LEADERS HUB
Year 1, Term 4, Week 4: Ideas for Middle Group
Week 6: Jesus is Here! - The Shepherds Visit Him!
Lesson Objective:
The angel tells the shepherds to visit Jesus because He is a special baby- He was sent to be the Saviour!
Bible Passage:
Luke 2:8-20 (shepherds)
Memory Verse:
Luke 2:11 - This very day in King David's home town a Saviour was born for you. He is Christ the Lord!
Story Idea: Tell it with Props!
You will need (from cupboard):
- Baby doll wrapped in cloth
- Shepherds hat
- Angel halo
Introduction: Recap!
- Show the kids the baby and ask if they can remember which special baby was born in last weeks story
- Prompt them to remember that Jesus was born and He slept in a food trough because there was no room for them in the inn!
Tell it, covering the main points and using props as needed:
- On the night when Jesus was born, some shepherds were in the field with their sheep (put on shepherds hat)
- All of a sudden, an ANGEL (put on halo) from God appeared!
- The shepherds (hat) were TERRIFIED
- The angel (halo) said... Don't be afraid! A Saviour baby has been born today in Bethlehem! You'll find him wearing baby clothes and lying in a feed trough!
- The shepherds (hat) were amazed!
- All of a sudden.... There were angels (halo) ALLLL AROUND and they were all singing to God together! They were so happy about the new Saviour baby!
- The shepherds (hat) decided to go and VISIT the special baby
- They hurried off to Bethlehem and soon found that everything the angel said was true!
- The baby was there, wrapped up and lying in a feed trough
- They told everyone what the angel had said - that this baby was going to be a SAVIOUR for EVERYONE
- This baby's name was Jesus and HE came to SAVE us from the wrong things we've done, to save us from our sin, so that we can be part of God's family
- The shepherds were SO excited, they praised God all the way back to their sheep fields!
Quiz Questions:
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1. How did the shepherds feel when the angel appeared? Scared
2. The angel told them not to be afraid, what sort of news did the angel have? Good news
3. Which special baby had been born? Jesus
4. God had sent Jesus for a very special purpose - what was He going to do? Save us
5. Jesus came to save us from our sin, what is sin? Doing the opposite of what God wants
6. Why does Jesus want to fix our sin? He loves us and wants us to be part of God's family
7. How did the shepherds feel when they saw that the Saviour - Jesus, really had been born? Excited!
Game Idea: Balloon Sheep Herding
- Before the lesson, blow up some balloons in two different colours (eg. white and black or white and pink etc.) - with at least as many balloons as kids
- Split the kids into two groups and separate them at opposite ends of the room - each group with a leader
- Throw all of the balloons in to the middle of the room
- Have the kids from each group take turns running out into the middle, grabbing a balloon of their teams colour and bringing it back (leaders can help younger kids)
- The first team to collect all of their 'sheep' wins!
Remind the kids that the shepherds looked after sheep in the field... The shepherds got to see the promised Saviour Jesus when He was born and they were so excited that they praised God all the way home!
Game Idea: Angel, Shepherd, Baby
- Have the kids stand in a circle
- Explain the actions:
ANGEL = Hold arms out and flap
SHEPHERD = Stand with hands on hips
BABY = Curl into a ball on the ground
- Play some music and allow the kids to dance or walk around in a circle (around some marker cones)
- When you stop the music, call out on of the actions
- All the kids should try to do the action
- Kids who do the wrong action (or the slowest to do the correct one) can stand to one side or in the middle of the circle
- The winner is the last child left 'in'
Craft Idea: Toilet roll shepherd!
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You will need:
- Toilet rolls (or make your own by rolling and gluing cardboard)
- Old fabric
- Paper
- Twine/string, colouring pencils, googley eyes, wool, scissors, glue (kids church cupboard)
Before the lesson:
- Cut circles (for faces) from paper
- Cut pieces of material (one set big enough to wrap the tube in, the other big enough to make a hat over the top of the tube
- Cut lengths of string (long enough to tie around the tube with some extra
- Cut small bits of wool
Have the kids:
- Decorate their face (colour in, draw smile and nose, glue on eyes and beard wool)
- Glue a piece of material around their tube
- Glue on their face
- Tie a piece of fabric over the top for the hat (with adult help) and a tie around the shepherds waist
