The Birth of Jesus

This story is about God giving His Son to be our Saviour.

The child will learn that:-

  • Jesus is the Son of God who came to be our Saviour.
  • We should thank God for his great love in sending the Lord Jesus.

Bible Story Reference: Luke 2: 1-7

Memory Verse: 

Luke 2:7 (NIV)

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

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.

Questions

  1. Who was married to Joseph?
  2. Where did Mary and Joseph live?
  3. Where did Joseph and Mary travel to?
  4. Why were Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem?
  5. Why were they staying in a place where animals were kept?
  6. What did the Baby Jesus lie in?
  7. What made Jesus special?
  8. Why do we need a Saviour?

Prayer

Thank You God for Your Son Jesus, may I and many believe in Him.

Songs

Crafts

Mary and Baby Jesus

What You Need

  • 2 pieces of paper
  • Two small pieces of yarn or thread
  • Colored pencils
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch (optional)
  • Glue

Steps 

  1. Start by cutting one piece of paper in half. This will be baby Jesus’s body.
  2. Starting at the longer side, fold the entire length of the paper in an accordion fashion.
  3. Then take your other paper and fold it starting at the wide end in the same accordion style, like shown below.This will be Mary’s body.
  4. Now, while keeping your paper’s in their tight accordion folds, fold each of the paper’s in half.
  5. Glue the joining middle section together at the bottom.
  6. You may need to use a peg to hold it together while the glue dries.
  7. It should look like the two papers folded up and glued as shown in the picture below.
  8. The hold at the top will end up being the “head” of both mother Mary and baby Jesus.
  9. Next, using a hole punch or a pen/pencil, create a hole in the top of the big fold and thread a piece of string through.
  10. Tie it in a knot creating a loop to hang your Mary and baby Jesus ornament from.Now, squeeze the accordion closed again. Tie another string around the paper accordion to make a neck.
  11. Repeat with the other piece of paper too.

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