Ministry-to-Children.com » Children’s Ministry Ideas

Thanksgiving Sunday School Lesson for Children (Jesus and the Ten Lepers)

Tony Kummer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:30:53 +0000

Here is another Thanksgiving lesson plan for your children’s ministry. It was written by Doug Wolter, the Pastor of Children & Education at LaGrange Baptist Church. You can read more from Doug at his blog Life Together.

This lesson presents the story of Jesus and the Ten Lepers from Luke 17:11-19. It could be used in an elementary or preteen Sunday School class or in your children’s church. The lesson is best suited for older elementary kids (preteens), but could be adapted for your any children’s ministry setting. Be sure to modify this lesson for your ministry context. Leave your comments at the bottom of this page.

Need more help? You can browse all our Thanksgiving ideas for Children’s Ministry or find the right Sunday School craft for Thanksgiving.

ALL GIFTS FROM GOD SHOULD POINT US TO GOD AND CAUSE US TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan

HOOK:

What holiday is coming next? – Thanksgiving! When should we give thanks?
I want to tell you a story about thanksgiving – The 10 Lepers (Luke 17:11-19)

BOOK

What is leprosy? –a contagious skin disease…(have you ever had chicken pox?) This is worse! lots of sores, may even lose fingers & toes!

Nobody wanted to be with the lepers since they looked really different and had all those sores on their bodies; they had to live away from all the healthy people, including their family and friends
But still they had heard of Jesus and how he had healed a lot of people and so they yelled for his help!

Jesus says, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

One of the things that the priests would do was to make sure that someone was well enough to be around the other people in the town
Jesus said that they should go to the priests to show them that they were healed even before he had healed any of them.

As they went, they were healed – Jesus is God, heals from a distance, with a word

I wonder what that was like! They all were walking and all of sudden they were healed from head to toe! I bet they were celebrating and dancing all around!
BUT… the Bible says that only one of the men turned around and came back. And he was praising God in a loud voice! You see…just as the men were shouting for Jesus to have mercy and heal them at the beginning of the story…this man was now shouting in a loud voice to thank God for what He had done to heal him. He bowed down in front of Jesus and thanked Jesus.
Just then Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal all ten of the men?” Where are the other nine?” “Are you the only one who has returned to give praise to God?” And he said to this man, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”

All gifts from God should point us back to God and cause us to give thanks to God!

LOOK: Share STORY on next page

TOOK: Are we like the nine lepers that receive so much from God and never think about thanking Him…or are we like the one man who returned immediately when he was healed to give thanks to God? Gifts are good, but they aren’t God! We have even more reason to thank God if we have placed our faith in Jesus. He has healed us of something even worse than leprosy—sin! Did you notice at the beginning—Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, the cross! Jesus thought of you as he went to the cross. Trust him today.

Story/Illustration

Text: Luke 17:11-19 (Story of the 10 Lepers)

Illustration:

Back when I was about 10 years old, I was so excited for Christmas to come. I really wanted to get one of those big remote controlled cars. Well, just like every year, on Christmas Eve my family got into our car and we went to church. As we were singing the songs I couldn’t help but think about that remote control car. Finally the church service ended and we got back home. We looked in our stockings and then we went upstairs to open presents. We took turns opening up our gifts, and the first gift I opened was a pair of dress pants. I tried to look happy as I glanced at my mom and dad and said, “Thank you.” After watching the rest of my family open gifts, it was my turn again. I opened my second gift and guess what it was? A nice dress shirt to go with my dress pants. Now by this time, I was getting a little impatient and I faked a smile and told my older sister, “Thank you for the shirt.” After what seemed like forever as I watched the rest of my family take turns opening gifts, it was my turn again. This time, the box I was opening looked like it held a remote control car, so I was really getting excited. But when I opened up the box, do you know what it was? Two pairs of socks. Not even white socks, they were black socks! Yuck! Nobody wants socks for Christmas, let alone black socks. I was mad, and I didn’t see anymore gifts under the tree for me. I didn’t bother thanking my brother for the socks; instead I gave an expression to everyone like, “What is the deal? Have I really grown up that fast that all I get is clothes this year? Don’t I deserve more than that? About that time, I heard a strange sound coming from the other room. I noticed that my Dad had his hands behind him trying to maneuver something. Then, all of a sudden a huge shiny red remote control car came zooming down the hallway coming right at me. I couldn’t believe it! I picked it up and looked at it and hugged it. My frown changed to a big smile and I immediately said, “This is more like it!” My dad, who was holding the controls, handed it to me with a grin on his face. But without any word of thanks at all to my dad or to my mom, I took the remote control car downstairs and played with it for most of the night.

I didn’t really care about who gave me the remote control car as long as I got it. You see, in my sinful heart, I wanted the gift much more than I wanted the Giver of the gift. I smiled at the remote control car. I hugged it, and I spent time with it without even thinking about my parents who gave it to me.

This is how we are with God. We forget about Him so easily. We love His gifts and love His blessings, but do we really love Him? We get more excited about the things He gives us and end up forgetting about Him. This is sin. Because all gifts from God should point us back to God and cause us to give thanks to God!

Need More Help? Then try our preschool lesson for Thanksgiving or compare our Psalm 100 Bible lesson about Thankfulness.

The Birth of Christ #2 – The Shepherds (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:13:01 +0000

This is the second of a 3-part series on The Birth of Christ. This lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children about the Christmas Story based on the details of the Shepherds’ visit to see the baby Jesus. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Jesus Christ – The Shepherds – Luke 2:8-20

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the shepherds’ visit by retelling the story with teacher’s prompts.

Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible, Luke 2:8-20
“The Birth of Christ – The Shepherds” Booklet
1 sheep cutout per child, cotton balls, glue
½ paper plate per child, construction paper, cotton balls, yellow yarn cut into 2” strips, glue, stapler, crayons, scissors
1 Candy Cane Poem per child, 1 miniature candy cane per child, 1 large candy cane per child, tape

Worship: Use the “Christmas Songs” (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Birth of Christ – The Shepherds

Welcome Activity
Welcome activities are things to have out for the children to do as they are arriving for class. These activities will get them engaged as soon as they arrive and will help the transition from their parents.

