Merry Christmas: Jesus was Born - Sunday December 20, 2020

Sunday December 20, 2020 (Vol 10, Unit 28, Session 3)

Hi-there parents and Merry Christmas!  

Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  

 If you would like to join us in person, we are excited to announce that Children's Church for Kindergarten through 5th grade and Preschool has resumed and is meeting during the 10:30 service. We would love to see you and your kids there!   

 Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson is not from the traditional passages that discuss the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1 and Luke 2). Instead today’s lesson is found in John chapter 1.

God’s plan all along was to send His Son into the world to save sinners. At just the right time, God the Son “emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity” (Phil. 2:7). The birth of Jesus was a miracle.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin by giving details of the Messiah’s birth: Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to a son. The baby was God’s Son, and He had an earthly father—Joseph. As the angel had instructed, Joseph named the baby Jesus.

The apostle John began his Gospel in a different way. John 1:1 parallels the words of Genesis 1: “In the beginning …” In the beginning, God spoke creation into existence. Everything was created through God the Son. (Col. 1:16) John names Jesus as “the Word.” (John 1:3)

John 1 provides a bigger picture to accompany the story found in Luke 2:1-20. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). As you teach kids about Jesus’ birth, help them realize why Jesus came. Jesus did not enter an already good world that simply needed some guidance and improvement. He came into a dark world cursed by sin to a people who were spiritually dead.

Jesus’ birth is good news for people who need a Savior. In God the Son’s becoming a human, Jesus brought life and light to people who were dead in sin. Jesus came to give life to all who believe. He brought light into darkness and showed us what God is like.

Invite kids to celebrate the birth of Jesus, which brought joy and peace to a desperate and chaotic world. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of all children—from babies to preschoolers to older kids—to hear and believe the truths about Jesus and welcome Him into their lives as Lord and Savior.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are too young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready,go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummers and encourage the kids to do the same. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Most importantly, we thank you always, but especially during the Christmas season, for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die to pay for our sins. Thank you for raising Him from the dead and promising us life with you forever if we believe. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Prompt kids to discuss how they feel about the dark. Are any of them uncomfortable in a dark room? Discourage any kids from teasing or being rude if some kids are afraid of the dark.

Say • Being afraid of the dark is a common fear. Even adults are uncomfortable when we cannot see what’s around us. Today, we will learn about the light of the world, and how He came into the world to overcome darkness. Not physical darkness, but spiritual darkness. Who do you think the light of the world is?

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below

Our big picture question hasn’t changed: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, along with God the Father and God the Son. Each Person is fully God living perfectly united as one God. But only Jesus is also fully human. Jesus came to earth as a human to make the way for us to be saved. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit lives within us to help us honor God through all areas of our life.

Although we’ve been studying the time after Jesus returned to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit, let’s look back at how and why Jesus came to earth. You may expect us to read from Luke 2, and talk about the shepherds who came to see Baby Jesus in the manger. But not this year. Instead, I want to talk about John 1. You may not think of John 1 as a passage that has to do with Christmas, but it tells us more about who Jesus is. Jesus was not just a baby born in Bethlehem. He is God the Son! Let’s hear more about it.

Bible scholars have spent years studying and thinking about the name John used for Jesus: The Word. In the original language of the Book of John, the Greek word used is Logos. Logos is the same word from which we get the word logic. When John called Jesus the Word, he was packing a lot of meaning into a single … well, word!

Jesus is the exact representation of God’s character. He is a reflection of God’s plans and purpose in the world. He is the logic and reason behind all of creation. When God spoke the world into existence, the Son was there, creating together with God the Father. When John explains that the Word became flesh, he’s explaining that the full power, perfection, and glory of God was becoming human. It’s incredible to think about, and nearly impossible for us to really understand.

Imagine that you have a tiny, little eyedropper. Imagine you went to the seashore and squeezed the little rubber bulb and stuck the end into the ocean. Now imagine that when you released the rubber bulb, it sucked in all the water from all the oceans in all the world—and still looked like a regular little eyedropper. In a way, that can help you think about the miracle it was for God the Son to come to earth as a human baby. Jesus is the light in a dark world. He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus came to bring us life.

The birth of Jesus was good news! Jesus was no ordinary baby. He was God’s Son, sent to earth from heaven. Jesus came into the world as a human to bring us life. He brought light into darkness and showed us what God is like.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find John 1. Remind the kids that John is in the Gospels division of the New Testament. Ask them which book comes right before John and which comes right after. (Luke, Acts) Explain that even though John 1 doesn’t specifically talk about Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, it’s about His coming to earth as Savior.

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Who existed in the beginning with God? (The Word, John 1:1)

Who came to tell about the light coming into the world? (John the Baptist, John 1:6-9)

What did Jesus show us when He became human? (What God is like and His love for us, John 1:14-18)

How do we receive “grace and truth” through Jesus? Guide kids to see that everyone who repents and believes the gospel is saved. We receive the truth of the gospel as a gift from God and His grace saves us from our sin. Apart from Jesus, no one can receive grace and truth.

What does it mean for Jesus to be the light of the world? Discuss the fact that, although we think of light and darkness as opposites, darkness is really the lack of light. Light and darkness don’t clash and cancel one another out, light always defeats darkness and pushes it back. Jesus’ work on the cross defeated sin and death—spiritual darkness—overcoming it completely.

Why is it important to understand who Jesus is beyond just a baby born two thousand years ago? Help kids think through the importance of Jesus’ identity as God the Son. Remind them that His full humanity combined with His full diety made Him the only One who could provide the perfect sacrifice. Jesus’ birth is important because it marked the moment God came to earth to save us from sin.

Say • Jesus came to bring us life. Jesus’ life did not just teach us about God, it set the stage for Him to give us eternal life through His death and resurrection.

Let's take a look at our memory verse, 2 Peter 1:3, and say it together:

When Peter wrote these words, he may not have known that we would still be learning them and treasuring them thousands of years later. But they are God’s words written through Peter, and they are a wonderful reminder that, in Jesus, we have everything we could ever need and more!

Memory Verse Activity:

Challenge volunteers to say the verse from memory. Thank each kid’s effort and encourage all the kids to continue working to memorize the key passage. Then, set the key passage to the tune of a Christmas song your group is familiar with and sing it together multiple times.

Say • Peter wrote these words to believers who were facing persecution. They were being treated badly, hurt, and even killed because of their faith in Jesus. Peter wanted them to know that the Holy Spirit was with them, and He gave them all the power they needed to live for God’s glory. How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory.

That's it for this week!

Let's pray: Father, thank You for sending Your Son to live with us as a human. Help us to trust You and dedicate our lives to serving You and glorifying You. Allow us to be a part of Your plans to grow Your kingdom in the world. Use us to spread the gospel to lost people everywhere. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

Additional Activities and Information