Curriculum
An Angel Appears to Joseph
Memory Verse:
“‘The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel.’ This name means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Accepting Jesus as God’s son means accepting that Jesus is both God and human. Because Jesus is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because Jesus was human, He lived, breathed, and experienced a human life causing Him to truly understand our struggles.
Scripture Summary
The coming Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament, and the Jewish people studied the Scriptures anticipating His coming. The prophet Isaiah foretold that “The LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). These prophecies helped the Jewish people accept Jesus because all of the divine predictions from years ago were coming true.
When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he planned to do the honorable thing and divorce her. Though, that wasn’t God’s plan. God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to help him connect the dots between the familiar prophecies he had studied his entire life and what was happening right then. Mary, the one Joseph wanted to marry, was pregnant with the coming Messiah. Even though it was a difficult decision to remain engaged to Mary, Joseph’s choice displayed his righteousness, sensitivity to God and others, and self-discipline.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (meaning He was fully God) and born of the virgin Mary (meaning He was fully human). Jesus was the perfect combination with the power to save the world and with the human experiences to be God with us.
Why Is This Important
One of Jesus’ names is Immanuel, which means God with us. The fulfilled prophecies help us to believe who Jesus is. Knowing that He experienced the same things we experience today helps us trust Him and what He can do for us.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
I remember sitting in the doctor’s office preparing for minor surgery. The doctor knew his stuff, came highly recommended, and answered all of my questions. Yet, he didn’t look up from my chart. I’m not sure he saw me. In his expertise, he was clinically assessing what needed to be done and planning for good outcomes. Thankfully, the outcomes were good.
Fast-forward a few years, and I had a different experience in the eye doctor’s office. She had similar expertise and diagnosed me with having optical migraines. But the interaction was different. As she was explaining the situation and protocols, she shared her own story of ex- periencing optical migraines as well. “When I feel one coming on, here’s what I do…” she shared. It made a huge difference for me interacting with someone who had the wisdom to help and the understanding of what I was facing.
Because Jesus is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because Jesus was human, He lived, breathed, and experienced human life, causing Him to truly understand our struggles. As we accept Jesus as God’s Son, we can come to Him with everything. Everything. This includes our joys, struggles, frustrations, curiosities, and celebrations. Not only does He “get it,” He has the power to do something about it within us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for being a creative God who knew we needed an all-powerful expert as well as Someone who truly knew what life feels like. Help me to trust You and Your work in me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
SAY: We’re going to memorize our Bible verse in a fun way. I will say part of the verse and you will finish the sentence.
SAY: The virgin will be (Children say, “pregnant.”)
She will have a (Children say, “son.”)
and they will name him (Children say, “Immanuel.”) This name means (Children say, “God is with us.”) Matthew 1: (Children say, “23.”)
Repeat several times.
Have children continue to practice saying the verse at home to memorize it.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bible
Get Ready:
A Christmas angel decoration, such as an ornament, tree topper, or Christmas card
Choose children to play the following roles:
- Narrator - choose a volunteer who is a strong reader to act as the Narrator and read directly from the Bible.
- Mary
- Joseph
- Angel
- Isaiah the prophet
As the Narrator reads, follow along with this “script” to help prompt the actors to say or do things.
The mother of Jesus Christ was Mary. (Mary walks out to center stage and says, “Hi! I’m Mary!”)
And this is how the birth of Jesus came about. Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. (Joseph gets down on one knee and says, “Marry me, Mary!” And Mary says yes.)
But before they married, she learned that she was going to have a baby. She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Mary holds onto her belly and looks up to heaven. She says, “I’m going to have God’s baby!”)
Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. (Joseph says, “What am I going to do?”) He did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. (Joseph walks away and pretends to think.)
While Joseph thought about this, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. (Joseph lies down and pretends to sleep.)
(The angel comes near to Joseph and repeats these words.) The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The baby in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
(Joseph rolls over in his sleep. The angel keeps speaking.) “She will give birth to a son. You will name the son Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”
(Isaiah steps in front of everyone.) All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet:
(Isaiah repeats these words.) “The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel.” This name means “God is with us.”
(Joseph awakens and sits up.) When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do.
(Joseph goes back to Mary.) Joseph married Mary.
But he did not have intimate relations with her until she gave birth to the son. (Joseph shakes his head no as he looks at Mary.)
And Joseph named the son Jesus.
Lead everyone in applause for the actors. Then ASK:
- What do you think it would’ve been like to be Mary?
- What do you think it would’ve been like to be Joseph?
- Why do you think Joseph accepted Jesus as God’s Son?
Snack
Angel Snack
You’ll Need:
An Angel Appears to Joseph How-to Video, Banana slices, Angel food cake (or any cake) cut into triangles, Apple slices, Plates, Napkins
Help children make the Angel Snack by following these steps:
- Lay the cake triangle on your plate for the angel’s body.
- Set a banana slice “head” at the top of your angel’s body.
- Place the apple slices as wings for the angel.
- Enjoy the snack!
Remind children as they are eating that the angel told Joseph that he needed to accept Jesus as God’s Son.
Game
With Us Game
You’ll Need:
Strong string or yarn, A race course
Get Ready: Set up a simple race course in your room.
SAY: We learned today that Jesus’ name means “God with us.” We’re going to play a game to learn more about what it means that God is with us.
Form pairs. Have partners stand side by side. Tie partners’ waists together. Have children run the race course. Afterward, lead them in discussion:
- What was it like to run this race with your partner?
- What was easy or hard?
SAY: Let’s remember that just as our partner was with us for all the race, God is with us all the time too.
Craft
Wordless Bracelet Craft
You’ll Need:
For each child… A set of pony beads with these colors: yellow, dark purple, red, white, and green, 12 inches of polyester cord, “Colors of the Gospel” sheet
Get Ready:
Watch the how-to video to learn how to make this craft.
SAY: At Christmas and every day, we need to accept Jesus as God’s Son. We’re going to make bracelets to help us remember why we need to accept Jesus as God’s Son.
Help children follow these steps to make their wordless bracelets.
- Thread the beads onto your cord in this order:
- Yellow
- Purple
- Red
- White
- Green
- Tie a knot to the left and the right of the beads.
- Shape your bracelet cord into a circle and at the top of the circle…
- Tie a knot.
- Pull the long side of the string and tie a knot an inch away and to the right.
Give each child a “Colors of the Gospel” sheet. Practice telling what the beads mean with the children. Then have them practice with one another.
- Yellow - God loves us.
- Purple - We all have sin that separates us from God.
- Red - Jesus died for our sins.
- White - Jesus forgives us of our sins and gives us life in heaven.
- Green - We grow in our friendship with Jesus.
SAY: Use your bracelets this week to share with others what it means to accept Jesus as God’s Son.
Prayer
Prayer of Acceptance
The children in your class have heard the gospel today. Maybe some have heard the gospel for the first time. Be sensitive to children who accept Jesus as God’s Son or who may want to know more after this prayer. Talk to parents afterward about how children respond.
PRAY: Thank You, God, for sending Jesus to us. We want to accept Jesus as God’s Son. We love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
