Mary and Joseph

Passages

Familiarize yourself with this passage

Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25
One day, while Mary was at home, the angel Gabriel came to her with a message from God.  She was going to have a baby and she was to name him Jesus, because he would save the people from their sins.  Mary was confused.  “How can this be,” she asked “because I am a virgin?”  The angel told her that with God, all things are possible.  Mary believed the angel and she became pregnant by a miracle from God.
Joseph was engaged to Mary.  He found out that Mary was pregnant, and he knew the baby was not his, so he decided he would break up with Mary.  Before Joseph could do this, an angel came to him in a dream and told him that the baby inside Mary was from God.  The angel told Joseph that he should still get married to Mary, and so he did.  When baby Jesus was born, he had a physical mom and dad, both of whom loved God.

Object Lesson

Before you tell the story, have the children open their bibles to Matthew 1:1-16. This is the genealogical record of Jesus. It shows how Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a descendant of King David. Have the children read through the verses, perhaps one small section at a time, and see how many of the names they recognize. Explain to the children that this genealogy is important because the Bible say that the Messiah, Jesus, would be a descendant of Kind David, and this record shows us that he was.

Memory Verse

Luke 1:30-31
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”

Jesus Connection

This is the first time in the Bible that we see the name of Jesus mentioned.  The angel Gabriel tells Mary, “you will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) Names are important in the Bible, and if we look at the name of Jesus, we see that it means ‘Savior’. This is a fitting name for the one who would one day die in our place to save us from our sins.

Songs:

Peace Like a River

1st verse:
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Peace like a river in my soul (In my soul!)
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Peace like a river in my soul (In my soul!)

2nd verse:
(Joy like a fountain)

3rd verse:
(Love like the ocean)

4th verse:
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Joy like a fountain
I’ve got Love like the ocean in my soul (In my soul!)
I’ve got Peace like a river
I’ve got Joy like a fountain
I’ve got Love like the ocean in my soul (In my soul!)

Game/Activity

Wheel of Fortune (verse memory game)

Supplies needed:
• The wheel
o Template with wheel and arrow
o Paper brad
• Dry erase board/chalk board
• Dry erase marker/chalk
• The Bible verse
• Coins (or beans, or buttons)
Directions:
1. Assemble the wheel by cutting it out of the template and fastening the arrow with a paper brad. For more stability you may wish to glue the wheel to a piece of cardboard or print it on thick paper.
2. In the same fashion as Hang Man, draw lines on the board to correspond to the letters and words from the Bible verse. You may add the numbers from the reference, or leave out the reference all together.
3. Divide the class into three teams.
4. Starting with the first team, have them spin the wheel and guess a letter. If the team guesses a correct letter, fill it in on the board. Give the team the number of coins their earned in respect to the number of letters that they found on the board. (ie: They spin 4 and guess the letter T. There are 7 Ts in this verse so they would get 28 coins.)
5. After the first team has one spin, pass the wheel to the next team.  Repeat this process until all the letters in the verse have been discovered.
6. The team with the most coins at the end wins!

Craft

Angel Craft:

Supplies needed:
• Angel template
• Scissors
• Pom-poms
• Colors
• Decorating supplies (glitter, gems, sequence, pipe cleaners…)
• Tape
• glue
Directions:
1. Give each child and angel template and scissors. Cut out the angel.
2. While the angel is flat, decorate one side of the paper using colors and other decorating supplies that are available.
3. Twist the paper into a cone shape so that the cone is held together by the cuts that were made near the wings. You may wish to secure the wings with a piece of tape.
4. Have the children choose a pom-pom as the head of their angel and glue it in place on the tip of the cone
5. Optional: Using a small section of pipe cleaner, bend a circle and glue in place on top of the pom-pom as a halo.

Family Tree

*This is a good craft for older, school aged children.
Supplies Needed:
• White paper
• Colored pencils
• Regular pencils
Directions:
1. Have the children draw a picture of their family tree, going back as far as they can remember. Have them start with their name at the bottom and work their way up the tree the further into their family history they go.
2. Encourage the children to take their tree home and talk to their parents about more names they can add to the tree. You may even ask them to bring it back next week to share with the class if they were able to add any more names.

