Use this lesson to teach children about Jesus’s birth.
Gather
Children experience and learn more about God through memorizing Scripture, storytelling from The Big God Story, prayer, and discussion.
Remember Verse
Children will spend time memorizing a portion of Scripture together. The Remember Verse focuses on a character trait of God that’s highlighted in today’s portion of The Big God Story.
Relate
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Game: Verse Maze
Supplies
Prepare Ahead
Write each phrase of the Remember Verse and the reference on a sheet of paper.
(Suggestion: 1. For to us; 2. a child is born; 3. to us a son is given; 4. and the government will be; 5. on his shoulders; 6. and he will be called; 7. Wonderful Counselor; 8. Mighty God; 9. Everlasting Father; 10. Prince of Peace; 11. Isaiah 9:6.)
Then punch a hole at the top of each paper. String each page in order on the yarn, tying knots so the papers stay spread apart, and wind the yarn around the room, back and forth between chairs, around tables, etc., making a yarn maze for the children to walk along.
Relate
Invite kids to find the Remember Verse by following the phrases on the maze. Show them the starting point where the first phrase of the verse can be found and have them follow the maze to find the rest of the verse.
Each time they find a new phrase of the verse, have kids read it out loud together. When the entire verse is found, invite the group to say the Remember Verse together a few times.
Storytelling
Bible Passage: Isaiah 9:1–2, 6–7; Luke 2
Storytelling Technique: Live Newscast
Jesus Is the Promised Savior
Supplies
Prepare Ahead
Print three copies of the Storytelling script. You or a volunteer can play the role of News Anchor. You will need to choose either two adult or two child volunteers to play the roles of Hank and Joseph.
Arrange for adult volunteers in advance. If you want to use children, you may want to choose children who are strong readers who feel comfortable reading in front of a group.
Set Up
Set up a table and two chairs like a newsroom desk.
Relate
Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. For today’s portion of The Big God Story, we are going to have a live newscast here in our classroom.
Optional: I am going to need two volunteers to be a part of the newscast. Invite two kids to play the roles of Hank and Joseph and give them scripts.
News Anchor: We interrupt this program with a breaking news story on the birth of Jesus. We come to you live from the scene in Bethlehem where Jesus, the Promised Savior, was born.
We are still waiting for an official first look and interview with His earthly parents. While we wait for our interview, let’s backtrack and get you up to date on what led to this miraculous event.
While most families wait only nine months for their baby, God’s people have been waiting hundreds of years for this child to be born.
In fact, we have it on record that God told the prophets specific details about the Messiah’s arrival: where He would be born, what He would be called, and from which family line He would come.
Let me send you over to Hank, our Bible prophecy expert. Hank, what can you tell us about these prophecies?
Hank: Well, first of all, everyone should know these prophets were not just anyone; they were people who shared God’s message with His people. God knew this event would one day come, and He wanted to prepare them for it.
News Anchor: Hank, can you clarify for our viewers out there the meaning of the word Messiah?
Hank: Yes, I can. The word Messiah is the same word as Christ, but in another language.
It refers to the One for whom God’s people were waiting. The One who would restore the broken relationship between God and man. The One who would be Immanuel, God with us.
News Anchor: That’s fascinating! Can we get an audience member to read one of the prophecies in Isaiah 9:2? Have a child read the verse out loud while the others follow along in their Bibles.
Hank: As you can imagine, God’s people were losing some of their faith as they waited for the Messiah to come. This prophecy refers to a “great light” dawning.
The “great light” the prophet Isaiah was talking about is Jesus. Jesus is the Promised Savior!
News Anchor: Thank you, Hank. Did Isaiah say anything else about Jesus’ birth and what He might be like?
Hank: As a matter of fact, he did. Can I have another audience member read Isaiah 9:6? Invite a child to read the Scripture while the rest follow along.
News Anchor: Wow, I can hardly wait to meet Him! So, here we are, live at the scene in Bethlehem. Hold on a second (pretend to check earpiece). This is very exciting.
We have Joseph, father of the newborn Jesus, who is ready to do an interview with us. Have Joseph walk up to News Anchor.
Joseph is the father of Jesus, the Messiah. Joseph, I am sure you are excited right now. Can you give us a little background? What brought you to Bethlehem?
Joseph: It’s been quite an adventure, that’s for sure. Well, it started in Nazareth, where I was living. I was pledged to marry a woman named Mary (laugh)—get it? “Marry Mary?”
Anyway, our current ruler wanted to count all the people, so Mary and I had to head back to my hometown, Bethlehem.
Mary was ready to have the baby, so we really needed a place to stay. But when we arrived, all the houses were already filled with guests. So instead we stayed in a place where animals slept.
News Anchor: What was that like?
Joseph: Well, it was a little damp and smelly, but we did what we had to do. Then Mary gave birth to a son. We named Him “Jesus,” as God had told us to do.
