Shepherds Visit Jesus

Luke 2:8-20

Being a Bible-time shepherd was hard work. The shepherd had to be sure the sheep had water to drink and grass to eat. He had to keep all the sheep together and not let any get lost. He even ate and slept while watching the sheep.


One night, a group of tired shepherds lay down to sleep for the night when something amazing happened—and angel appeared! A bright light shone around the angel. The shepherds were not tired anymore. They were scared!


The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I have good news! This news will make people all over the world happy. Today, in the town of Bethlehem, a Savior has been born to you. He is Jesus, the Savior God promised long ago. You will find him in Bethlehem. Look for a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” The shepherds knew that a manger was a place that holds food for animals.


Then the sky was filled with many angels! They said “Glory to God!” Then the angels went away.


The shepherds were so excited! They hurried to Bethlehem.


They found Jesus in the manger, just as the angel had said. The shepherds worshiped Jesus. They thanked God for sending Jesus.


As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they told everyone they met about Jesus. They thanked God for sending Jesus. We thank God for sending Jesus.



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 thank God for sending Jesus.


Family Devotional

Even though you may have a long list of to-dos for Christmas preparations, challenge yourself to set aside time to focus on Jesus. Spend time with the Lord, reading and meditating on Luke 2 and praying.

Through the hustle and bustle (even just sitting in the car at a red light), you can take time to glorify, praise, and thank God for sending His Son—just as the shepherds took time many years ago.


Activities You Can Do at Home


Make a Fluffy Sheep

You’ll Need: light colored sheet of construction paper, dark sheet of construction paper, scissors, glue, white crayon or chalk, packing peanuts
  • Cut a body (cloud shape), a head (oval), and ear and four legs from the light paper.
  • Let your child glue the sheep on the dark paper.
  • Glue the packing peanuts on top of the sheep’s body.
  • Draw a nighttime scene on the paper.
  • Recall the Bible story.
  • Remind your child that we thank God for sending Jesus.

Sleepy Shepherd

As you get your child ready for bed, talk about the different things you do at night. Talk about how the shepherds were out in the fields at night watching their sheep. What do you think the shepherds thought when the angel appeared in the sky?


Visit Baby Jesus

You’ll Need: a nativity set or a baby doll
  • Hide the doll or nativity set somewhere in your house.
  • Let your child pretend to be a shepherd on his or her way to see baby Jesus.
  • When your child finds the baby doll or nativity set, thank God for sending Jesus.
  • Say with your child the Bible paraphrase: “A Savior has been born.” (Luke 2:11)

Angels and Shepherds

You’ll Need: stuffed animals for use as sheep, bathrobes, towels, sheets, safety pins
  • Use the collected items to make simple angel and shepherd costumes.
  • Arrange the stuffed animals as a flock of sheep.
  • Help your child recall the Bible story by acting out the angel’s visit to the shepherds.
  • Help your child recall the portions of the Bible story they may forget.
  • Remind your child that we thank God for sending Jesus.
  • Say with your child the Bible paraphrase: “A Savior has been born.” (Luke 2:11)

A Prayer of Thanks
  • Thank God for sending Jesus.
  • List specific reasons that you are thankful.

-
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

Isaac Did Not Fight

Image
Genesis 26:12-25 Take-Home Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." The Bible tells us about a man named Isaac. God gave Isaac lots of land. God blessed Isaac by helping him have many animals and servants. When the animals needed water to drink, Isaac and his helpers took them to a well. A well is a hole in the ground that helps you reach water that is under the ground. The animals and people drank the water from the well. The people who lived near Isaac were upset because he had more animals than they did. They filled Isaac’s wells with dirt so the animals couldn’t drink the water. But Isaac didn’t fight. He knew fighting doesn’t fix problems. The people told him to move away. Isaac didn’t have to go, but he packed his things and moved. Clippity-clop. Isaac made a new home on his land for his family and animals. Diggity-dig. Isaac dug a well so his animals would have water to drink. But Isaac
Read more