Christmas Message for Kids Church

The Magi Follow the Star

Scripture: When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. (Matthew 2:9) Materials: Baby doll, puppets (Mother MP, and girl - GP), large star to show, construction paper (blue), white crayons, small white stars Scripture Reading for Teacher: Matthew 2:1-12 Decorations: String Christmas lights around the room and dim the overhead lights for a nice effect. Skit: GP: Please, may I have the stars? MP: Let me think about it. How much do they cost? GP: They are only $1.95 for the whole pack of them. MP: We will see. Remember the last stars we bought you, and what you did with them? GP: But that was a long time ago, I was not grown up then. MP: What will you do with them? GP: I want to make the solar system for my class project. MP: When is this project due?

GP: Next week. MP: What color do you want? They have blue, white or red. GP: I want the white ones. They remind me of the stars in the sky. MP: You will need to place them on blue paper so they will show. GP: Oh look! I want this big star here! MP: You cant have all those. Why do you need the large one? There are so many stars in this package and that will be plenty for your school project. GP: This one is special; it will be the Star of David. MP: Well, ok. But you will need to tell me about this Star of David. Where did you hear about that? At school? GP: No way.my Sunday school teacher told us about the Star of David. It is a special one. MP: Be sure to tell me after we pay for these stars on the way home. We can stop and get some ice-cream, too. How does that sound? GP: Great..just great! (Exit)

Lesson How many of you have ever sat out at night looking at the many stars in the sky? Did you notice that the longer you gazed into the sky, the more stars appeared? Isnt that neat! God made so many stars in the sky, and they give us light at night along with the moon. The sun is also considered a star, and it is the closet star to our earth. Stars come in different colors and sizes. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the new baby who has been born. We heard he was the king of the Jews?

We saw his great big star in the east and want to find him so we can worship him." When King Herod heard all about this, he was quite disturbed, and even some others in Jerusalem with him. Herod called together all the chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Jesus Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written. A prophet is someone like today we would see as a medium or mind reader. Then Herod called the Wise men 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. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." When the wise men saw the star, they were overjoyed. They traveled a long time until they came to where the new Baby Jesus was. It took them a long, long time to get there. Actually, by the time they arrived, he was no longer in a cradle for he had outgrown it. He was a BIG boy. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. The wise men decided not to go and tell King Herod where Jesus was, because Herod did not really want to worship him. He did not like the fact that he was considered a King. He did not want his position threatened. When your mom had a new baby, did anyone come to see it? People like to come and see a new baby. Sometimes they will bring them a gift or card. They like to hold the new baby. A new baby is so sweet and needs lots of care, just like Baby Jesus did. Baby Jesus was born into a Jewish home like some of you are Gentile or African American. The Jewish people called this special star the Star of David. David was a great, great, great, and many great relative of Baby Jesus.

Jesus will be like a bright star in our lives when we give our lives to Him. When he forgives us for our sins, we will shine brightly for Him and share the Gospel message with others about what He has done for us. Father in heaven, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who came to this earth as a tiny baby to take away our sins. We thank you for how Jesus went to the cross and shed his blood on our behalf. Today, we confess our sins, every one of them (Pause). We ask you to forgive us from those sins and make our heart clean. Thank you in, Jesus name, Amen! Memory Verse: The star, which they saw in the east, went before them Matthew 2:9 Teacher: Lets all say the memory verse together. Use only the words that are underlined provided in the lesson above. The verse is rather lengthy to learn in one Sunday otherwise. Write one word each of the verse on a single star. Mix the stars all up and have the kids put in correct order. Alternative: Distribute the stars (having one word of the verse on each star) and when you say GO: have the kids stand in the correct order. Say the verse all together aloud. Repeat this exercise until you have done this several times. Craft time: Provide each child a piece of blue construction paper. Give them white stars to create the night sky. Allow them to draw Baby Jesus in the manger in the night sky using a white crayon. Snack: Star cookies. Allow the children to icing their own cookie. Serve with apple juice. Kidsministry.net October 11, 2010. All rights reserved. Rev. Jeanne McIntosh.