The name Jesus means “God saves.” This is the Savior God promised long ago. Mary wrapped Him in cloths and put him inside a manger—you know, a feeding trough for animals.
News Anchor: Who were the first ones to be told about Jesus’ birth?
Joseph: God sent an angel to shepherds in the fields telling them about Jesus’ birth. They were the first ones, besides Mary, me, and some animals, to know that Jesus, the Messiah, was born!
What the angel said is written. Would someone like to read it? Invite a child to read Luke 2:10–11.
News Anchor: Now Joseph, I heard reports that after the announcement to the shepherds, something amazing happened: A host of angels began to praise God! Read Luke 2:14.
Joseph: Yes, I wish I’d been there to see it. After that, the shepherds came straight to us. They couldn’t wait to meet Jesus!
After they saw Him, they went to spread the word, telling everyone who would listen what they’d heard about Jesus, the Promised Savior.
News Anchor: It’s so amazing! God didn’t want this experience to be just for Jesus’ parents; He wanted all people to know that Jesus was born.
Joseph: Later, we took Jesus and presented Him at the temple in Jerusalem. There, we met a man named Simeon who had been waiting his entire life to meet the Messiah.
Simeon recognized that Jesus was the Messiah as soon as he saw Him and began to praise God. Read Luke 2:29–32. In the temple, there was also a woman, another prophet, named Anna.
She was also very old, but when she saw the baby Jesus, she too praised God and testified to the people about Him. Read Luke 2:38.
News Anchor: Wow, Joseph. That’s quite an experience you’ve had. We can’t wait to meet Jesus.
Joseph: That’s the amazing thing: You can! Jesus wasn’t born just for Mary and me; He was born so that the entire world might be able to meet Him and be a part of His family, the body of believers.
All the prophecies and the years of waiting pointed to this moment in history, when Jesus was born. God wanted us all to be able to know about His birth and meet Him and worship Him together.
News Anchor: Wow! Thank you for your story, Joseph. That’s Joseph, recently in from Bethlehem, where the Messiah was just born.
I’m so glad I got to hear from Joseph about Jesus. More importantly, I’m glad God sent Jesus to earth so we can all meet Him. Jesus is the Promised Savior! Share about how Jesus became your Savior.
Discussion Questions
Respond
Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond to God through creative activities and games.
Names of Jesus Poem
Children will explore different names of Jesus and create a poem of praise to Him.
Supplies
Relate
God wanted us to meet His Son, and His birth made that possible. Now we can worship Him together.
How does it make you feel to know that God planned all of this from the beginning? Invite responses. How do you feel knowing that God wants us to meet Jesus, the Promised Savior? Pause for responses.
Isaiah, one of the prophets to whom God spoke about Jesus, shared the following description of what the Messiah would be like: Read Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given … And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
What do you think of when you hear these different names of Jesus? Pause for responses. What are some other names of Jesus that you know? Allow responses.
When kids are finished sharing, invite them to work in small groups of three to create poems using the different names of Jesus. Give each group a poster board, and have kids work together to write their poem.
When groups are finished, invite each group to share their poem with the rest of the kids as a way to worship Jesus together.
(Optional) Who Am I, and What Am I Doing?
In this game, children will pretend to be something silly for other children to guess who they are.
Relate
It’s so much fun to be able to worship and meet Jesus together. Now let’s do a fun activity where we will have to “meet” each other, just like God wants us to meet Jesus.
God brought Jesus to this world to be born as a baby so that the whole world would have the opportunity to meet Him and be a part of His family.
Invite your kids to play an improvisation game where each person will pretend to be someone or something silly and the person next to her will have to meet her and guess who (or what) she is.
To play, invite kids to stand together in a circle. Then choose one person to begin. That person will turn to the person on her right and act out something silly like an elephant juggling or a cowboy riding a pony.
She will ask the person on her right, “Who am I, and what am I doing?” That person will have to guess. Then the guesser will act out something to the person on his right.
This will continue until everyone has had a turn. Encourage kids to be silly and use their imaginations.
Bless
Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
Supplies
Pepare Ahead
On a piece of fabric or a towel, write the word “Hope” in bold letters using a fabric marker.
Relate
Invite the kids to stand up and grab onto the piece of fabric with the word “Hope” on it as you read the blessing from Hebrews 10:23 over them.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
May you know Jesus, the Savior and hope of the world. May you remember that God always keeps His promises.
When you are finished reading the blessing over the kids, go to each child individually and say, (Child’s name), may you meet Jesus and trust God’s promises.
Did you like this lesson? Get more free lessons here!
This lesson is from Tru—a life-changing, spiritually-forming, parent-engaging, kid-captivating, downloadable curriculum designed for churches of all sizes and denominations. Check out this video for more!
Like what you see? Visit TruMinistry.com or DavidCCook.org/samples for free lessons!
