FAITH QUEST
Shepherds and Angels (Revised)
November 13-December 11, 2005
Creation Station
Scripture: Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38
Key Scripture Verse: Luke2: 20 “As
the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful
things about him. Everything they had
seen and heard was just as the angel had said.”
(Contemporary English Version)
Memory Verse: “Do not be afraid; for see - I
am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10 (CEV)
Offering: Joy Gift
Concepts:
·
God cares equally
for all people.
·
God communicates
with people in different ways.
·
We can learn from
the shepherds about how to respond to God.
Objectives:
1. Learn that God sent Jesus
as a very special example of his love.
2. Understand that shepherds
were the first to be told of Jesus’ birth.
3. Recognize that sometimes
God’s message is brought by angels.
4. Children will create either an angel or a
shepherd figure as a physical reminder of the story.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Welcome the children and introduce
yourself. Wear your name tag. 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, thank you for this season of Advent that allows
us time to prepare our hearts and lives for God’s most precious gift to us,
Jesus. Amen.
Bible Lesson:
1. The story of Jesus begins with an angel
telling Mary, Jesus’ mother, that she will give birth. Mary was a young woman and she did not think that
she was good enough to give birth to a child as special as Jesus. Angels are sometimes used by God to carry
messages to people. Mary was awake when
the angel visited her, but an angel also came to Joseph in a dream. You may remember other lessons where angels
came to people – Peter, Daniel, and the women at Jesus’ tomb. There were many others too, and they were
first frightened. Each time the angels
began by saying, “Don’t be afraid!”
These angels came from God and they brought messages of God’s friendship
and caring.
2. In the Christmas story, after Jesus’ birth an
angel appeared to shepherds watching their flocks of sheep. Often the job of a shepherd was given to
young children or very old people. It
was an important job to care for the safety of the animals, but some people who
worked in villages thought that shepherds were not as good as themselves. God thought that shepherds were as good as
anyone else. Rich or poor, strong or
weak, young or old, or anything in between, God loves us all equally. God chose shepherds to be the first to know
about Jesus’ birth. The angel told them
the good news that “This very day in King David’s hometown a savior was born
for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will
find him wrapped in cloth and lying in a bed of hay.”
3. Suddenly other angels came from heaven,
singing “Praise God in heaven! Peace on
earth to everyone who pleases God.” The
shepherds decided to go to
Application:
1. Create!
READ the Bible story (1-3 above) with expression.
2. Tell the children that they will have the
choice of making a decorative 3-dimensional angel or shepherd. Show them the samples.
3. Steps: Hand out markers and pre-traced
patterns. Older children can cut out the
patterns, so have scissors available for them.
Have patterns precut for the youngest children. While the children are drawing hair, faces,
clothing designs, etc. ask shepherds to start stapling the figures according to
the sample (4 per figure starting with two to create a cone for the body, then
one on the neck and lastly the hands).
The children can use markers before and after stapling is done. Be sure that they recognize that all
decoration is to be done on one side (except for the sheep). They can print their names or initials inside
the figures.
4. Clean up!
Involve everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share at
the closing. You may want to have a pre-arranged 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.
5. Turn out lights and lock the classroom door
when leaving. At the end of the
rotation, return examples and patterns to the Faith Quest file.
Reflection Time:
1. Ask the shepherds to pass out journal pages
and pencils/markers. The children should
spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's lesson – How would you feel
if an angel came to you with a message from God? Why were the shepherds first afraid and then
happy? Jesus is sometimes called the
“Lamb of God.” How can we show our love
to Jesus and act like shepherds? Love
and care for each other and for God.
2. At 10:40 ask the kids to put away their
pencils/markers and prepare for the closing prayer.
Closing:
1. Encourage them to remember that God worked
through shepherds and angels to spread the word of Jesus’ birth.
2. Remind them that their pennies will go to the
Joy Gift offering.
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. Suggestion: Thank God
for the gift of Jesus and for the people around us who, like the shepherds and
angels, tell of God’s wonderful love for us.
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.
5. Purchase poster board. Trace enough patterns– 2 per sheet. Cut sheets apart before handing out.
6. Experiment with what the children will be
doing.
7. 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.
8. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare a prayer, use suggestion provided, or
ask for suggestions.
Materials:
White poster board 22” x 28”
with patterns pre-drawn and possibly precut
Scissors
Markers
Staplers
Glue and yarn for extra
decoration if desired
