Curriculum

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Are You Ready for Christmas? Go to Curriculum multi-week pack

Bible Background

What Kids Will Learn

John the Baptist had an important job: to tell others that Jesus was coming. And his message was for everybody, every single person. No one was left out.

Scripture Summary

The Roman emperor Tiberius reigned from A.D. 14 to 37. And within Rome, Pilate served as a governor of the province of Judea. Herod the Great, who had been gone for a couple of decades, had sons, Herod (Antipas) and Philip. Pilate, Antipas, Philip, and Lysanias all served as governors, seemingly of equal power, in their own provinces. Yet all were under Roman rule.

Jewish law states that the only high priest was to be appointed from Aaron’s (brother of Moses) line. But the Roman government was corrupt and appointed its own religious leader. Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas were the top leaders in Rome, but they heard of a prophet from the desert, and they were jealous of the attention this prophet received.

John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth (a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus). He was called by God to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. In that day, when an important leader would travel, a person would be sent as a messenger to let others know the leader was coming.

John lived by himself in the desert, wearing clothes made of camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey. His message was clear—turn from sin and turn toward God—as John announced that the Messiah was coming.

Luke wrote this book for non-Jewish people. In order to lend credence to his message, Luke quoted from Isaiah. The salvation message—this good news—is for all people. Jews and non-Jews were invited into this new way of life.

Why Is This Important

Just like John the Baptist, we can share the good news that Jesus came for everybody—our best friend, the coworker that gets on our nerves, and our distant relatives.

Teacher Devotion

Scripture

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1)

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” ~Lilo and Stitch

This familiar quote hangs on the wall of many homes. There’s just something beautiful about the sense of belonging to a family. We’re inclusive. We look out for each other. Every member of the family matters.

More practically, each member has a seat at the dinner table. We each have roles we serve in the family to give and receive love. And we use our individual gifts to benefit others and the family as a whole. We belong, and we remind our family members that they belong, too.

Within this quote, there’s no claim of perfection. No one pretends to have 24/7 peaceful homes free from arguments. Despite our human mistakes, we’re intentional about including every member of the family.

I’m thankful for the similarities to God’s family. The invitation to join God’s family is for everyone. Every. Single. Living. Person. Regardless of your past, you are chosen by God to join His family and be in an ongoing relationship with Him. It doesn’t matter where you grew up, what choices you’ve made, or if you can recite all the books of the Bible in order. God loves you and sees you.

As part of God’s family, you won’t get left behind or forgotten. Take a moment and ponder your answers to these questions:

  • In what ways does your own family remind you of the family of God?
  • Today, how can you show others what it’s like to belong to God’s family?

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for my family. I pray that You help me love them well today. And thank you for including me in Your family. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Get the full Sunday school lesson plan

  • Bible Memory Verse
  • Interactive Bible Experience
  • Animated video with companion questions

Bible Memory Verse

You’ll Need: Bibles, Medium-size rocks, Markers

Get Ready: Before class, write a phrase from the Bible memory verse on each rock, making two complete sets.

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’” (Luke 3:4-6)

Lead kids in these steps to learn today’s Bible memory verse:

  • Invite kids to open their Bibles to Luke 3:4-6.
  • Ask for several volunteers to read aloud the verse.
  • Form two groups and have them line up at one end of the room with the memory verse rocks at the opposite end of the room.
  • Explain that when you say “go,” team members will go one at a time and collect a rock. They’ll have to bring it back to their team and put the rocks in order of today’s Bible memory verse.
  • Once the rocks are in order, invite kids to say the memory verse aloud together.

SAY: Today we are going to learn about how John the Baptist, Zechariah’s son, cried out an important message. Let’s listen closely to that message today.

Interactive Bible Experience

You’ll Need: Bibles, Christmas decorations, Christmas music

  • Invite kids to open their Bibles to Luke 3:1-6.
  • Read aloud the passage.
  • Hand out Christmas decorations to the kids.
  • Explain that you are going to play Christmas music and give them some time to decorate the room to prepare for Christmas.

ASK:

  • If you knew Jesus was coming to your house tomorrow, what would you do to prepare?
  • How can you prepare to make room to celebrate Jesus this Christmas?

Snack

The Way Snacks

You’ll Need: Paper plates, Napkins, Graham crackers, Resealable sandwich bags, Plastic knives, Icing, M&M’s candies

Get Ready: Have kids clean their hands.

Follow these steps to make “The Way Snacks”:

  • Give each child a paper plate, a napkin, and three graham crackers.
  • Invite kids to each break one of their graham crackers and place it in- side a sandwich bag and seal it tightly. Have them crumble the cracker into tiny pieces like sand.
  • Instruct kids to spread icing down the center of each intact graham cracker and sprinkle the graham cracker “sand” on the intact crackers to create a path.
  • Give kids M&M’s to create steps along the path.
  • Enjoy.

SAY: The words John was preaching are from the book of Isaiah. He said, “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

Game

Prepare the Way

You’ll Need: Straws, Ping-pong balls, Masking tape, Paper

Get Ready: Before the activity, make two paths—one for each team—using the masking tape.

To play the “Prepare the Way” game, follow these steps:

  • Form two teams, and give each team a ping-pong ball.
  • Give each child a straw.
  • Line up each team at one end of its path.
  • Give each child a piece of paper, and instruct kids to wad it up and throw it along the other team’s path to create obstacles.
  • One by one, kids will blow through their straws and guide the ping- pong ball along the path and back.
  • When a player returns, the next player will guide the ball down the path and back by blowing through the straw.
  • The first team that has all its players guide the ball along the path and back wins.

ASK:

  • What made this activity easy or hard?
  • Explain whether you think John the Baptist’s job was easy or hard.

SAY: John the Baptist’s job was to prepare the way for Jesus. He preached and told people to get ready for Jesus’ coming. Some people may not have wanted to look at their hearts or change their ways, but what John the Baptist was preaching was what was best for them, and it’s what’s best for us, too.

Craft

Christmas Card Mission

You’ll Need: Red and green construction paper, Markers, Stickers

Have kids follow these steps to make the “Christmas Cards Mission” craft:

  • Give each child a sheet of construction paper.
  • Invite kids to make Christmas cards for people they know, inviting them to church this Christmas.
  • Challenge kids to write about preparing for Christmas.
  • Once the kids have finished making their cards, invite them to pray over their cards and for the people who’ll receive them.

ASK:

  • How can we pray for and encourage others to prepare to worship Jesus at Christmas?

Prayer

Chain Link Prayers

You’ll Need: Red and green construction paper, Scissors, Clear tape, Markers

Get Ready: Before class, cut long strips of red and green construction paper, one per child.

  • Give each child a strip of construction paper.
  • Invite kids to each write a prayer on their strip of paper asking God to help them prepare room for Him this Christmas.
  • After they have written their prayers, help kids create a prayer chain by linking their construction paper strips together using tape.
  • Close in prayer.

PRAY: Dear God, we are so thankful You sent Jesus to rescue us. Help us make room to celebrate Jesus this Christmas. In Jesus’ name, amen.