Coloring Page:

Elizabeth and Zechariah

Passages

Familiarize yourself with this passage

 Luke 1:5-25; 57-80
Elizabeth and Zechariah are old and they have no kids. Zechariah was a priest. It was Zechariah’s turn to serve inside the temple.  While he was inside praying, the angel Gabriel came to him and told him he would have a son and that he should give him the name John.  Zechariah did not believe the angel, and so the angel told him he would not be able to speak until the baby was born, since he did not believe the word of the Lord.  Soon, Elizabeth became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy.  They named him John, just like the angel had said. It was at this time that Zechariah was able to speak again.  When he started speaking, he began by praising God.   John grew up and prepared the way for the coming of Jesus.

Object Lesson:

When Elizabeth and Zechariah’s baby was born, everyone was anxious to hear what they would name their little baby boy.  A name can tell us a lot about a person. Some parents choose to name their children based on the meaning of the name.  Spend some time researching the meanings of your children’s names. Ask the kids if any of them know the meaning of their names. Share the results of your findings with the kids. Explain to the children in the story they will hear today the people were surprised to find out the name of the baby because it was not what they expected.

Memory Verse

Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.”

Jesus Connection:

In Luke 1:76, Zechariah prophesied over his new born son, John. He said, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” Finally, after all this time, God was going to give the people of Israel the Lord and Savior that they have been waiting for. Jesus was about to be born! And in the spirit of Elijah, John would prepare the way for the redeeming work of Jesus, according to the prophecies of old.

Songs:

Days of Elijah

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the Word of the Lord, yes
And these are the days of his servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored
And these are the days of great trial
Of famine and darkness and sword
So we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord

CHORUS:
Behold he comes
Riding on a cloud
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet's call
Lift your voice
It's the year of jubilee
Out of Zion 'till salvation comes

And these are the days of Ezekiel
With dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of his servant, David
Building the temple of praise, yes
And these are the days of the harvest
The fields are all white in the world
And we are the laborers that are in your vineyard
declaring the word of the Lord

CHORUS (2x)

There's no God like Jehovah…….

CHORUS (2x)

Game/Activity

Charades

Zechariah had to talk with his hands or write on a piece of paper to communicate with people after he had seen the angel.  Have the kids take turns acting out different words from the story (or from Christmas in general, if you are doing this lesson during the advent season).  Make sure each kid has had at least one chance to act. Remember, NO TALKING!!   Game can be repeated if time permits.
Word list:
• Angel
• Baby
• Zechariah
• Elizabeth/pregnant lady
• Temple
• Praying
• Speak
•
• Snow
• Christmas tree
• Presents
• Santa
• Reindeer
• Sledding
•

Crafts:

Snowflakes!

*This craft is intended to be in a winter/advent season.
Just like Zechariah, snowflakes are silent.  (It is a stretch I know!)  Have the kids cut out several of their own snowflakes.  Show them how they can fold the paper and make different kinds of cuts to get different designs in their snowflakes.  No two snowflakes are alike, so encourage creativity. (Feel free to replace this craft with one that may better fit with the story.  I have found that all children love making snowflakes.  I am also taking advantage of it being winter, and there being an over abundance of fun and exciting crafts for this time of year.)
Supplies:
• Paper (any color, but white blue and silver are best snow colors)
• Scissors
Directions:
1. Make your paper into a square. (This can be done before class if your kids are little and would have trouble doing this on their own.)
2. Fold your paper in half once, and then in half again.  Fold this small square into a triangle.
3. Make several cut outs in your folded paper, being careful to never cut all the way through your paper.
4. Unfold your paper to reveal you snowflake.

Name Plaques

Supplies needed:
• Air drying modeling clay
• Glitter
• glue
• Sequence
• Markers
• Toothpicks
• Straws
• Sting
• Rolling pins/cylinder blocks
Directions:
1. Give each child a portion of air drying modeling clay.  Have them roll the clay out into a small rectangle (or something that closely resembles a rectangle!)
2. Using toothpicks have the children etch their names into the clay.
3. Have the kids decorate their name plaques using markers, glitter and sequence.
4. Using a straw, poke a hole in the top center of the plaque. Tie a string through the hole. Set aside and allow to dry according to the clay packaging instructions.

Coloring Pages: