom. Say: "The Bible says, "God's Son is born for us." God's Son is Jesus. We can be glad that God sent Jesus to be born. At Christmas time some people make beautiful decorations because we are glad Jesus was born. Today we are decorating a picture of a garland. We will hang the garland on our wall or above our door.

Craft Learning Activity: Happy Birthday Jesus! Crayon Rubbing The teacher should prepare by tracing around cookie cutters on poster board and then cut out the shape. Tape the shapes onto a table top. Print the words: "Happy Birthday Jesus!" on butcher paper. Lay the butcher paper over the cardboard shapes. Tape the corners of paper to the table. Say: "How do you celebrate your birthday? Today we are going to celebrate Jesus' birthday by making a banner for Him. There are Christmas shapes hidden beneath this paper! Let's use our crayons to find them." Children rub crayons across the paper to reveal the shapes underneath. Display the paper in the classroom.."

Craft Learning Activity: Art Option: Making Celebration Announcements Preparation: Cut sheets of construction paper or heavy cardstock paper in a variety of colors in half to make a 9" x 6" rectangle, at least one for each student. Say: "What is the reason that we celebrate Christmas? What can you do to let others know about the good news of Jesus? Let's use some of these words and ideas to make announcement cards for our friends and family member to help them celebrate the birth of Jesus." Student is to fold the paper rectangle in half lengthwise. Fold under 1 inch of the bottom edge on both sides. (See drawing.) Cut out Christmas shapes such as stars, angels, trumpets, Bethlehem skyline, tree, etc from the colored construction paper and glue to the cards. Students are to write messages announcing the good news of Jesus or write phrases from Luke 2:10, 11. Encourage the students to take their cards home and give to their friends and family members. You can use used Christmas cards for this activity as well.

Group Learning Activity: Ringing Hand bells Pass out Christmas hand bells for children to ring. Inexpensive musical hand bells for children can be purchased online and are a great addition to your inventory of game activities all year round. Have children stand in a circle and distribute bells. Even non-musical bells can be used for this activity. Have the children ring the bells as you say the Bible verse or sing Christmas songs. Say: "The Bible tells us the "God's Son is Born for us." God's Son is Jesus. We're glad Jesus was born. Let's listen to a song about the time Jesus was born. We can make these bells jingle as we say the words of our Bible verse to show that we're glad Jesus was born."

Craft Learning Activity--Paper Plate Pocket Manger (Grades K-3) Cut a paper plate in half. Color the backside of one of the halves brown to look like the wooden part of the manger. Staple that half of the plate to a whole paper plate. Draw a baby Jesus. Cut out a baby Jesus and color Him. Put some raffia in the paper plate pocket. Place baby Jesus in the pocket. You can sponge paint the paper plate; use a fabric square for a blanket for Jesus; use real hay or even find a small plastic baby Jesus to put in the manger.

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Craft Learning Activity: Craft Stick Manger (Grades 3-5) Draw a baby Jesus on white drawing paper. Cut out the baby Jesus and color Him. Build a craft stick manger by gluing the ends of the craft sticks on top of each other to make a square. A manager that is 7 craft sticks high on two sides and 8 sticks high on the other two is a good size. Cut a piece of construction paper the size of your manager and glue it to the bottom of the manager square. Cut pieces of raffia to go inside the manger. Place baby Jesus in the manger.

Craft Learning Activity: 3-D Baby Jesus Picture Glue tongue depressors onto blue construction paper in the shape of a stable. See photo. Cut up raffia for hay and glue to the floor of the stable. Cut a manger out of construction paper and glue on top of the hay. Cut out baby Jesus' head and then glue onto the manger. Cut out baby blanket from small scrap of fabric and glue onto the manger. Be creative and add animal stickers around the stable. Color baby Jesus instead of using paper. Add Mary and Joseph to the picture.

Group Learning Activity--Art Project of Illustrated Story Scenes (Grades 3-5) Divide a large sheet of butcher paper into five sections. Label each section as follows: Caesar's Palace (Luke 2:12); Road from Nazareth to Bethlehem (Luke 2:3-5); Stable (Luke 2:6,7); Fields outside Bethlehem (Luke 2: 8,9); Streets of Bethlehem (Luke 2:17) Divide the class into five groups, assigning one group to each section of paper. Groups illustrate story events from their assigned verses using colored markers. Students show scenes to other groups and tell their parts of the story. Alternative of this activity is the photo bulletin board. Group Learning Activity--Photo Bulletin Board Provide Bible time costumes and props for students to use in posing as angels, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, the innkeeper, and townspeople. Photograph each pose using an instant digital camera. Print out pictures and mount them on bulletin board with verses from Luke 2. See the scenes listed above from the art project.

