Bible Verses

Work with your child and your students to learn each verse. Then, discuss the meaning of the verse and how it can be applied to our everyday lives. On Sundays during class, riding in the car, or at dinner, it's fun to share stories of how the children have used the verse in their lives that week.

We provide memorization verses for each week.  You can add your own. 

Sunday Dec. 4 II Cor 9:15  Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

• What is God’s unspeakable gift?
• Why is God’s gift so special?

Sunday Dec. 11 Luke 1:46,47 …Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

• When did Mary make this statement?
• Was Mary happy to hear she was going to have the Son of the Highest?
• How would you feel if God’s angel told you, you were going to have the Son of God?

Sunday Dec. 18 Luke 2:10,11 … the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

• Who was the angel talking to?
• Where were they?
• Who was born in the city of David?
• What would you do if an angel told you God’s great news?

Sunday Dec. 25 Luke 2:13,14 … suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

• What kind of choir did the baby Jesus get?
• What kind of peace were the angels singing about?
• What is good will?
• Is good will a gift?

Put up Dec. 26  Eph 4:23,24  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

• What is the old man?
• What is the new man?
• How do we put on the new man?

Bible Stories

Select from the following stories and help your children tell the nativity story.

• The angel talking to Zacharias  Luke 1:5-25
• The angel talking to Joseph  Matt 1:18- 25
• The angel talking to Mary  Luke 1:26-38
• Elisabeth and the birth of John  Luke 1:39-80
• Jesus’ Birth   Luke  2:1-7
• The shepherds  Luke 2:8-20
• Simeon and Anna  Luke 2:21-38
• The wise men   Matt  2: 1-12
• Jesus and family flee to Egypt  Matt 2:13-15;19-23
• Herod’s hatred  Matt 2:16- 18

Christmas is more than making “What I want for Christmas gift lists.”  Here is an exercise Caryl Krueger prepared for BibleWise.  Make copies of it to give to your Sunday school pupils so they can prepare for this important event. 

Christmas Vacation List  
It is vacation time, but God never takes "time off." He is always keeping you safe as you have holiday fun. Make this vacation time also prayer time. Here is a list of things that you could do this week.    

1. Tell the Christmas story or read it from Matthew 2: 1-12 and Luke 2:1-14.
2. Do something helpful without being asked!
3. Look at your possessions and find something (in good shape and working order!) you would like to give to someone else. Then do it.
4. Say or do something to promote peace in your family.
5. Attend a church service as well as Sunday School this week.
6. Pray for peace in the world and for the safety of everyone.
7. Put a short love note under your parents' pillow on Christmas Eve.
8. Think about Jesus' life as you fall asleep Christmas Eve.
9. Christmas night, look up at the stars and think of the star of Bethlehem.
10. Talk about the real meaning of Christmas with your family.
    And, listen for angel thoughts! Remember, God loves you very much!

Exercise: 

Look at the poems:  Christmas Morn, The Manger, The Special Baby, and The Shepherds.

After reading the poems, write your own poem about:

• Mary and Joseph’s walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem
• Joseph trying to find a place for Mary to have her baby
• The Wise Men’s encounter with Herod
• The Wise Men’s gifts
• The Star
• The Angel Choir
• Peace on Earth
• Gifts
• Glory

Exercise:

Let the Christmas carols inspire a new song about Jesus’ birth.

Help pupils create a Christmas carol, or take a familiar Christmas carol melody and put new words to it, about God’s wonderful gift to us.  They can take the poem they wrote in the previous exercise and put it to music.

• Some themes to write about:
  • Gifts
  • Angels
  • God’s love
  • What the shepherds saw (angels, star, the baby Jesus)
  • No room in the inn
  • Wise men
  • Simeon and Anna
  • A mother’s love – Mary
  • What Jesus thought of his special day

Exercise:

I asked Caryl Waller Krueger, Bible scholar and author of 15 books about successful family living, to share one of her family traditions.

When our children were young, we took them to Bethlehem one Christmas and each chose an olive wood nativity set as their memento of the trip. They have treasured these through the years, and in a desire to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas, we decided to extend this tradition to the grandchildren this year.

