FAITH QUEST
This lesson plan is copyrighted and belongs to the Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian,
Cary North Carolina. It may be used for non-profit uses only.
SHEPHERD AND ANGELS
Scripture: Luke 2: 8-20
Key verse for this lesson: Luke 2:11, “This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.” (CEV)
Concepts:
The shepherds heard the message about Jesus, believed it, looked for and found Jesus, praised God and told people (a model of behavior for us.)
Objectives:
1. Children will view the video “Christmas Is”
2. Children will discuss the importance of the poor shepherds in bringing the message of the birth of Jesus to the world.
3. Older children will discuss the birth of Jesus as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name tag. Make sure the children are wearing name tags. If not, ask the shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.
2. Distribute the popcorn with help from the Shepherds or volunteer children. (Popcorn should already be made) OR you may need to start the video immediately and then pass popcorn.
3. Tell the children that today they will be watching a video about a boy who didn’t want to be a shepherd in the Christmas play. We will talk about what happened to the shepherds and how we can be like them.
Bible Story:
1. Give a brief outline of the video. Benji is a boy in a Christmas play. He is to be a shepherd in the Christmas play but he thinks that isn’t a very important role. Then a strange thing happens. In a dream, Benji goes back in time 2000 years to the night that Jesus was born. He learns how important the poor shepherds were in bringing God’s message to us about the birth of Jesus.
2. Show the video. It’s about 22 minutes long. Cue the video to the beginning of the rehearsal scene.
Application:
1. Stop the video just as Benji is going back in time. Remind the children that Benji is dreaming or thinking about the night of Jesus’ birth. The story goes back in time to the time of Jesus’ birth. All of Judea, Jesus’ country, had been captured by the Romans. The Roman Empire in those days was bigger and more powerful than the United States today. The Roman soldiers were the police and the government. The Jewish people had to do what the Roman soldiers told them and pay their taxes to the Roman government. Imagine if the United States was taken over by another country, if we had no say in the government and if we had to pay our taxes to another country. How would we feel? The people were very poor. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth but had to go to Bethlehem so that the government could count them and make sure they paid their taxes. The trip was about 80 miles. They had to walk it and Mary was about to have a baby.
2. Roll the tape to the end.
3. Discussion: recap the main events of the story with the children. What did Benji learn about the role of the shepherds? How did Benji act like a modern day shepherd? (he told his friend to come and see the play) What does this story tell us about how to be a good shepherd?
What does the word Messiah (Hebrew)/Christ(Greek) mean? (Savior)
Older Children: Discuss how the Old Testament books written many years before Jesus was born, told about the birth of a Messiah or Savior. The Jewish people knew about this prediction or prophecy (refer to the scene in the video when the Jewish people in the inn were discussing this). Many Jewish people expected that the Savior would be born into a powerful royal family and kick out all the soldiers and people from foreign countries and lead the Jewish people to magnificent victory. They did not expect the Savior to be born into a poor family in a poor barn.
Look up one of these predictions in Micah 5:2-5. Micah was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. See how it talks about the birth of a great ruler. Verse 2: Ephrathah is a district where Bethlehem is located. Who is the “ruler”? (Jesus). The ancient line refers to a descendent of King David. Bethlehem is the City of David. Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem because they belonged to the “line” or the family of David and so would the baby Jesus. Can you see how the Jews might have expected Jesus to be a great king, to be born to important people? Jesus is a great king but in a different way.
Look at another prediction of Jesus’ birth. Ask half the class to look up Isaiah 9:6. Ask the other half to read Luke 2:11. Isaiah was written about 700 years BEFORE Jesus was born. Read the Isaiah verse, then the Luke verse. The Luke verse describes what the angels tell the Shepherds. Discuss the similarities between the two passages. Discuss how Jesus’ birth is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a “Savior”, a “prince of peace” – God’s royalty!
4. Prepare to wrap-up by 10:35.
Reflection Time:
1. Ask the shepherds to pass out the journals and pencils/markers. Ask younger children to draw a picture of shepherds or how the sky might have looked filled with angels. Ask older children to describe how they could be good shepherds today.
2. Aask the students to close their journals and sit quietly for prayer.
Prayer: Suggestion: Prepare a 4 or 5 sentence prayer with one sentence per slip of paper. Number the slips 1-5. Ask for volunteers to help with the prayer. Give a slip to each volunteer. Suggestions for prayer sentences: Thank you God for keeping the promise of long ago to send the Savior of the world, a prince of peace. Thank you for the poor shepherds who brought this great message to the world. Thank you God for sending us Jesus. Help me to be a shepherd and share the good news of Christ.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask
children to help clean up popcorn as they wait for their parents to arrive. Put bean bag
chairs in piles against the walls, clearing the floor space. Wipe out popcorn machine
thoroughly.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1. Read the scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study, _____________.
2. Prepare a closing prayer.
3. Write your key scripture verse on the white board.
4. Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.
5. Preview the video and have it cued to the correct starting place. The video can be found in the plastic bin in the Holywood closet.
6. PRACTICE OPERATING THE POPCORN MACHINE. Ask the current workshop leader for instructions. Be sure you have plenty of popcorn popped BEFORE the children arrive. You will need to have your attention on the children at that point. Ask the shepherds or child volunteers to help distribute it to children who are sitting quietly.
References
Family Films Video – Christmas Is, distributed by
Gateway Films/Vision Video