Jesus is Born!

Luke 2:1-7

Clip-clop, clip-clop. Mary had Joseph were on a long trip. Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to their home town of Bethlehem to put their names on a special list.


Everyone else was going to their home towns, too. That was the law made by Roman Emperor Caesar August.


Finally, Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem. They were tired. It had been a long trip. Joseph knew that he must find a resting place very soon. It was almost time for Mary to have the baby the angel had told her about. The baby would be God’s Son!

Bethlehem was very crowded. Many other people besides Mary and Joseph had come to Bethlehem. There was no place for Mary and Joseph to rest.


At last Joseph found a place where they would be able to stay warm and dry. It was a stable, a place where animals were kept. Mary and Joseph lay down to rest.

That night, Mary’s baby was born! It was a baby boy, just as the angel had told them. They named the baby Jesus. Mary wrapped Him in soft cloths. A manager made a bed for baby Jesus. A manger was where animals ate their food.


Mary and Joseph thanked God. They were so glad Jesus was born. We are glad that Jesus is born!


Bible Paraphrase: A Savior has been born. (Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:11 NIV)

Text Truth: We are glad that Jesus is born!


Family Devotional

Look for ways to fill your Christmas season with joy. It can be simply slowing down to really listen to the words of a favorite Christmas carol; helping someone in need; or telling someone about Jesus, your Savior, who came to earth as a baby.

Read the familiar passage of Luke 2:1-21 as if you have never heard or read it before. God sending Jesus is a special time filled with joy! Even the angels praised God!

You can have “great joy” (Luke 2:10) in the knowledge that Jesus came for us.


Activities You Can Do at Home


Make Edible Manger Munchies

You’ll Need: 1 cup butterscotch chips, ½ cup milk chocolate chips, 1 package of chow mein noodles, wax paper, unbreakable and microwave-safe bowl, spoon, microwave oven
  • Combine the butterscotch and milk chocolate chips in the bowl and microwave for 60 seconds on medium heat.
  • Stir.
  • Heat for an additional 15 seconds if needed. 
  • Stir in the chow mein noodles. 
  • Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on wax paper.
  • Allow to cool before eating. 
  • While you and your child enjoy the munchies, talk about the Bible story and remind your child that we are glad that Jesus was born. 
  • Say with your child the Bible paraphrase: “A Savior has been born.” (Luke 2:11)

Act Out the Bible Story

You’ll Need: dress-up clothes, a baby doll, a small box, strips of cloth
  • Wrap the baby doll in the strips and put the baby in the box. 
  • As you act out the Bible story, remind your child of any parts the forget.
  • Emphasize that Mary and Joseph were happy when Jesus was born and they took good care of Jesus.
  • Say with your child the Bible paraphrase: “A Savior has been born.” (Luke 2:11)


Spread the News

Christmas can be a lonely time for many people, especially those with family far away. Let your child spread the news that Jesus is born by creating a picture to give or help bake cookies for someone.


Review the Story

Use a simple call and response to review he story and the memory verse. Say phrases from the story and have your child complete the sentence with “A Savior has been born.”

In a stable in Bethlehem,
(Child) A Savior has been born.
Mary had a little Son.
(Child) A Savior has been born.
Sleeping in a manger bed,
(Child) A Savior has been born.


Prayer and Praise
  • Praise God that Jesus was born.
  • List reasons that Jesus’ birth makes you glad.

-
Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence.
-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Christians Shared Everything

Image
Acts 4:32-37 Our story comes from a book of the Bible called Acts. That name is short for “the Acts of the Apostles.” The word "Apostle" is another word to describe a helper of Jesus. Our Bible story tells us about some people who loved Jesus. The people were gathered together in a room. Buzz, buzz, buzz. The room filled with talking and laughter. The people called themselves Christians because they did what Jesus Christ said to do (Christian means "follower of Christ"). The Christians knew that Jesus was God’s Son. They wanted others to know about Jesus, too. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, and children met together in homes. They would pray, sing, and learn about Jesus together. All these people loved Jesus. They were like one big, happy family. Because they loved Jesus, the Christians happily shared what they had more than others. Everything a person had was happily shared with the rest of the Bible-time Christians. They shared food so every...
Read more

Abraham and His Family Moved to a New Land

Image
Genesis 12:1-9 Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." A man and woman lived in a land called Ur. The man was named Abram and the woman was named Sarai. Abram and Sarai were husband and wife. God called Abram and Sarai and gave them new names! Abram means “nobel father.” But God changed his name to “Abraham,” which means “father of many.” Sarai” means “princess.” But God changed her name to “Sarah,” which means “mother of nations.” Now they were Abraham and Sarah, "father of many" and "mother of nations!" Abraham grew up in the land called Ur. When he was grown, Abraham moved with his family to a new land called Haran. But then, in the land of Haran, God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his country. God told Abraham to move to a new land. God promised to be with Abraham and show him where to go. God also promised to give Abraham children, grandchildren, and many g...
Read more

Jacob and Esau

Image
Genesis 27:41a; 32:9-21; 33:3-11 Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." The Bible tells us about two brothers, Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. They were the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham. Jacob and Esau were born at the same time and were the same age. But Esau was a couple of minutes older than Jacob. Because Esau was the oldest son, he would someday receive a special blessing from their father. That was very important. One day, Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving Jacob the important blessing instead of Esau. Esau was very mad. Esau was so angry that Jacob became afraid. Jacob decided to move away from Esau. So he packed up his things and traveled to another land. Even though God didn’t like what Jacob had done to Esau, God still blessed Jacob. God gave Jacob a large family and many animals. After many years, God told Jacob it was time to g...
Read more