FAITH QUEST
Advent
November 14 – December 12, 2004
Creation Station
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 and 2:1-15 and Luke 1:28-38
and 2:1-20
Key Scripture Verses: Luke 1:30-32
Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid!
God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the
son of the God Most High. The Lord God
will make him king as his ancestor David was.”
(Contemporary English Version)
Memory Verse:
For unto you is born this day
in the city of
Concepts:
· God works through ordinary people who obey him.
· God planned from the beginning to bring Jesus into the
world to save the world.
· The story of Jesus’ birth (and life, death and
resurrection) is a story about God.
Objectives:
1. Understand that God worked
through angels and ordinary people to save the world.
2. Know that Jesus was a
child of the Holy Spirit, honored and protected according to God’s plan.
3. Learn that throughout
history, artists have created works that celebrate events concerning Jesus life
through a rich tradition of art and music.
4. Children will choose scenes from the
Christmas story and portray them in a stained glass triptych format.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Welcome the children and introduce
yourself. Wear your nametag. Make sure
that everyone is in the right classroom!
Children will either already have name tags on, or will get a nametag
from their shepherd. Make sure that you know everyone’s name and greet the
students individually. Remember you are interacting with a different group of
students each week that may not know you.
2. Start the “lesson time”
with prayer. Perhaps: Dear Lord, may our eyes see your presence, may our ears
hear your voice and may our hearts leap for joy. Amen.
Bible Lesson:
1. Today’s lesson is made up of several stories
told in the first two chapters of the gospels Matthew and Luke. Together they tell the story of Jesus’ birth
and the many special events that surrounded it.
This is the Christmas story. Over
hundreds of years, artists have created beautiful paintings, carvings and
stained glass showing these events. As
you listen, think of each story as a picture.
2. The story begins with an angel appearing to
the young girl, Mary and telling her that even though she is not married, she
will give birth to a son. “His name will
be Jesus. He will be great and he will
be called the son of the God Most High.
The Lord God will make him king as his ancestor David was.” said the
angel. Then an angel came to Joseph in a
dream and told him the same message.
They both believed God’s message.
3. About this time, the ruler, Emperor Augustus
sent a message to all people in the land that they had to return to their
family villages in order to be counted and pay taxes. So while Mary was pregnant, Joseph and Mary
had to travel 70 miles form
4. That night angels came to some shepherds in
the field and told them that a savior was born for them and the child would be found
lying on a bed of hay. The shepherds
believed and hurried off to see Jesus.
About that time, some other people were coming to see Jesus. Wise men (sometimes called kings or magi)
from the east were following a star that they believed would show them where to
find the king of the Jews. They came to
5. King Herod, who served under Emperor
Augustus, heard about the wise men’s search and tried to get them to return and
tell him where Jesus was. Herod was
afraid of this baby becoming a king. So,
he planned to kill Jesus. But the wise
men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they traveled away
without telling him. Again, an angel
appeared to Joseph. This time he was
warned about Herod and told to take Mary and Jesus to
Application:
1. Create!
READ the Bible story (1-5 above) with expression.
2. Show the Christmas story great art prints. Point out the different interpretation of the
same stories. Tell them that artists
often picture people dressed the way they and their friends dress instead of
the way people really dressed at the time of Jesus’ birth. Note that some artists painted halos around
certain peoples’ heads and others didn’t.
3. Pass out computer paper, crayons and
scissors. With the paper horizontal on
the table, fold each end in so they meet equally in the center. Crease the folds. Fold the top corners down in a triangle to
meet the center edges. Cut these
triangles off. Open. There is now a format for a triptych. Collect scissors and scraps. Explain that they will be creating three
pictures from the Christmas story, a larger one in the center and a small one
on each side.
4. Steps:
First outline the three panels with black. Then color a different scene from the
Christmas story in each section. Plan
the more complicated scenes in the larger section. When finished, send children to a
newspaper-protected area to oil the back of their pictures. They should lay
their drawing face down and gently swab the back with a cotton ball dipped in
oil. Lift and place on a paper towel to
blot.
5. Turn on a tape or CD player and listen to
traditional carols with words while the children create.
6. Clean up!
Involve everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share
together in the closing. You may want to have a prearranged signal for clean up
and tell them at beginning of art project what that will be - perhaps giving
them a 5 minute warning and then the final clean up notice to allow those who
need a bit more warning that they need to complete whatever they are working
on.
7. Turn out lights and lock the classroom door
when leaving.
Reflection Time:
1. Ask the shepherds to pass out Journals and
pencils/markers. The children should
spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's lesson – Who did angels come
to? What messages did they bring? Who believed and obeyed God - How? What special things about Jesus are told in
these stories?
2. At 10:40 ask the kids to close their journals
and prepare for the closing prayer.
Closing:
1. Encourage them to think about how God worked
through Mary, Joseph, shepherds, angels and wise men to honor Jesus’
birth. Remind them the Jesus means “God
saves.”
2. Tell them that their offering
will be given to the Joy Gift collection.
3. Say the Key Memory Verse together (see
above). You may want to have this verse printed on a banner and hung in the
room, write it on the white board in the room, or have it on slips of paper
that each child can take home.
4. Pray! Ask the children if they have any
prayer requests. Thank God for the gift of his son, Jesus and for faithful
people like Joseph and Mary. Help us to
believe and obey as they did.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1. Read the scripture passage
and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Workshop.
2. Practice reading the Bible story (above) with
expression.
3. Prepare an opening prayer in case nobody
volunteers to pray.
4. Check the art room and the supply closet to
see what supplies exist. Decide if you
wish to arrange the art prints on a bulletin board.
5. Experiment with what the children will be
doing.
6. Prepare all the materials you will need for
the creation process. Have the materials
ready to go. There will be limited time
for the creation process, so do everything you can to conserve time.
7. Obtain a tape or CD of traditional Christmas
carols with singing accompaniment.
8. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare a prayer or ask for suggestions.
Materials:
Standard or legal size
computer paper
Crayons
Scissors
Small dish of baby or mineral
oil
Cotton balls
Paper towels to blot
Once in Royal David’s City – verses 1, 2
O Little Town of
Away in a Manger - verses 1, 2
Angels We Have Heard on High - verses 1-4
While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks at Night – verses 1-4
Hark the Herald Angels Sing - verse 1
What Child is This – verses 1, 3
Angels From the Realms of Glory - verses 1, 2
Silent Night, Holy Night - verses 1, 2
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly - verses 1, 2
The First Noel - verses 1-5
We
Three Kings of Orient Are - verses 1-4
Art prints:
Annunciation – Fra Angelico, Jan van Eyck, Giotto,
Ottobeuren
Nativity – Correggio,
Adoration
of the Shepherds – Martin Schongauer,
Hugo van der Goes, Giorgione, Giotto
Adoration
of the Magi – Giotto, Gentile da
Fabriano, Fra Angelico, Mabuse, Albrecht Durer, Joos van Cleve, Sandro
Botticelli
Flight into
References:
Prints
and music tape will be provided and are to be returned to FQ lesson file.