The Shepherds

Luke 2:8-21

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called the Gospel of Luke. Luke loved Jesus and wanted others to know and love Jesus, too. And the word gospel means “good news!”

We begin with a girl named Mary. God sent an angel to tell Mary that she would have a baby, and the baby would be named. Say it if you know it! JESUS! And Jesus is special because Jesus is God’s Son! 


Not long after that, Mary and Joseph had to travel to a town called Bethlehem.


Mary and Joseph didn’t stay in a super-fancy place. They stayed in a stable where animals live because there were no rooms anywhere else. And that’s where Baby Jesus was born.


On the same day that Jesus was born, there were some shepherds in a field taking care of their sheep. Hmm . . . what do sheep sound like? When I count to three, let’s make a sheep sound together. One . . . two . . . three! “Baa-baa! Baa-baa!”


While those shepherds watched their sheep, guess Who sent an angel to tell them that Jesus had been born. GOD! God sent an angel to tell the shepherds about Baby Jesus!



There was bright light shining all around! The shepherds were so afraid, but the angel told them, “Don’t be afraid! God’s Son, Jesus, has been born! You will find Him in a manger.”


And then the whole sky filled with angels! All of the angels were praising God and singing, “Glory to God in the highest!”


The shepherds ran as fast as they could to go to find Baby Jesus! When the shepherds got to the stable, they saw Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus. Baby Jesus was all wrapped up and lying in a manger, just like the angel said. 


The shepherds were so excited about Jesus that they ran and told everyone in town the good news! Jesus, God’s Son, had been born! God loves us so much that God gave us Jesus!


And that’s how we know God loves us. God gave us Jesus! So, when someone asks you, “How do we know God loves us?” You can say, “God gave us Jesus!”






Bible Paraphrase: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. —John 3:16, GNT

Text Truth: The shepherds run to Jesus.



Family Devotional

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
—Luke 2:15-21

In our Bible story, God sent angels to some shepherds to tell them the good news about Jesus! Do you remember what a shepherd takes care of? Shepherds take care of sheep. What was the good news the angels told the shepherds? The angels told the shepherds that Jesus had been born! When the shepherds heard about Jesus, they ran to see Him. Then they ran to go tell everyone the good news that God gave us Jesus!

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. —John 3:16, GNT

The shepherds were so excited that God gave us Jesus that they ran and told everyone the good news! So, with your family, take a piece of paper and make a list of people you can tell the good news about Jesus. Have each family member write down the name of one person they can tell that God gave us Jesus. And make sure their write their name next to the name of the person they write down.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, we want everyone to hear the good news that You gave us Jesus. Please help [family member’s name] tell [name they listed], and [family member’s name] tell [name they listed] . . . (continue with each family member and who they listed). We want everyone to know that Christmas is about You loving us so much that You gave us Your one and only Son, Jesus. We love You, God! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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