Group Learning Activity: Sheep's Tail Game (Grades 3-5) Cut one 2X10" white cotton fabric strip for each student. Mark off a large area of the gym or large play area with tape or if outdoors use rope. Say" Today we are going to play a game called "Sheep's Tail." We will give each of you a fabric strip or "sheep's tail". Attach the tails to the back of each student with masking tape. (OR If children are in jeans or shorts you can put the end of the sheep's tail into the back pocket. Make sure the tail hangs freely and is easy to pull out.) At my signal, everyone is to try to capture each other's tails while moving only within the boundaries of the sheep pen. When a student's tail get taken, he or she cheers for others from the outside of the sheep pen until the next round of the game begins. The last student with his or her tail in place has to tell the promise that God gave to His children. "God's Son is Born for us." Students may play the game as long a time allows. This game became one of my class' favorites!

Group Learning Activity: Discussion of God's Promises (Grades 3-5) Say: "Bethlehem was the scene of the amazing arrival of Jesus--the Messiah that God had promised to send. Because God kept His promise to send a Savior, we can be confident that He will keep all of His promises to us--especially His promise to forgive us our sin and place us in His family making us His own children. (Give a Bible to each student.) Today we are going to find out more about God's promises." Assign each student one of the following verses to look up. Read the question just before the child reads the verse and then answer the question together.

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Read Deuteronomy 31:8 What promise does God make to His people? (The Lord himself goes before us and will never leave or forsake us."

Read Psalm 34:17 What promise does God make about prayer? (The Lord hears our prayers and will deliver us from trouble.)

Read Psalm 100:5 What promise does God make about Himself? (The Lord is good and will love us forever. He will be faithful to us throughout our lives.)

Read Isaiah 41:10. What promise does God make? (He is always with us, and will strengthen and help us with is righteous right hand.)

Read Jeremiah 29: 12. What promise does God make to us? (If we pray to God He will listen to us.)

Read Jeremiah 31:3 What does God promise to do for us? (God promises to love us with an everlasting love and draw us to Himself with a loving kindness.)

Read Jeremiah 32:27 What does God say about Himself? (He is the Lord, the God of all mankind and nothing is too hard for him!)

Read Joshua 23:14. What do you learn about God and His promises from this verse? (Every promise has been fulfilled. None have failed.)

Read John 3:16 What has God promised to do when we believe in Jesus? (God promises to give us eternal life when we believe in Him.)

Read John 1:12. What promise does God make to those who believe in Him? (He gives them the right to become His children.)

Read John 14:23. What promise does God make to those who come to Him and obey Him? (Jesus and His Father in heaven will love him and come to abide in him.)

Read Hebrews 13:8. What promise does Jesus make about Himself? (He will always be the same--yesterday, today, and forever. We can count on his faithfulness.)

Read 1 John 1:9. What promised does God make to those who ask forgiveness? (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.)

Read 1 John 5:14. What promise does God make to His children? (If we ask anything in His will, He will hear us and do it.)

How do we find out about God's promises? (Read the Bible; talk to others who love God and follow Him.) Conclusion: We can trust God to keep His promises!

Snack Learning Activity: Cinnamon Strips Cover the table with a plastic cloth. Cut bread slices in half widthwise, making one half for each child. Child places a spoonful of sprinkles in a re-sealable plastic bag and shake a small amount of cinnamon into the bag. Each child can spread his half slice of bread with a layer of margarine. Cut the bread into short strips and then place them in the bag. The child seals the bag and shakes to make cinnamon strips. Students can talk about how they are going to celebrate Christmas with their families.

Christian Service Project: Good News Bags Give each student a gift bag. Students may decorate the bags by cutting the edges with decorative-edged scissors, drawing designs with markers or crayons, or attaching stickers or ribbons. Students are to fill the bags with items from home that they have made. Example: Hot chocolate mix, gingerbread garlands or cookies, Christmas cards, and a gospel tract. The gospel tract should be one that your church recommends. You can have a special time that you make baked items for this project with your students. Have students brainstorm friends or neighbors to whom they would like to give their "Good News" bags. Say: "Christmas is a good time to share with others about Jesus. Let's ask God to help us use these bags to tell others about Jesus." Follow up with prayer for those to whom the bags were given for the next few weeks.

Life Application Challenge: Christmas Prayers Say: "God sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior. The shepherds shared the good news of Jesus with everyone. What can we say to praise and thank God for Jesus? Why are you glad God sent Jesus to be born? How does Jesus help us? Why does Luke 1:68 say we should praise God? (Because He has come and redeemed His people.) What would you like to thank and praise God for? Have student say or write a prayer of thanks."

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Jesus Christ is Born

Luke 2: 11

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

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Unit 1 Birth of Christ--Lesson 3 NT1.3 Birth of Jesus · Unit 1 Birth of Christ--Lesson 3 NT1.3...

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