Jesus Is Born!

Passage

Familiarize yourself with the following passage:

Luke 2:1-7
One day, the king of Rome wanted to count all the people in his kingdom.  So, he ordered everyone to return to his family’s home town to be counted.  For Mary and Joseph, they had to go to the town of Bethlehem.  This was a long journey, and Mary was very pregnant, so she rode on a donkey.  She was going to give birth to baby Jesus any day.
When Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem, they tried to find a place to stay.  There were a lot of people in Bethlehem, though.  They went door to door, but all the inns were full.  Finally, one nice man told them that his in was also full, but if they really needed a place to stay, they could stay in his stable. That is what Mary and Joseph did.  And just in time, too!  Very soon, baby Jesus was born, in that stable.  Mary wrapped him in clean clothes and put in a manger.  (A manger is a box filled with hay that animals would eat out of.)  Soon they had their very first visitors; the shepherds.  Mary was amazed at all the wonderful things that God had done for her.  She made a special place in her heart for all these very special memories.

Object Lesson

Supplies Needed:
• Baby doll
• Baby blanket
• A small box
Use the baby doll as a prop while you are telling your story. As you talk about Jesus’ birth, bring out the doll and show it to the children. Talk about how small and fragile babies are. Show them how to properly hold a baby. Tell the children about how Mary wrapped Jesus in clothes, and demonstrate this by wrapping the doll in a baby blanket. Then tell the children that Mary placed Jesus in a manger, and demonstrate by placing the doll in a small box. If time permits, you may allow the children to hold, wrap and place the doll in the box.

Memory Verse

Luke 2: 6-7
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Jesus Connection

After many, many generations of anticipation, the promised Savior has arrived. God has finally sent his one and only Son to save the world (John 3:16). His name was Jesus, Emmanuel, which means God with us. It happened just as the prophets from long ago had foretold; “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Songs

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Game/Activity

Pictionary

• Now that your kids have heard the entire Christmas story, let’s test their memory with a game of Pictionary.  Have the kids take turns drawing and guessing the different objects from the word list below. Include the Christmas words if you are using this lesson during the Christmas holiday.  
Word List:
• Angel
• Zechariah
• Elizabeth
• Mary
• Joseph
• Baby Jesus
• Manger
• Shepherds
• Wise men
• Choir of angels
• King Herod
• Stable
• Sheep
• Donkey
• Star
•
• Christmas tree
• Snow
• Santa
• Reindeer
• Sleigh
• Chestnuts
• Presents
• Elf
• North Pole
• Snowman
• Christmas cookies
• Wreath
• Mistletoe
• Stockings
• Fireplace

Dress the Baby

Supplies Needed:
• baby doll
• set of baby clothes
o diaper
o onesie/shirt
o pants
o socks
Directions:
1. Time each child as they try to dress a baby doll as quickly as they can. The child with the fastest time wins
2. If you have a larger group, you can bring a second set of supplies and have two children race at the same time.

Craft

Tea Light Candle Holder

The Bible says that Jesus is the light of the world.  When he was born, his light brightened a dark world.  Make a candle holder with the kids to remind them that Jesus is the light of the world.
Supplies Needed:
• 2 clear plastic cups for each child
• Tissue/crêpe paper, a variety of colors
• Glue
• Q-tips (cotton swabs)
• 1 tea light candle for each child
• Scissors
Directions:
1. Prepare for the craft by putting a small amount of glue in the bottom of several cups.  The kids will share these cup its of glue as they are working on their crafts.
2. Give each child 2 clear plastic cups, 1 tea light candle, and one q-tip.
3. Place the various colors of tissue paper in a central location for all the kids to reach.  Allow the kids to choose whatever colors they want and either tear off or cut off small pieces.
4. Have the kids apply glue to the outside of one cup using their q-tip.  After the glue has been applied, have the kids cover their cup with their pieces of tissue paper.
5. When the outside of the cup is completely covered in paper, place the now colorful cup inside the clear cup.  The glue that was on the colorful cup should help hold the two cups together.  If they need extra help sticking together, you can apply a small amount of glue to the top inside of the clear cup.
6. Finally, have the kids place their tea light candle inside their cup.  They can light their candles with the help of an adult.  The finished product should act like stained glass the candle light shines through.

Manger Craft

Supplies Needed:
• Manger template (printed on brown paper)
• Scissors
• White glue
• Hot glue
• Craft sticks (popsicle sticks); 4 per child
• Yellow crepe/tissue paper cut into approximately 1 inch squares
• Old fashioned clothes pins
• Small pieces of material
• Brown markers or crayons if you print the template on white paper
Directions:
1. Have each child draw a face (and maybe some hair) on the head of their old fashioned clothes pin. Wrap the pin in a small piece of material, leaving the head showing, and glue the material in place. Set aside
2. Cut out the template on the solid lines. Color it brown first if it has been printed on white paper.
3. Fold the template on the dotted lines.
4. Hot glue a craft stick to each of the small tabs on the sides of the templates. Also hot glue the sticks together at the point they cross each other.
5. Smear white glue on the inside of the template (manger). Crumple the yellow crepe paper and stick to glue in the manger to make hay.
6. Place the wrapped pin inside the manger.

Coloring  Page: