Christmas Across America
God’s Promise Kept: Christmas
Outline
Lesson Overview
Scripture
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-7
Teaching
Objective
The unsaved child will understand the true meaning of
Christmas and believe on Jesus as Savior.
Main
Teaching
God kept His promise by sending Jesus.
Interaction with children
I. INTRODUCTION
Today we are going to do some traveling in our imaginations. We’re going
to travel back in time and hear the true story of Christmas
II. PROGRESSION OF EVENTS
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
We traveled back to the very beginning of the Earth.
Let’s pretend we are there.
Jesus left Heaven and came to Earth.
God created the whole world and it was perfect. ( John 3:16a)
Going against God’s perfect way is sin. Sin separates us from God’s
goodness forever. (Romans 3:23a)
God made the 1st promise to all people. God promised to take away sin.
(Travel in time.) God used Mary to play a very important part in keeping
His promise. (Mary skit)
Joseph and Mary had promised to get married. How would Joseph react
when he heard the news of the baby? (Joseph skit)
Mary and Joseph were regular people like you and me. They lived their
lives to please God and He used them in a very special way.
One day, before the baby was born, a message came from the king
commanding everyone to travel back to the town where he was born.
Mary and Joseph traveled all the way to a town called Bethlehem. (Time
travel to Bethlehem.)
The baby was born!
When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, they looked for a place to
stay but there was no room anywhere. They had to stay in a stable.
III. CLIMAX
Materials
Needed:
- Mark verses to be read from your Bible (the ones in blue)
- Practice hand motions for Teaching to Saved and Word Up!
Optional:
- people dressed up to do Mary and Joseph skit (or use video)
At Christmas we celebrate how God kept His promise to the world by coming
to Earth as a baby. But His promise also was kept through Jesus’ life and
death.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Jesus took the punishment for your sin. (1 Corinthians 15:3b, 4)
B. God promises that if you believe in Him as the only one who can save
you, you will not perish (be punished for your sin) but you will be
saved from the punishment. (John 3:16)
CAA – God’s Promise Kept: Christmas
INTRODUCTION
1► Pat your head if you like to go on trips. (Allow response.) I’d like
two people to tell me their favorite place to travel. (Allow response.) My
favorite place to travel is (share your favorite place). Today we are going to
do some traveling in our imaginations. We’re going to travel back in time
and hear the true story of Christmas. Are you ready? In order to go back in
time, we are going to stand up, spin in a circle three times and stay standing.
Let’s do it when I count to three. One, two three! (Do with children.)
PROGRESSION OF EVENTS
2►We traveled back to the very beginning of the Earth. What do you
see? (Allow response.) I see beautiful mountains, trees and flowers. It looks
lovely, doesn’t it? Let’s pretend we’re running through the grass (run in
place). Let’s smell the flowers (pretend to pick and sniff a flower). What else
would you like to do here? (Allow responses and role-play the children’s
suggestions.) You can sit down now. Something else that’s amazing about
this place is that it’s completely perfect. The whole world is perfect. Nothing
is wrong here! That’s because God created it that way.
God is the one who created the whole world. 3►Did you know that
God made you too? He did! And He loves you so much! God gave you
the Bible to tell you about Himself. The Bible tells how much God loves you.
(Read John 3:16a.) In fact, God loves you so much He wants you to be with
Him forever. God is also holy— perfectly good all the time. God cannot do
anything wrong. He created the whole world perfectly.
It was perfect because God created it. But the world isn’t perfect
anymore. 4►That’s because the first two people God made did not live His
perfect way.
Going against God’s perfect way is called sin. When the first people
sinned, the world God created was no longer perfect. 5►Now the
Earth has thorns, sickness and death. Since the first sin, everything has
changed. Even people have changed. 6►Now everyone in the whole world is
born knowing how to and wanting to go against God. The Bible, God’s
Word, says, (read Romans 3:23a). That means everyone on Earth has
sinned—7►including you and me. Lying, disobeying your parents and being
mean to people are sins. Can you think of another example of sin? (Allow
response.) God is perfect and holy so He must punish sin. When your sin is
not forgiven, it separates you from God’s goodness forever. The whole world
has changed because of sin.
Christmas Across America
8►The first two people sinned—they did not live God’s way. But God
loves people so much He gave them His very first promise. God promised to
make a way to take away sin. That’s where Christmas comes in. Let’s travel
through time again. On three, stand up, spin around in a circle three times
then sit back down. Ready? One, two three! (Do with children.) (Have a
volunteer ready to play the part of Mary. She should walk to the front of the
room while the children are spinning.) 9►And here we are. Oh, look—
there’s Mary! She’s exactly who we need to talk to! God used Mary to play a
very important part in keeping His promise. Mary, would you tell us about it?
Mary Skit1
I’d love to tell you my story! It all started on an ordinary day for me. I was
doing my regular chores when all of a sudden I heard a voice calling my
name. I turned around and it was an angel! God sent His messenger to talk
with me! The angel told me that God was pleased with how I was living my
life. I was so confused and afraid. Nothing like this had ever happened to me
before. I tried to figure out what the angel meant as he kept on talking. The
angel told me not to be afraid. Then he said the strangest thing. He said I was
going to have a baby who would grow up to save the world from the
punishment of sin! The angel explained that the baby would not have a
human father like all other babies do. Instead, God would put the baby inside
me to grow. He told me that God can do anything. I want to live my life to
please God so I said, “I am God’s servant. Let it be to me according to your
word.” Then the angel left.
Wow! Thanks for sharing with us, Mary! (Mary says, “You’re
welcome” then leaves.) What would you have done if an angel came to visit
you? (Allow response.)
There was someone else who got a visit from an angel not long after
Mary did. 10►His name was Joseph.
Joseph and Mary had promised to get married. How would he react
when he heard the news of the baby? Let’s go talk to him and see. (Have a
volunteer ready to play the part of Joseph.) Oh, there he is! Joseph, would
you tell us what the angel said to you?
Joseph Skit
Of course! Mary and I were going to get married when I found out she was
going to have a baby. Then an angel came to me in a dream. He told me the
baby inside Mary was put there by God Himself! It was okay for me to go
ahead and marry her like I promised, even though the baby didn’t belong to
Most text and PP visuals © 2015 Child Evangelism Fellowship® Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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me. The angel told me to name the baby Jesus, which means “God saves.”
Jesus would save people from their sins! The angel told me that this baby
would be God Himself, who was coming to Earth to be with us. God was
keeping His promise after so many years! This baby inside Mary would grow
up and save the world from the punishment of sin. So I did what the angel
said. I kept my promise and married her.
Thanks for sharing with us, Joseph. (Joseph says, “You’re welcome”
then leaves.) Mary and Joseph sure have amazing stories. And they weren’t
royalty or anyone important. Mary and Joseph were regular people like you
and me. They lived their lives to please God and He used them in a very
special way.
11►After Mary and Joseph got married, they stayed in their home town
as the baby grew inside Mary, just as God had promised. But one day, before
the baby was born, a message came from the king of the land, commanding
all the people to travel back to the town where they were born to be counted.
Joseph had to travel a long way to obey the king. At this time Mary was very
close to having her baby, but she went with Joseph. 12►They packed their
bags and traveled all the way to a town called Bethlehem. Let’s go forward
through time to see what happened there. Everyone stand up, spin around
three times and sit back down. (Do with children.) Aha! Here we are—the
town of Bethlehem!
13►There’s Mary and Joseph, and look! The baby was born! But
what’s that in the background? (Allow response.) Yes it’s animals. When
Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, they looked for a place to stay but
there was no room anywhere. A lot of people had traveled to Bethlehem to be
counted. Finally Mary and Joseph found a place. It wasn’t a place we
would’ve chosen to have a baby. They had to stay in a stable.
God the Son, the Savior, was born in a stable—a place where animals
were kept. 14►Mary and Joseph named Him Jesus just as the angel said.
What does Jesus mean? (Allow children to respond – ►God saves.) Mary
wrapped her baby up and laid Him in the animals’ food trough.
CLIMAX
15►The stable was not a fancy place but that’s where God kept His
promise to the world. That’s where He kept His promise to you. This is the
real reason we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate how God kept His promise
to the world by coming to Earth as a baby. But His promise was so much
more than that. We see God’s promise kept through Jesus’ life and what
came after.
Christmas Across America
CONCLUSION
16►Jesus grew up and became a man. He taught people about God
and His love. He performed many miracles—things only God can do.
But most of all, Jesus never sinned. Never once did Jesus lie, cheat or even
think any bad thoughts. He did not deserve to be punished for sin. But Jesus
took the punishment for your sin. Some evil men accused Him of a crime He
didn’t do and sentenced Him to death. 17►They beat Jesus, put a sharp
crown of thorns on His head and put nails in His hands and feet. Jesus knew
that this was the way God had planned to forgive our sins. He could have
stopped these evil men and chosen not to die. But He let them put Him up on
a big wooden cross, where He died like a criminal, even though He had never
once done anything wrong. He died to take the punishment you deserve for
your sin. But something amazing happened the third day after Jesus died.
18►Listen as I read from God’s Word. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:3b-4.) Jesus
came alive again! To show that He completely took the punishment for your
sin, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He came back to life, walked and talked with His
friends and ate with them. Then He went back to Heaven, where He is now,
ruling over everything.
INVITATION2
19► Jesus, God the Son, did all this so He could make another
promise to you. God loves you so much He wants to have a
relationship (friendship) with you here on Earth. And He wants you to
be with Him forever in Heaven after your time on Earth is done. (Read John
3:16.) 20► God promises if you believe (trust completely) in Him as the
only one who can save you, you will not die and be separated from God
forever but you will be saved from that punishment. If you believe in Jesus as
your Savior, God will always be with you on Earth. He will help you turn
from sin and live His way. Then you will live with God in Heaven after your
time on Earth is done. Do you trust Jesus as your Savior from sin? Will you
trust God’s promise to save you?
Please bow your head and close your eyes. If today you decided to
believe in Jesus to be your Savior or have questions about what that means,
please show me by raising your hand. (Acknowledge responses.) You may all
open your eyes now. If you raised your hand, please meet me (designate time
and location).
Link to song Christmas Bells: We learned in today’s lesson that God kept
His promise to take away the punishment for our sin. God kept that promise
at Christmas. Let’s sing about that.
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2
Copy BL_CAA Skits for “Mary” and “Joseph” or use video provided.
Cut out the invitation, tape or paperclip it into your Bible at John 3:16, and read it.
Christmas Across America
Most text and PP visuals © 2015 Child Evangelism Fellowship® Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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