Wise Men
November 16 –
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12
Memory Verse: “Those who walked in the dark have seen a bright light. And it shines upon everyone who lives in the land of darkest shadows.” Isaiah 9:2 CEV
Concepts:
Ø As followers of Jesus, we worship him as our Lord.
Ø Jesus is the light of the world.
Ø We are called to offer our gifts to Jesus.
Objectives:
In the Good News Lesson we hope to:
Procedure:
Welcome and
Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your nametag. Make sure the children are wearing nametags. If not, ask the shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a different group of students each week that may not know you. Remember to that if you need the shepherds to assist you in any way do not be afraid to ask, that is why they are present with the class.
Explain the purpose
of this workshop:
As we study the story of the Wise Men this week you are going to find out there was a fourth wise man who offered more than one gift to people he met along his journey in search of Jesus. We will discover there are different ways to view the gifts we bring to our Lord and to others.
Scripture/Bible
Story:
1.
Have the Children to stand and say the memory
verse. (You may want to have the
verse on poster board.)
2. Ask them to bow
their heads for prayer. [Lord God of
the nations, we have seen the star of your glory rising in splendor. The glow of your Word helps us to find our
way to the truth. Be with us this
morning and every day that we may see your light and know there is peace in our
hearts. Amen.]
3.
Have them to sit and open their Bibles to the
Scripture. Ask the children to volunteer/assist in reading the scriptures. It is not necessary to have all children to
read. If you want to read and have them
to follow along, that is your choice.
Matthew 2:1-12.
Application:
After reading the
scripture ask if anyone would like to retell the story about the wise men and
their journey to finding Jesus. Inform
them that the wise men did not get to the see Jesus until he was a few months
to a few years old. They had to journey
a long way. Using the map in the story
book, show them how far they had to travel.
The star continued to shine to lead them to Jesus.
I am now going to read to you a great story. The title of the book is The Fourth Wise Man, by Henry Van Dike and Susan Summers. As I read the story I want you to listen and find out what type of gifts the wise man gave away and what gifts he received along the way.
Use the “jewels” as you read and/or tell the story of the Fourth Wise Man. Use any other props you think would add to the story. If you have a nativity scene you could borrow the wise man for the story. You could wear a robe while you read and could offer the cool drink of water to a Shepherd for helping the children in Faith Quest. You could stand when you help hide the new baby from the soldiers and show the “jewel”.
For all children:
Activity
Follow-up Questions:
Younger Children
Older Children:
Gifts for the
children and gifts for their parents:
Ø Provide each child with a gift bag
Ø Show them the gift table or gift box – whatever works for you in displaying the items they are to select for their parents and/or someone who is important to them.
Ø They are to select 2 items and the items they can select from include: Tea Bags, Cinnamon Sticks, Good luck rocks/stones, pens and what ever else I provide or that you want to add to. Giving a gift to another person shows how special that person is and how much we care about them.
Ø Have the Shepherds to help the children select the TWO/2 items for their gift bag.
Ø Once they have selected their gifts to share – give them your gift. I suggest you make cookies, brownies, or purchase cookies or some sort of candy, like a candy cane and give each child a gift.
Ø Remind them that there are many types of gifts and some of them are unseen gifts. We need to remember to use our talents and gifts wisely.
Reflection Time:
Distribute the journal page for the students to work on – there will probably not be time for them to complete the Journal page.
By
Prayer: Suggestions
for the closing prayer – Dear Jesus in
Heaven, thank you for your many gifts.
Most of all, we thank you for spending time on earth so that men could
get to know you and write about your love and provide us information about you
being the true light. Help us as we go
out this week to use the gifts you have given each of us and that we will use
them wisely. We are thankful for your
word and your truth. Amen.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask
children to help tidy up. Please make sure you collect the extra “gifts” and
bags for the next week. Make sure you
store them in a safe place and/or take them home with you. Close/lock the door
and turn off the lights. The pillows in the Puppet room need to be placed back
in the closet if you used them. You
might want to store your story props in the closet as well, since others use
this room.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1.
Read the
scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study.
2.
Prepare
an opening prayer for your lesson.
3.
By the
end of October there will be a package in the church office with your name on
it. The package will contain the book,
bags, mini gifts for parents and students, and the “jewels” for using during
the story.
Suggested Supply List
Ø
Bible
verse on poster board
Ø
Journal
sheets copied for the class.
Ø
Good
News “care package” found in the church office with your name on it.
Ø
If you
get to church early enough each Sunday – use the pillows found in the Praising
Puppets closet.
Reference:
Children’s Illustrated Bible by Parker and Dyson
Book of Common Worship – 1993 Westminster/John Knox Press
The Fourth Wise Man by Van Dyke and Susan Summers