We selected a nativity set for each grandchild and found them in various
catalogs priced between $8 and $14. For little children, we chose ones made
of fabric or wood; for older children, they are made of resin or pottery - each one charmingly distinctive.

Our plan is to gather everyone around a large table and present each set.
Then, we will read the Nativity story from the Bible starting with the prophecy:

Micah 5:2
Isaiah 40: 1-5
Isaiah 9: 2, 5-7
Matthew 1:18-23
Luke 2: 1, 3-7
Luke 2:8-18, 20
Matthew 2: 1-12
Luke 2:40
Matthew 4:23-24
Matthew 5:2, 16
Matthew 10:8
John 13:34
John 21:25
Revelation 19: 6, 16

[Chronological translations -- King James Version, The Message]

These citations tell the story in order, and as we read it, the children will put the characters in place as they come into the story: Mary, the angel, then Joseph, next the shepherds and sheep, then the stable with animals, the baby Jesus, and the three kings.

This establishes a memorable tradition of love that can continue for generations.

Exercise:

Following the above exercise, use a wooden puzzle and let the children tell the story of the Nativity. Hand each pupil a puzzle piece and allow them all to tell the story and put the pieces into place. You may want to repeat this with them, placing different characters into the story each time. Work with it until they can comfortably relate the full story of Jesus' birth. Encourage them to share this story with their relatives and friends on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Exercise:

Use one of the chronological stories of Jesus’ birth (King James version or Peterson’s Message) and have the students act out each part.

Exercise: 

Have the students look at a map of Israel. [Make copies for each pupil]

• Circle the city where Joseph and Mary lived.
• Place a square around the city where Jesus was born.
• Put a triangle around the city where Herod lived.
• Show them a map of where you live and figure out how far 80 miles would be from their homes or church.
• How long might it take you to walk it, ride a bike, or drive in a car?

You might wonder why daily work with the Nativity is necessary. Won't our children get bored with too much emphasis on Jesus? Do they get bored with too much discussion about Santa? The media overemphasizes its commercialism with songs, movies, television and radio shows, internet messages and ads. It is a ringing endorsement of Santa Claus and gift getting. It shifts the focus from understanding God's greatest gift to the world to being consumed by the question, "What more can I hope to get?" Christmas wish lists have become the norm. A daily discussion or reminder of what Christmas is really about helps us value and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.

When greed, ill-temper, anger, or discouragement flood thought, it is time to discuss removing the "Herod influence." Herod tried to be a kill-joy to the great news of Jesus' birth. We can't let materialism be a kill-joy to the Christ in our lives.

Angels

Discuss angels.

• What are angels?
• What do angels do?
• What role did angels play in Jesus' birth?
• If you had been a shepherd, would you have been frightened by the angel's message?
• How do we know when they are talking to us?
• Has an angel ever talked to you?
• If so, what did the angel say?
• Are you an angel?

Gifts

• Talk about gift giving.
  • What makes a gift special?
  • What was so special about God's gift?
  • What would they have given the baby Jesus?
• Examine the Bible verse: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
  • What is special about this gift from God?
  • How have you accepted this gift in your life?
  • Why did God give us this gift?
• Discuss the gifts of the wise men.
• What about those baby gifts? Weren't they a bit strange? Those gifts were so expensive that they might have been sold to help pay for Mary, Joseph and Jesus' escape to Egypt. Symbolically, the Gold represents royalty and Jesus was King of the Jews; the Frankincense was incense used in the Temple to express gratitude; and the Myrrh was a perfume that was later used on Jesus after taking him off the cross. [Sandy Silverthorne. The Awesome Book of Bible Facts. Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers.]
• If you had been there when Jesus was born, what would you have brought the Christ child?
• Ask the younger classes to draw a picture of their gifts and post them on a bulletin board.
• Practice gift giving. Do you know anyone at school or in your church, or a neighbor who needs something? Think of a gift you could give to someone and discuss this with your family.
  