Have some cotton balls available for the children to play with. Let them use their imaginations! If they are having trouble…have a “cotton ball fight”. They’ll think it’s cool to throw things.

Worship: Christmas Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction

Have a cutout of a sheep and some cotton balls available for the children. Let them glue cotton balls onto the printout so that the sheep will be fluffy.

Bible Lesson
Read Luke 2:8-20 (NIRV) aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

8 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said, 14 “May glory be given to God in the highest heaven! And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!”
15 The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. 17 After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. 18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over. 20 The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children make the following sounds when these words are read:

Angel – Awww
Shepherds – Baa

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” Shepherds, Angels, Jesus, Mary, Joseph
“Were the shepherds afraid when the angel appeared?” Yes
“What did the angel tell the shepherds?” That Jesus had been born
“Did the shepherds go see Jesus?” Yes

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: Cone Angel
Before class: roll up the ½ paper plates into a cone shape and staple and cut circles out of the construction paper for the angel’s face

“What was our Bible Story about today? (allow for responses) Yes, our story today was about the shepherds finding out about the birth of Jesus. Who told the shepherds about Jesus? (allow for responses) Right, an angel. Wouldn’t it be cool to see an angel? It would be so exciting and maybe a little bit scary too. At first the shepherds were scared, but then they were ok.

We are going to make an angel today to help us remember who told the shepherds about Jesus.”

Give each child a paper plate cone
Trace each child’s hands on the construction paper and cut them out
As you are tracing the children’s hands, let them color their paper plate cone
Demonstrate to the children how to glue their cut out hands onto their cone for the angel’s wings
Give each child an angel face to decorate
Have the children glue on the angel face
Give each child a piece of yellow yarn
Help the children glue the yellow yarn onto the angel’s head for the halo
Demonstrate to the children how to stretch the cotton balls and then have them glue them onto their angel

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were terrified.” Luke 2:8&9 (NIRV)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

There were shepherds: act like you are holding up a shepherd’s staff
Living out in the fields nearby: sweep arms in front of you as though you are showing the ground
An angel of the Lord: hold arms up as in surprise
Appeared to the: close eyes and then open eyes
They were terrified: have a scared look on your face
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
8 & 9: hold up 8 fingers and then 9 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Candy Cane Poem
Hold up the candy cane and show the parts as you talk about them
Give each child a mini candy cane to eat while you are talking about the candy cane.

“We are going to talk about what this candy cane has to do with our Bible Verse. (hold the candy cane right side up) What does this look like? (allow for responses) If I was a shepherd, I would need a crook. A crook would help me to guide my sheep where they needed to go. This looks like a crook. This candy cane also has things about Jesus. If I hold it upside down, it looks like a “J” which is the first letter of Jesus’ name. The candy cane is white with red stripes. The white is for how pure we are with Jesus in our life and the red stands for Jesus’ blood that He shed for us on the cross. Also, if you look closely, you will see 3 red stripes on this candy cane. These stand for the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Wow! This yummy candy has such a great meaning that we should share with our families. (hold up the poem) You all will be bringing this home so that we can share the Good News with your family. (read the poem for the children)

Have the children attach a large candy cane to their poem to take home.

Evaluation:
Have the children (as a class) retell the story of the shepherds’ visit in their own words. Prompt them if they get stuck on a part.

Evaluation: Split the children into pairs. Have them tell the Bible story in their own words.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

The Birth of Christ #2 – The Shepherds (Children’s Church Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:12:46 +0000

Try this lesson plan with your Sunday School or Children’s Church this Christmas seasons. It is part 2 of a 3-part series about the Christmas Story. This lesson teaches about the details of the Shepherds visiting the baby Jesus. This children’s church lesson plan was first written for children age 5 – 11. Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Christ – The Stable – Luke 2:8-20

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the visit of the shepherds by telling a neighbor the story.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible: Luke 2:8-20. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
“The Angel’s Announcement to the Shepherds – PDF” Activity Sheet per child, pencils
Whiteboard, whiteboard markers, index cards (or cut paper), markers
½ paper plate per child, construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, stapler, cotton balls
1 of the following per child: The Candy Cane Poem, a miniature candy cane, a large candy cane

Worship: Use Christmas Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Shepherds Christmas Lesson

“The Angel’s Announcement to the Shepherds” Activity Sheet

Worship: Christmas Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction

Ask the children what words they can think off when you say, “Christmas” (try to guide them to Biblical ideas)
Write those words on the white board
When you have at least 20 different words, write (or have the children write) the words from the white board onto the index cards
Split the children into 2 groups
Give each group 10 cards
Each group needs to make a story using their words…have them try to make it as Biblical as possible

Bible Lesson: Use the following notes as a guide, but be sure to tell the Bible story in your own words. If possible memorize your key points and just teach as you read the relevant verses directly out of the Bible.

Have the children open their Bibles to Luke 2:8-20. To help them find it, use the following questions. Answers are in italics.

Which part of the Bible is Luke in? New Testament
What book of the New Testament is Luke? #2

Read Luke 2:8-20 (NIV) aloud to the children.
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified.

It was like any other night for these shepherds. They were minding their own business, watching their sheep, when all of a sudden an angel appears.
The angel doesn’t just appear. The “glory of the Lord shown around them”. I don’t know exactly what the “glory of the Lord” looks like, but it has got to be bright.
Of course they were terrified! It was dark (because it was at night) and this happens!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

Notice the first thing that the angel said to the shepherds. “Do not be afraid.” God knows that fear would be the first emotion that the shepherds would have felt. He wanted to make sure that the angels reassured them that this was a good visit.
The lowliest of careers – shepherds – heard the news of Jesus’ birth directly from angels! God doesn’t care about your earthly position – he cares about your heart!
The angel told them many things in their short speech:

1) The Good News was for ALL PEOPLE
2) He was born in Bethlehem (the town of David)
3) The Savior (the Christ or Messiah) had already been born that night – so the Savior is a BABY?
4) Here’s proof so that you will be able to tell others (because who’s going to believe a bunch of lowly shepherds that they saw angels in the sky?)
5) The Savior of the world will be wrapped in strips of cloth and in a manger (an animal’s feeding trough)

Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said,

“May glory be given to God in the highest heaven!
And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!”

Not only was there one angel, now there was a large group of angels praising God. That must have been quite a show!

The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

The angels go back to heaven – which also must have been a sight!
The shepherds leave for Bethlehem to find the baby Messiah

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

The shepherds must have found the right stable, because the Bible says that they found Mary, Joseph and the baby.
The baby was lying in a manger – just like the angels said. He was probably the only baby lying in a manger around those parts. Most babies would have been in a crib or bassinette-type bed.
After they saw the baby, they went and told everyone. These were the first human evangelists. The first people to tell about Jesus.

But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.

Mary is a proud mom! She loves her baby and treasured everything that was happening to her son – the Son of God.

The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

The shepherds came back, after they told everyone the Good News, so they could worship Him.

Discuss Bible Lesson

Talk with the children about the story. Ask them questions like the following:

What would it have been like to be Mary?
What would it have been like to be Joseph?
What would it have been like to see an angel?

~ If you have time, reenact the story.

Bible Lesson Activities
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: “Cone Angel”

We are going to make an angel today to help us remember who told the shepherds about Jesus.”

With a partner, have the children roll their ½ paper plate into a cone and then staple.

With a partner, have the children trace each other’s hands out of the construction paper.

Have the children cut out the hands and glue them onto their cone for the angel’s wings.

Have the children finish their angel:

Cut a face out of construction paper and glue it onto their cone
Glue the yellow yarn as the halo
Stretch the cotton balls and glue them onto the angel
Decorate their angel as they would like

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were terrified.” Luke 2:8&9 (NIRV)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

There were shepherds: act like you are holding up a shepherd’s staff
Living out in the fields nearby: sweep arms in front of you as though you are showing the ground
An angel of the Lord: hold arms up as in surprise
Appeared to the: close eyes and then open eyes
They were terrified: have a scared look on your face
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
8 & 9: hold up 8 fingers and then 9 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: The Legend of the Candy Cane
Hold up the candy cane and show the parts as you talk about them

Give each child a mini candy cane to eat while you are talking about the candy cane.

Have the children attach a large candy cane to their poem to take home.

Evaluation: Split the children into pairs. Have them tell the Bible story in their own words.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

This Week in Children’s Ministry for 11/11/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:26:42 +0000

Here is my weekly roundup of interesting stories from other kids ministry blogs. Enjoy!

VBS Sellout: Did you know that several of the big VBS publishers secretly push Roman Catholic versions of their same themes. Maybe it’s not a big deal, but interchangeable truth always makes me nervous. I can’t imagine the Catholics think this is cool either. In related news, here is a Bible School about the Environment (video promo) – I honestly can’t tell if this is a spoof or real. (HT)

Gina McClain makes a great tip about getting parents spiritually engaged.

WOW! Kenny Conley reflects on losing his ministry job and how God is working everything out 2 years later. Definitely read this one.

Choosing Curriculum: Christine Yount Jones offers some tips for picking your children’s ministry curriculum.

Sunday School Strategy: I just want to remind everyone about Darryl Wilson’s blog about Sunday School. He is on staff with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and posts some real strategic stuff about Sunday School.

Tell Me a Story: Ray Van Neste talks about the value of story for children (and adults).

Stressed Out Kids: New research is exploring how stress in the family can affect how much kids worry.

Don’t Go There: 7 Things Not to Say to a Female Children’s Pastor – painful, funny, and true.

Word Clouds: Here is a great idea from Free CM Stuff about using Wordle to make graphics for your ministry.

Fliers: Sam Luce wants your kids ministry fliers to share with others, with great power . .

Survey Says? Ryan Frank needs your input for a K! Magazine survey about kids ministry.

Getting Rowdy: How to Help a Child with Disruptive Behavior

Missions Matter: Developing a Children’s Ministry Missions Program

VBS + Outreach: Lifeway’s VBS blog breaks down some of the new research about VBS and church outreach.

Brittany Sky reviews a new book for kids titled “God, Can you hear me?

Listen Up! Listen to Ryan and Jason in their latest children’s ministry podcast. I’m listening while writing this post. You can also check out the NEW American Children’s Ministers’ Association.

Jonathan Cliff has been discovered published see his picture on the cover of Children’s Ministry Magazine. Congrats and nice coat!

Bible Smart: Listen to this audio of Dr. Bruce Ware. He talks about connecting Love for God with knowledge about God. If you’re short on time at least read the outline. You should also check out his Christian Theology book for children.

Count To Ten: Wayne Stocks honored our site with a mention in his top ten children’s ministry blogs, but I was really impressed with his other top ten list titled “Top Ten Non Children’s Ministry Blogs That Those in Children’s Ministry Should Follow.”

For Those About To Rock: Thanks again to Wayne for spotting this video.

The Birth of Christ Part #1 The Stable (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:17:28 +0000

This is the first of a 3-part series on The Birth of Christ. This lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children about the Christmas Story based on the details of being born in a stable. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The birth of Jesus Christ – The Stable – Luke 2:1-2

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of Jesus’ birth by answering questions.

Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this less plan
Bible, Luke 2:1-7
“The Birth of Christ – The Stable” Booklet (This can be printed out here “The Birth of Christ – The Stable” Booklet
Plastic animals
1 piece of construction paper per child, picture of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the star (1 each per child), 4 craft sticks per child, glue, crayons, marker
Felt board, the following pictures with felt on the back: Jesus, boy and girl, burst or star, hospital, clothes, car, people, church, career man and woman

Worship: You can print off these Christmas Preschool Songs to use to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Birth of Christ – The Stable

Bible Lesson Introduction

Have some plastic animals for the children to play with. Talk with them, while they are playing, that there were animals where Jesus was born.

Bible Lesson: Use the following notes as a guide, but be sure to tell the Bible story in your own words. If possible memorize your key points and just teach as you read the relevant verses directly out of the Bible.

Read Luke 2:1-7 aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world. It was the first time a list was made of the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be listed.

So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David. He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby.

While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children do the following hand motions when you say the words:
list or listed – making an imaginary list
Joseph – stand tall
Mary – smile
baby or boy– rock a baby

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” Mary, Joseph, Jesus
“Why did Joseph have to go to Bethlehem?” To be counted on the list
“What did Mary lay Baby Jesus in?” A Manger
“Why were they in a stable?” There was no room in the inn

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: The Nativity
“What was our story about today? (allow for responses) Jesus was born in our story today. Jesus was born in a stable. Does anyone know what a stable is? (allow for responses) A stable is like a barn. It’s a place where animals, like sheep, cows, and horses are kept safe and warm. The city was so busy and full that no one had a room for Mary and Joseph to be in, so they had to give birth to Jesus in a stable. We are going to make a stable today for you to take home. Let’s get started.”

Give each child a piece of construction paper
Demonstrate to the children how to glue their 4 craft sticks for the stable walls and roof.
Let the children color their star, Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus
While the children are coloring, go around and write each child’s name on their paper
When each child is finished coloring, help them glue their pieces onto their background.
While the children are waiting for everyone else to be finished, they can draw in animals around their stable.

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 (New International Reader’s Version)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

She gave birth to her first born, a son: act like you are rocking a baby
She wrapped him in clothes: wrap a pretend baby in a blanket
And placed him in a manger: pretend to gently lay the baby down
Because there was no room: shake head side to side as though saying, “no”
For them in the inn: make the shape of a house with your arms
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
7: hold up 7 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Jesus and Me
“In our Bible story and in our Bible Verse today, we learned about Jesus being born. You all were born. Let’s talk about when you were born. I am going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them about when you were born.”

Put the felt board up with the picture of Jesus on one side and the picture of the boy and girl on the other side.

They may not know the answer to some of the questions. Guide their answers, but take whatever answer they give you. The pictures should help them.

* The city I was born in was…. (burst or star)
* I was born in a…. (hospital)
* When I was born, my mother dressed me in…. (clothes)
* If my family had to travel someplace 50 miles away, we would…. (car)
* After I was born, I was visited by…. (people)
* On most Sunday mornings you will find me…. (church)
* When I grow up, I will…. (career man and woman)

Evaluation:
Ask the following question about Jesus’ birth this time.

* What city was Jesus born in? Bethlehem
* What was Jesus born in? Stable
* When Jesus was born, his mother dressed him in what? Swaddling clothes
* How did Jesus’ mother get to Bethlehem? On a donkey
* Who visited Jesus after He was born? Shepherds and wise men
* What did Jesus become when He grew up? The savior of the world

Need More Help? Browse all our preschool Bible lesson or try this Christmas finger play song for preschoolers.

The Birth of Christ Part #1 The Stable (Children’s Church Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:14 +0000

Try this lesson plan with your Sunday School or Children’s Church this Christmas seasons. It is part 1 of a 3-part series about the Christmas Story. This lesson teaches about the details of the King of Kings being born in a stable. This children’s church lesson plan was first written for children age 5 – 11. Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Christ in the stable, based on Matthew 1:18-24 and Luke 2:1-7.

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate: An understanding of what it was like when Jesus was born by answering questions.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible: Matthew 1:18-24 & Luke 2:1-7. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
Play dough
“Jesus and Me” paper per child, pencils, whiteboard, whiteboard markers
½ piece of paper per child, markers/crayons

Worship: Use Christmas Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Stable

Welcome Activity: Welcome activities are things to have out for the children to do as they are arriving for class. These activities will get them engaged as soon as they arrive and will help the transition from their parents.

Have the children make a barn (stable) out of play dough. If they have time, they can make animals to go in the barn.

Bible Lesson Introduction: “We will be learning about Jesus and when He was born. We will learn in the next few weeks that the wisemen and the shepherds came to visit Jesus. Today we are going to learn a little more about when He was born. But first, we want to talk about when you were born.”

Give each child a “Jesus and Me” paper and a pencil.
Go over the parts of the “Me” side with the children, writing their answers on the white board
Have the children fill out the “Me” side only. They will do the “Jesus” side later

Worship: Christmas Songs

Have the children open their Bibles to Matthew 1:18-24. To help them find it, use the following questions. Answers are in italics.

Which part of the Bible is Matthew in? New Testament
What book of the New Testament is Matthew? #1

Read Matthew 1:18-24 (NIV) aloud to the children.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Joseph finds out that Mary, the woman he’s engaged to be married to, is pregnant and so he wants to divorce her. Back then, when you were engaged to someone, you were legally bound to them, just like today after you get married. He’s a good guy, though, because he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so he was just going to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph finds out that the baby, that Mary is going to have, is from the Holy Spirit and is the Son of God. The angel told Joseph, in so many words, that he was to raise the Son of God!

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

This whole thing was in God’s plan. Jesus was fulfilling prophecy before He was even born.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Joseph listened to the angel and believed what he was told. He decided not to divorce Mary.

Read Luke 2:1-7 (NIV)

In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world. It was the first time a list was made of the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be listed.

So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David. He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby.

The man in charge, Caesar Augustus, wanted to know how many people he was in charge of. Caesar wanted to know how many people would be paying him taxes. Every man had to go, with his family, to his hometown to be counted. Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem, so he traveled with Mary from Nazareth, where they lived, to Bethlehem. Mary was pregnant when they started the journey. They didn’t have cars or planes. They did have a donkey and their own two feet to travel.

While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.

They are in a strange place and Mary gives birth to the Son of God. The city is full because of the census. They have to stay in a stable because there is no other room available. A stable is like a barn. It’s where animals were kept. He didn’t have a crib. He was layed in a manger. A manger is like a trough where animals ate out of. The Son of God, the greatest person to ever come to this earth, was born in the most humble of places.

Discuss Bible Lesson

Talk with the children about the story. Ask them questions like the following:

What would it have been like to be Mary?
What would it have been like to be Joseph?
What would it have been like to see an angel?

~ If you have time, reenact the story.

Bible Lesson Activities
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: “Jesus and Me” – Jesus’ Birth

Have the children fill out the “Jesus” side of the paper.
Discuss the answers with the children or do it as a class on the white board
Discuss the difference between their birth and Jesus’ birth and how many things have changed.
If they had a choice, would they want to be born in Jesus’ time or now? Take a vote.

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

She gave birth to her firstborn, a son: act like you are rocking a baby
She wrapped him in clothes: wrap a pretend baby in a blanket
And placed him in a manger: pretend to gently lay the baby down
Because there was no room: shake head side to side as though saying, “no”
For them in the inn: make the shape of a house with your arms
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
7: hold up 7 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: Bible Verse Drawing
Have the children draw a picture of what the Bible Verse is about. They can share it with their neighbors or the class.

Evaluation:

Have the children stand in a line in the middle of the classroom. Ask the following questions, while having them choose to go to the side of the room that corresponds to the correct answer (correct answers are bold):

What city was Jesus born in?

Right side of the room – Jerusalem
Left side of the room – Bethlehem

How did Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem?

Right side of the room – by walking and riding a donkey
Left side of the room – driving a taxi

Who told Joseph that the baby that Mary was going to have was from God?

Right side of the room – an angel
Left side of the room – Joseph’s mother

Who named Jesus?

Right side of the room – the angel
Left side of the room – Mary and Joseph

What did Mary wrap Jesus in after he was born?

Right side of the room – a cute little outfit she bought at JC Penney’s
Left side of the room – swaddling cloths (or big strips of cloth)

What did Jesus sleep in?

Right side of the room – a manger
Left side of the room – a crib

Why were they in a stable?

Right side of the room – they liked to be with animals
Left side of the room – there was no room for them in the inn

Need More Help? Browse our collection of Christmas crafts for Sunday School or check out all our resources about Christmas.

Poll: What challenges have you faced in children’s ministry?

Tony Kummer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:38:18 +0000

Twice I’ve asked readers to share what struggles they experience in their ministries. (read it here and here) The point behind all this is a book I’m putting together. This poll is the next step in my research. I want to narrow down the topics list and focus on the most common struggles. If you would like to elaborate, please use the comment section below the poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

PS: Several readers have found encouragement in reading your comments on previous posts. So, keep sharing so others won’t think they are alone in the difficulties they face.

The Adoption of Moses (Children’s Bible Lesson)

Beckie Stewart — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:05:17 +0000

This Bible lesson for children is based on the story of Moses from Exodus 1:15-2:10 and his mother releasing him to the care of the Pharoah’s daughter. This lesson shows the deep love of a birthmother for her child and the gift of life she gives when she releases her child for adoption. The theme of adoption is a powerful link to the Gospel story. Use this lesson to remind children of the seeking love that God has for us through Jesus. This kids Bible lesson could be used as a children’s church or expanded for a Sunday school lesson. Please leave any suggestions at the bottom of this page.

Curriculum Text: Exodus 1:15-2:10; Ephesians 1:5

Time: 20 Minutes

Learning Objectives: After this lesson….

Children express their knowledge of the key people and events in this passage by retelling the story to each other.
Children express what they understand about Moses’ mother’s decision to allow Pharoah’s daughter to raise her son.
Children express what they understand about the adoption of Moses by Pharoah’s daughter.

Curriculum Target Age: Kindergarten-5th;

Material Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible: Exodus 1:15-2:10; Ephesians 1:5. Prepare beforehand a copy with the important points highlighted to ensure specific explanations on them.
Visual Aids: Pictures of baby Moses and Pharoah’s daughter; if available pictures of Moses’ mother and sister, Miriam; pictures showing different families (example: parents of mixed races, parents with children of mixture of ethnicities).

Children’s Church Teaching Plan

Establish the lesson by briefly explaining who the key people to the story are by showing the pictures of Moses and talk about Pharoah’s daughter pulling him from the Nile River. If available, show pictures of Moses’ mother and sister, Miriam. Make sure the children repeat the names.

Prior to reading the story talk to the children about adoption. Ask the children to raise their hands if they have been adopted into their family. Briefly talk about the love of a birthmother to choose life for her child and her desire for the best for that child. Explain to the children that whether they were born into a family or adopted, their parents are their “real” parents. Ask the children to look for the reason why Moses’ mother allowed him to be raised by Pharoah’s daughter.

Read (and Recap) Exodus 1:15-2:10. Read with different voices and stop to involve the children into the story. Reinforce the lesson by asking questions. What did Moses’ mother think about her son? She thought he was beautiful. Why did she try to hide him for three months? Pharoah was killing sons born to Israelite women and she wanted to keep him safe. Who found Moses in the basket? Pharoah’s daughter found him. Did she know he was not an Egyptian child? Yes. What did Pharoah’s daughter do with Moses? She had him nursed and raised him as her son.

When you’re finished reading the story, use the pictures to review the important people and events in the story.

Ask for a response for the children about their listening assignment. What did they learn about the reason Moses’ mother allowed Pharoah’s daughter to raise her son? What did they learn about Moses’ mother’s love for him?

Read Ephesians 1:5 to the children and begin to talk to the children about the truth that everyone who places their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior is adopted into God’s family.

Select a volunteer to demonstrate the lesson learned about what makes a family a “real” family. Show the pictures of different family dynamics and talk about how parents love their adopted children the same as their birth children. Reiterate the fact that when someone accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, he receives adoption into God’s family.

Lesson Evaluation:

Ask three volunteers to retell the story to the class with role-play. Assign the children the role of Moses’ mother, sister, and the Pharoah’s daughter. Ask the rest of the children to take turns telling a portion of the story as the three children act it out. Remember to prompt the children, by asking, “What happened next.”

Have someone read the verse in Ephesians to the class again and talk about being adopted into God’s family.

Give a list of possible lessons and ask the children to say “Amen” if it was from the story.

The Lord teaches that adoption is a good thing? Yes.
Jesus healed someone born blind. True, but not part of the story.
God saved Daniel from being eaten by the lions. True, but not part of the story.
Moses’ mother loved him. Yes
Moses’ mother released Moses to Pharoah’s daughter to protect his life. Yes.
The Lord protected Moses’ life. Yes.
The Lord created the heavens and the earth. True, but not part of the story.

Need More Help? Find a Bible coloring page for this story or compare it to related Sunday School lessons.

Operation Christmas Child: A Service Project for Students

Kristin Charles — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:29:36 +0000

Looking for a service project to involve your students in this year? Try Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization.

As described on its website, Samaritan’s Purse “has helped meet the need of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Operation Christmas Child invites individuals to gather age and gender appropriate items such as toys, personal hygiene products, school supplies, clothing items, candy, and personal notes with pictures. All of the items get placed in a box with a donation of $7 (to cover shipping and program costs) and get dropped off at a designated location near you.

From the drop-off points, boxes get distributed worldwide in time for Christmas. Specific destination countries vary each year, but some of the previous countries receiving boxes have been Sudan, Mongolia, Mexico, Russia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

National Collection Week is from November 16^th-23^rd. There are a number of ways that you can participate in this program. Here are some options for you.

1. Family Service Project: Order promotion materials from the website www.samaritanspurse.org and promote this as a family service project. In this case, families will work together to create a box. In our family, each of our children create a box for a child of the same age and gender. We talk about the project, take a big shopping trip, pack and wrap the box, write letters, enclose a family picture, and pray for the recipient and his/her family.

2. Children’s Church Service Project: Choose to have the children participate in the project as a Sunday School Class or Children’s Church. In this case, print out a list of suggested items for a particular age group. Boys would buy for boys and girls would buy for girls. Set a collection date for the items and wrap the boxes during class. Write letters, draw pictures, pray for the children, and enclose a photograph also.

3. Go shopping! This may take some effort, but it sure would be fun and memorable. Have the students each bring in $5-$7, get some parents to chaperone, provide transportation (or get permission to use the church van), and head out to a dollar store or inexpensive department store with your students. There, purchase the necessary items for the boxes. You may want to even treat your students to breakfast or lunch following your shopping spree. Head back to a central location and prepare the boxes for drop-off.

Whatever you choose to do, have fun and be a blessing! On Christmas Day, remember to pray for your child’s safety, health, well-being, provision, and joy. Pray that children around the world would be open and receptive to the gospel that will be shared through the ministry of these shoeboxes.

Veggie Tales + Matthew West Video About Operation Christmas Child Promotion Video

Creation Review (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:38:52 +0000

This is the last of a seven week series of Bible lessons about creation.. This lesson plan is designed to remind the preschool aged children about the days of creation as previously taught in the our related lesson plans. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Story of Creation from Genesis 1:1,3,5,6,8,9,11,13,16,19,21,23,24,27,31 & 2:2

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of what God created on the first-seventh days of creation by showing hand motions.

Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible, Genesis 1:1,3,5,6,8,9,11,13,16,19,21,23,24,27,31 & 2:2
Play dough
1 large paper plate per child (marked off and numbered into 8 sections), “Creation” written on a slip of paper, black & white paper (1st day – dark / light), water drop pictures & a cotton ball (2nd day – water / sky), flower & tree branch (or picture) (3rd day – plants / trees), sun & moon pictures & star stickers (4th day – sun, moon & stars), goldfish cracker & bird picture (5th day – fish / birds), animal cracker & paper doll (6th day – land animals & people), cotton ball (pillow) (7th day – God rested), glue.
Print off our free Bible Story Book about Creation

Worship

You can print off these “Creation Songs” and use to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.
You can also try the “My God is so BIG” preschool song.

Teaching Plan: The Story of Creation Review

Bible Lesson Introduction: Have the children “create” anything out of Play dough.

Bible Lesson:
Read Genesis 1:1,3,5,6,8,9,11,13,16,19,21,23,24,27,31 & 2:2 aloud to the children. We recommend using our Creation Storybook to tell this story to young children. It has simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (1:1)
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (1:3)
God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day. (1:5)

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.”(1:6)
God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day. (1:8)

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. (1:9)
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. (1:11)
And there was evening, and there was morning – the third day. (1:13)

God made two great lights – the greater to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars, (1:16)
And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day. (1:19)

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. (1:21)
And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day. (1:23)

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that moved along the ground, and wild animals, each according to their kind.” (1:24)
So God created man in his own image, the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (1:27)
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning- the sixth day. (1:31)

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (2:2)

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children help you read it. Read a few words and allow them to finish your sentence. If they get stuck, point to the pictures or give them a clue.

Discuss the Bible Reading

When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” God
“How many days did it take for God to create the world?” six—He rested on the seventh day
“What did God create on the first day of creation?” heavens, earth, light
“What did God create on the second day of creation?” the sky to separate the water
“What did God create on the third day of creation?“ land, plants with seeds, plants with fruit with seeds
“What did God create on the fourth day of creation?” sun, moon and stars
“What did God create on the fifth day of creation?” birds and the animals in the waters
“What did God create on the sixth day of creation?” land animals and people
“What did God do on the seventh day of creation?” rested

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity

Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: Creation Wreath
Give each child a plate and explain that they are going to make a Creation Wreath to show what God did on each day of creation.

Let the children glue on the “Creation” slip of paper in the blank section of the plate.
Go through each day with the children, giving them only what is needed for each day.
As you give each child what they need for each day of creation, talk about what God did on that day.
When you’re finished, go through all of creation, having the children tell you!

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“God saw everything he had made. And it was very good.” Genesis 1:31 (New International Reader’s Version)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:
“God”— hold hand up with fingers towards the sky…the hand is raised to the heavens and then downward in a sign of respect
“saw”—hold two fingers (in a “v” shape) and move it forward to indicate that the eyes are looking at something
“everything”—the hand moves in a circle and then ends up in the palm of the other hand to show that everything (all) is included
“He”— hold hand up with fingers towards the sky…the hand is raised to the heavens and then downward in a sign of respect
“had made”— the fists twist on top of one another, as if they were putting something together
“And it was very good”—the movement of the hand up the chest represents that a person’s spirits are high (that a person is happy.)
“Genesis 1”—hold up one finger
“31”—(2 motions) hold thumb, index and middle fingers up—then hold one finger up

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Happiness
“What makes you happy? (allow for responses…the children will probably really get into talking about this…let all the children have a turn)

God was happy when He created everything up until He created us. God was really happy when He created us! We are the ones who could talk with Him. God loves to talk with us!”

Evaluation:
Go over the hand motions with the children to help them remember what was created on each day. After you go over them, ask them what was created on each day and have them do the hand motions.

“First there was darkness and light” (cover eyes with hands and then release)
“Then there was water and sky” (make waves with hands & arms & then wave up in the air)
“Then there were dirt and trees” (wiggle fingers in front of you for dirt & grow up like a tree)
“Then there were was the sun and the moon” (put arms above head and then like you are sleeping)
“Then God made fish & the birds” (put hands together and wiggle like a fish then flap arms like a bird)
“Then God made the animals of the ground” (have the children hop like a kangaroo or roar like a lion”
“Then last of all, best of all, God made me!” (have the children point to themselves)
“Finally, God took a rest.” (have the children act like they are sleeping)

Repeat the saying along with the hand motions. Have fun!

Need More Help? Browse all of our material about the story of creation or find a Bible coloring page to go along with this lesson.

Four Storytelling Tips for Children’s Ministry

Kristin Charles — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:28:17 +0000

Jesus was a master story-teller. Droves of people followed Him wherever He went. They listened to His every word. His parables utilized simple objects to convey more complex truths. They were relevant to the audience and they often ended with some type of surprise or twist.

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to the smallest of all seeds. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus talks about leaving the 99 sheep in the open country to go search for the one. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus commends the sinner -not the religious elite – because the tax collector humbles himself before God.

Jesus’ stories continue to fascinate me, because they don’t make any practical sense. Our faith is built on a mustard seed kingdom, a shepherd who would leave 99 for one, and a sinner’s prayer. But I think that’s what make our Savior’s stories beautiful. They are simple enough for a child to understand, but rich enough for a scholar to study over and over again.

Tips for Storytelling

As Jesus used story-telling in his ministry, so should we. Whether we are narrating the ancient parables, crafting a modern-day story, or communicating an old cherished favorite, here are some storytelling techniques to consider:

1. Know your audience: If the children are small, keep the verbiage small. Children’s attention spans generally last one minute longer than their age. Accommodate the story according to the needs of the child. Are they un-churched kids? Tell a salvation story. Do they reside in the country? Relate stories to the farm, tractors, and animals. If they’re city kids, what would their frame of reference be? Subways, apartment buildings, city parks. Are you speaking to an international audience? If so, use a translator, visuals, and pertinent cultural familiarities. To personalize the story, know the names of your students and use them.

2. Engage your audience: The best way to engage your audience is to know your story and to tell it confidently. Use different voices to portray different characters, adjust your own volume accordingly (speak loudly to portray emotion or whisper to encourage careful listening), and use voice inflection (don’t speak in a monotone voice). It’s also helpful to use eye contact, utilize crowd participation, and simple props or costumes to foster imagination. And last, but not least, have fun! Use humor, be whimsical, and throw in some silly every now and again!

3. Love your audience: Share the love of Christ with every story that you tell. Even if your story seemingly has nothing to do with Jesus, make it a point to end with Him. Charlie Wallace, Ministry to Children contributing writer, recently wrote an article on this subject, entitled, “The Gospel for Children: The Importance of Jesus in Every Kids Church Lesson.” The most effective way to love your audience is to end with God’s redemptive story, of sending His only Son to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind.

4. Pray for your audience: Before you tell your story and upon completion of it, pray for the students in your midst both personally and corporately. Pray that they would listen to your words, but that they would hear God’s heart. Pray for their salvation. Pray for God to develop wisdom in these young leaders of tomorrow. Pray that they would be sensitive doers of the Word, not hearers only (James 1:22-25).

Need more help? Then check out our series of articles titled “Overcoming Challenges in Your Children’s Ministry.”

The Birth of Jesus: A Free Christmas Play for Children

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:26:20 +0000

Here is a simple kids Christmas skit for church. You can download, print, and use with your children’s choir. Like all our resources this is 100% free for you to use in your children’s ministry. This pageant is written directly from the Bible, only adding songs and direction for the actors. There are no speaking parts for the actors, only a narrator. The narration is indicated by being in italics. Please leave a comment below with any suggestions or to let us know how you used our Christmas play in your church.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this free Christmas script

Ages: This pageant has been used with a preschool ages 1-5 year olds as well as a children’s church ages 2 – 5th grade.

Costumes: These can be as simple or as extravagant as you want them to be. We have used large t-shirts for all of the children (in different colors) when we were on a very little budget. The first year, we didn’t even have a budget, so we asked all of the parents to donate a large t-shirt (they were more than happy to do that). We have also bought cheap white flat sheets, had the children watercolor on them and then cut them up for all of the head dresses. Yarn can be braided to make belts, cardboard can be cut and painted for wings, tree glitter garland can be used to make halos and Burger King still has crowns! Be creative and have the children help make their costumes!

Props: Just like the costumes, can be as simple or as extravagant as you want them to be. We have used large cardboard boxes and sheets to cover up the equipments on the stage with a simple “Bethlehem” sign. Don’t forget Baby Jesus!!!

Songs: We used a CD with children’s voices. We gave the Sunday School teachers a CD with the just the songs that the children will be singing so that they could practice. We played the CD with the children’s voices with our children singing. We have done this with 60 1-5 year olds and 30 2 year old-5th graders and we could ALWAYS hear our children over the CD. It just helped our children feel more confident in their singing if we played the CD with the voices. Don’t worry about not being able to hear your children.

Narration: We opted to have a person in the balcony with a microphone, over pre-taping the narration. This way, she could watch the children and make sure that they were in their places before she went on. This also gave something for the children to look at when they got nervous.

Direction: Someone stood beside the Narrator to help remind the children where they were to go. We also had helpers on both sides of the church to help the children down the aisles.

Practices: Since we gave the CD to the Sunday School teachers for the children to practice the singing during class on Sundays, we didn’t need to practice much. We gave the narrator their parts about a month early so that they were comfortable with them and we had the children (who had individual moving parts) practice during class. This helped us only need 1 dress rehearsal on a Saturday morning for 2 hours. We were able to run through the pageant 2 times and then have Happy Birthday, Jesus party to celebrate afterwards!

Just remember, the parents are looking at their child and how great they are up on stage! Our goal is to share the Good News of Jesus’ Birth with others!

