Opening Activity

• Talk about how plans can change at the last minute.
• Explain that it was coming close to the time when Mary’s baby would be born. It would have been easier if the baby could have been born in Nazareth, where Joseph and Mary lived, but …..

Bible Story

• The Roman Emperor gave an order for all the people to return to the places where they had been born to have their names added to a list. Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem. (Luke 2: 1-5) Give some idea of the distance involved – approximately 80 miles/4 days journey. What would it have been like to have made this long journey? (You may wish to add that it had always been God’s plan for the baby to be born in Bethlehem!)
• When they arrived, the town was full and they could not find anywhere to stay. It was very near to the time when the baby they had been promised was going to arrive. They had to stay in a place where animals live. (Luke 2: 6-7)
• When baby Jesus was born, He was wrapped in bands of cloth sometimes called swaddling clothes and was put into an animal’s feeding container or manger. (Luke 2: 6-7) Why was Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a feeding container? Help the child appreciate the greatness of the child born in such a lowly place. You could contrast a baby’s arrival into the culture in which you live.
• There has never been another Baby like Jesus. He is the Son of God. He was willing to leave Heaven and be born here on earth to save us from our sin. (Matthew 1: 21)
• We should remember that this is what Christmas is all about and we should thank God for His love in sending the Saviour.