  [Ed. Note: Every year before Christmas, my parents would find a family in need. Mom would get a list of something each member of this family needed. We all got to talk about how to find the perfect gifts for this family. My parents might pay their utility bills for the winter; or provide a gift certificate at the grocery store that would more than pay for a month of groceries; or offer tickets to the Nutcracker or a holiday movie; but our ideas always included a gift for every member of the family. We would also bake cookies or make special treats for families. Thought was always centered on giving. While we planned and wrapped, we would sing Christmas carols and talk about the night Jesus was born. Giving was our favorite part of the holiday. I think we were more excited about selecting perfect gifts than we were about unwrapping our own gifts.]
  
  
• What gifts would you give the world?
• What is the best gift you could ever receive?
• What are some of your favorite gifts and why?
• In what ways do these gifts help you show kindness, obedience to God, and praise?
• Ask your pupils to write or discuss what they would include in a thank you note to God for His gift.
  • What are some of the important ingredients in a thank you note?
    • Greeting
    • Say something about the event (Christmas)
    • Mention the gift and why you like it
    • Express gratitude for the gift (be specific)
    • Say something nice about the other individual
    • Close

Events in the Christmas Story

• What did the angels have to do with this story?
• Where did Joseph have to go to pay his taxes? (Luke 2:4)
• Who went with him? (Mary)
• Where was Jesus born? ( Luke 2:7)
• Why wasn’t there room in the Inn?
• Where did they take Jesus 8 days after his birth?
• Who saw him in the temple?

Peace

• Why is peace such an important theme at Christmas?
• Who sings of peace?

Prophecy

Discuss the role of prophecy in the birth of Jesus.

• What specific prophecy does Matthew remind us is fulfilled? (Isaiah 7:14)
• What other passages can you find in the Bible that prophesy Jesus' birth? (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 9: 2, 5-7)
• What is meaningful to you about Jesus being the fulfillment of prophecy?
• What does Herod discover about prophecy when the wise men (Magi) visit? (Matt 2:4-6; Micah 5:2)
• Read Jeremiah 31:15 and Matt. 2:18. To what incident in the history of Israel does this prophecy refer? (Look at II Chronicles 36:15-20)

Important People

Zacharias

• Who is Zacharias?
• What is so important about the story of Zacharias? (Luke 1:5-25)
• Why do you think the story of Jesus' birth starts with the story of Zacharias?
• Who was Zacharias’ wife?

Elisabeth

• Who is Elisabeth?
• What is special about her?
• Who is related to her?

Mary

• Which angel visited Mary? (Luke 1:26)
• If you were Mary, how would you respond to "the angel of the Lord?"
• What impresses you about Mary's response to the angel? (Luke 1:38)
• Why is it helpful to Mary to discover Elisabeth is pregnant?
• What happens when Mary greets Elisabeth? (Luke 1:41)
• Who is Jesus' famous cousin? (Luke 1:60; Matt 3:1)
• Who was Mary's husband? (Luke 2:4-5)
• Why didn't Mary stay home and have the baby in Nazareth? (Fulfillment of prophecy: Micah 5:2)

Joseph

• Who is Joseph?
• What did the angel tell him?
• Would you have married Mary?
• Why did Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem?
• What happened while Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem?

Visitors

• Who were the first visitors?
• Why angels?
• Why shepherds?
• Why wise men?
• How many wise men visited Jesus? We don't know. People assume three because of the three gifts they brought. There is reason to believe there may have been as many as a few dozen wise men accompanied by guards and servants. The group was so large that it may have frightened King Herod. [Sandy Silverthorne. The Awesome Book of Bible Facts. Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers.]
• What happened to the star when the Magi visited Herod?
• How old was Jesus when the Magi arrived? (some say two years old or why else would Herod have the children under two killed?)

Herod

• Who is Herod?
• Was King Herod afraid? [some theorize he may have invited the astrologers because of the planet convergence; others suggest he didn't want anyone else to be king]
• What did Herod do when the wise men didn’t return?
• What is meant by “the Herod mentality?”
• In what ways is our world still dealing with the Herod mentality?