LEADERS HUB
Year 1, Term 4, Week 5: Ideas for Junior Group
Week 4: Jesus is here! - He is Born!
Lesson Objective:
Jesus was born to Mary in a stable in Bethlehem and lay down in a food trough. He was not a typical rich King but He was DEFINITELY the promised King!
Bible Passage:
2 Samuel 87:8-13 (Prophecy about the King) Luke 2:1-7, Matthew 1:18-23 (Birth of Jesus)
Memory Verse:
Luke 2:7 - She gave birth to her first-born Son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Story Idea: Memory Exercise & Read It!
Introduction: Memory Exercise
- Show the kids a short snippet from a movie, an animation or act out a scene for them
- At the end, ask the kids to tell you something they remember from the scene (they should all remember different parts!)
- Explain that there are four books in the Bible that tell us about the life of Jesus - four people who knew about Jesus and all wrote about Him!
- Each of the four people remember different details about Jesus' life, so they all tell some different stories or the same stories in different ways!
Introduction: The Birth of Jesus
- Use a whiteboard
- Ask the kids to tell you everything they can remember about Jesus birth and note them down
Bible Reading:
- Have the kids take turns reading sections to read the two gospel accounts of Jesus birth - Matthew 1:18-23 and Luke 2:1-7
Quiz Questions:
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1. Where did Joseph and Mary have to go for the census? Bethlehem
2. Why did they have to go to Bethlehem? Joseph's family was from there and they had to go to their home town
3. Where was Jesus laid? In a bed of hay
4. What type of people were Isaiah and Micah (we learned about them in week one)? Prophets
5. Where did Micah say the promised King would be born? Bethlehem
6. What family was Jesus from? David's family
7. The two stories about Jesus' birth talk about it in a different way, but they BOTH say that Jesus was born in David's family, why do you think both Matthew and Luke thought that was important? (READ 2 SAM 7:8-13 if needed) Because the prophets had said that the King would come from David's family
8. So, how do we know that Jesus is the promised King? His birth matches ALL of the things the prophets said (and so do many other things that He did too!)
9. How does Jesus make it possible for us to be part of His everlasting Kingdom (Hint: Matthew's account tells us why Jesus came)? He died for our sins!
10. God planned from the beginning to send Jesus for us, what do you think that shows us about God? He loves us HEAPS! He wants us to be part of His Kingdom!
11. What does that mean for us? We can have a relationship with God, be part of His Kingdom, love and follow Him with our lives etc.
Game Idea: Who's changing the moves?
- Everyone sits in a circle
- One volounteer guesser leaves the room while the leader chooses someone to be the trend-setter
- Play some music
- The trend setter starts doing something to the beat (eg clapping legs, waving arms etc.)]
- The guesser comes back in and tries to work out who is changing the moves
You can work out who the guesser is based on who changes moves first! We can tell that Jesus is the promised King because His life matches all of the predictions about the promised King!
Craft Idea: Jesus is King Stable
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You will need:
- Tissue paper, paddle pops, glue, scissors, sharpies, ribbon (from Kids Church cupboard)
- Laminator and laminating sheets (Can be borrowed from Kathryn if needed)
Before the Lesson:
- Download and print the manger silhouettes and the stable shape template
- Cut out the manger shapes - one per child
- Trace the stable shape pentagon onto a clear laminating sheet - one per child
- Cut coloured tissue paper into small shapes
Have the kids:
- Glue tissue paper to the inside of their laminating sheet in the shape of the pentagon
- Stick the stable silhouette on top of the tissue paper
- Laminate the pentagon, then cut around it (adult help required)
- Glue paddle pops to the pentagon to make the stable shape
- Write 'JESUS IS KING' with a sharpie
- Attach a ribbon loop to hang their stable by
NB: A similar colourful effect can be created by using an iron and a sheet of grease-proof paper to melt coloured crayon shavings to the pentagon shape, before attaching the manger shape