CHARACTERS LIST:

Narrator
Mary
Joseph
Main Angel
Angels (usually all of the little girls)
Shepherds (usually all of the little boys)
Sheep (optional – depending on if you have enough children)
Wisemen (they need gifts)
King Herod
Stars (usually the littlest of your children)
Star Holder (this person holds up a star and leads the wisemen in)
Registrar (optional – this part was added because there was a child
who needed a part)
Innkeeper (optional – this part was added because there was a child who needed a part)

Christmas Play Script

** As the parents are entering, play a Christmas CD for background music.

CHILDREN’S MINISTER WELCOMES THE PARENTS AND STARTS WITH AN OPENING PRAYER

“Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” will be playing in the background.

Registrar will walk to stage right
Innkeeper will walk to stage left

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register.

Joseph and Mary walk on stage to the Registrar

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

Joseph and Mary walk across the stage to the Innkeeper

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Innkeeper shakes head “no”

Joseph and Mary walk to center stage, sit in chairs and pull out baby Jesus from underneath one of the chairs.

“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” will be playing in the background.
?Main Angel will come in and stand stage left
Shepherds (and sheep) come in and stand (kneel) in front of angel

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

All children on stage will sing “Away in a Manger”

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” will be playing in the background.

Angels will come in and stand with the Main Angel

Suddenly a great company of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Shepherds go see Jesus

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

All on stage will sing “Joy to the World”

Angels, Registrar and Innkeeper will sit down
King will go where the Angels were

“We Three Kings” will be playing in the background

Wisemen and Star Holder will go to see the King

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Then King Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child.”

Stars come in and stand in front

All on stage will sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Stars will sit down on stage
Star holder will walk over and hold the star over Mary and Joseph
Wisemen will walk slowly over to Mary and Joseph

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

Wisemen bow down to baby Jesus and give their gifts

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” which means,…

“God with us.” (all children will say with narrator)

This Week in Children’s Ministry for 10/28/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:54:59 +0000

It’s Wednesday again, and that means another roundup of interesting and helpful kids minsitry links. This is a great way to stay current with trends and news related to children’s ministry. Enjoy!

We Love Lists! There is something about a list that grabs my attention.

10 Ways to Help Your Child Make Friends at Church from one of the Awana blogs
10 Ways to Build a Children’s Ministry Team from CM Connect
Kids Ministry Resources 101 from Sam Luce (thanks for the mention)
3 Dangers of Contributing to God’s Plan from Jonathan Cliff

Awkward: This is the new pet phrase circulating at our Christian school. Just for fun I’m using it to describe the following links.

Alice in Bibleland – creative maybe, but a little awkward when she asks too many questions about Jacobs wives.
Bible stories can be very awkward when they deal with grow-up themes, here are a few tips for the Bible stories that make you nervous.
Karl Bastian is one of my favorite kids ministry people and his new cookbook looks very creative. But the rap music in his video is a bit awkward with the French chef hat.

Crunching Numbers: Budget time is here at many churches, here are some helpful tips about your kids ministry budgets.

Budgeting 101: Step-by-Step Budgeting – Part 2 from North Point Kids
Budgeting 101: Helpful Hints and a Sample Budget Structure – Part 3 from North Point Kids
Our tips about your Children’s Ministry Budget

Choices: Here are a few practical ideas for making big decisions.

Maybe it’s time to think about naming Your Children’s Ministry.
When is it time to leave your current ministry position?
How many copies of the new Jelly Telly DVDs should I budget to buy?

You’re a Winner: Ryan Frank reflects on the value of motivating kids to reach spiritual milestones.

Leadership Conference: Henry Zonio blogged like a wild man to bring these helpful notes from the Global Leadership Conference.

Rock & Roll: Wayne Stocks is becoming my default video spotter.

Want More? Then check out the Big List of Children’s Ministry Blogs

What Do You Love About Children’s Ministry?

Tony Kummer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:49:42 +0000

I want to put together a massive list of why we love serving in children’s ministry, but I need your help. The finished list will be a great way to encourage other people in children’s ministry.

In one sentence, share why you love serving in children’s ministry.

Read 101 reasons to love children’s ministry.

Kids Ministry Game: Captain Midnight

Charlie Wallace — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:14:52 +0000

Here is another “backpocket” game that you can play if you have a large group of kids and a large area where they can run. This can be a game that you can play to fill up time at an Easter Egg Hunt, Backyard Bible Club, or whatever the situation. Like Quiet Ball and Silent Football, the point of a “backpocket” game is that it is a game that you can figuratively pull out of your backpocket when you’re in a tight spot, need to fill time, or just need to get the kids doing something organized. Plus, it needs to be a game that the kids will like and Captain Midnight is always a favorite.

Here’s how to play:

- Have all the kids make a line at one end of the field/gym/open area. They all should be facing you while you are at the other end.

- Turn your back to them and have one child ask, “Captain Midnight, what time is it?”

- Tell them a time. For instance, if you say, “3 o’Clock,” then all children take three steps. If you say “10 o’clock” they take 10 steps.

- As the kids take their steps, have the same child ask again. Then give them an answer. Continue this process.

- At some point, depending on the size of your playing area, you will need to end things so you will scream “MIDNIGHT!!!” after they ask you what time it is.

- It is at this point that chaos ensues. After screaming “midnight” or better yet, while you scream it, turn around and chase after the kids as they scurry back to the starting line. They will go absolutely bonkers.

- Make sure you call “midnight” before a child gets to you. Their goal is to be the first to tag you. Therefore, expect some children to take large steps and even cheat a little. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to turn your head a few times and check the progress.

- As you run, tag as many kids as you can. Those kids are then out. Keep playing until there is one child left. That child then gets to take over your job as the caller if you so choose to relinquish that duty.

- A good tip is to tag both young and old kids equally. In other words, don’t always tag the slowest or youngest first. You should be faster than the majority of your kids therefore you should be able to tag who you want. This creates more fun and an unexpectedness of who will be tagged as they run back to the line.

- For an Easter Egg Hunt, you can replace “Captain Midnight” with “Mr. Easter Bunny” or any event that you are having.

Cautions: This game is super fun because the children never know when it is going to be “midnight” and when they hear the word “midnight” and you turn around and run after them like a crazy person the anticipation that has been building reaches a boiling point and they scream and go bonkers as you chase them. However, usually some children will fall and some may even run into each other. So you may need to do a little explaining before the game that there is no pushing, etc. However, serious injuries are extremely rare, although there is always a risk of that when playing any game.

Have fun with Captain Midnight!