Leader Guide
Main Lesson
NOTE: For this lesson, either start with the first purple candle already lit (electrically or otherwise) or light it when noted during the Celebration of Advent section below.
CELEBRATION OF ADVENT (8 min)
Poor Chris! He lost his winning ticket. We’ll see how that ends later. Now, let’s continue our celebration of Advent. Remember what Advent is? Advent is how we celebrate the excitement of waiting for Jesus to come! The word Advent means “the first appearance of something.” So we’re celebrating Jesus coming to earth as a baby 2,000 years ago. But we’re also celebrating our faith that Jesus will come back again, like He said He would, as the King of the world! And for some of us, we’re celebrating Jesus coming to be the Light of our life. So much celebrating! Let’s get started.
(Approach Advent Wreath.) This is our Advent Wreath. Remember what it means? It’s a circle, like God’s love, the way it has no beginning and no end. And it’s green—alive—even during the coldest part of winter, the way Jesus gives us life no matter how hard things get. There are four candles: purple for royalty because Jesus is our King. It’s also the color of the sky right before the sun comes up because Jesus is the Light of the World. And pink—the color of roses—for joy. Cool, huh? Each week, we will light one more candle and tell a little more of the Christmas story. Ready to do that?
Last week, we lit the Prophets' candle (purple), which represents the Hope from God’s promises, made through His prophets—the people He spoke through. The world and especially God’s chosen people, Israel, were experiencing dark times. But God promised His light would shine on them. (Light the first candle, if not already lit.)
Today, we light the Bethlehem candle (purple), which represents faith. It took some faith to believe that God’s hope for the world, the chosen One who would save the world, would be born in a little, ordinary town like Bethlehem and not the holy city of Jerusalem. But Bethlehem was where the prophets said He would be born. Can you believe that? Over 700 years before Jesus was born, God’s prophets knew the little town where He would be born—and a lot of other details of His life. Wow! If that seems hard to believe, you’re not alone. It takes faith. And here’s how it happened.
(Summary from Luke 2) The Roman Emperor made everyone go back to their family’s hometown to be counted so he would know how many people he ruled. Joseph and Mary, Jesus’ mom and dad on earth, didn’t even live in Bethlehem! But they had to go to Bethlehem to be counted because Joseph’s grandparents were from there. They had to stay where the animals were housed because it was the only place available. Not what anyone would expect, but it happened just like the prophet Micah said it would.
Who wants to help me light the candle? (Choose a student volunteer and introduce them.)
This Bethlehem candle represents faith.
SUPERVERSE
SuperVerse
(Graphic loops one minute without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.)
SUPERTRUTH:
We can have faith because God keeps His promises. (Help the student ‘light’ the candle, then direct them back to their seat and pray.)
ADVENT PRAYER
(1 min)
Father in heaven, You always keep Your promises. Thank You for loving us so much that You gave us Your Son Jesus. What a fantastic way to do it, having Him born in an ordinary town, in humble circumstances. Give us faith to trust You with our lives because You are the One who uses ordinary and lowly things to do what is amazing and wonderful. In Jesus’ name, amen.
BIBLE STORY
PLAY VIDEO: The First Christmas—Bible Story & Resolution
(18 min)
Bible Story and Resolution
DISCUSSION (5 min)
What a story! Did you hear the part where Chris and Gizmo talked about how it wasn’t like Christmas because there were no decorations—no Santa, or Rudolph, or anything? What did you think? Would you agree? (Take a few short answers.)
What about when Chris asked Joseph, “Aren’t you worried…about Mary and the baby?” Was Joseph worried? No, he wasn’t. He told Chris that God has a plan. Mary and Joseph had faith. They believed what the angels told them about Jesus.
Going back to the beginning of the video, who did the wise men visit? King Herod
And how did they know where the baby Jesus would be born? The priest told them the prophecy of a ruler arising from Bethlehem.
Why was King Herod upset about Jesus being born? Because the prophecy said Jesus would be king of the Jews, and that was King Herod’s position.
Once Jesus was born, who were the first ones the angels told? Shepherds in the fields nearby.
And how many angels were singing ‘Glory to God’? A huge number of them.
Could you see them all up there singing in the clouds? Children respond.
INSTANT REPLAY (5 min)
It seems like you remember the story pretty well. But just to be sure...let’s do an instant replay! (Do the following to lead the kids in a re-telling of what they just saw.)
Have everyone stand. Divide the students into five groups of at least two people each:
- Mary and Joseph (These can be leaders, to make it less embarrassing.)
- Wise Men and Herod (You can have more than three wise men.)
- Animals
- Shepherds
- Angels
Have everyone sit in their new groups. Tell them to stand and act the scene out when you call their group. Use the following text to lead the groups through a review of the story. You may need to give them specific instructions to help the process along (ex: To one, “You’re King Herod.” To the group, “All of you pretend you’re eating a meal together.”)
(Group: Wise Men and Herod) First, the wise men stopped by Herod’s palace, where they had an excellent meal (the group eats), and Herod’s priest told them where the baby would be born. Herod made plans to get the new king of the Jews. (Herod rubs hands together, scheming. As the group sits down, lead a round of applause.)
(Group: Mary and Joseph) Mary and Joseph headed to Bethlehem (They walk in place. A ‘donkey’ from the Animals group gets on all fours and could have Mary on his/her back.) They had to go because the Roman emperor made everyone go to their family’s hometown to be counted. There were so many people in town that they had to share space with the animals. (The rest of the Animals, as donkeys, sheep, and camels, get on all fours by Mary and Joseph.)
When the time came, Mary gave birth to Jesus. (Mary and Joseph stand next to each other with an imaginary baby. Donkeys, etc. watch.) She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a feeding trough. (Mary mimes that.)
(Add Shepherds Group) Meanwhile, shepherds were out in the fields watching their sheep. (Shepherds shade their eyes, watching.) Suddenly, an angel appeared (Pick an Angel to stand with their hands out toward the Shepherds.) and said, “Don’t be afraid! I have great news: Jesus has just been born!” And then he was joined by, like, a gazillion more angels (The rest of the Angels stand.) who were all singing “Glory to God in the highest!” (Lead the Angels in singing.) The end. (Lead another round of applause and have everyone sit back down.)
DISMISSAL (1 min)
Guess what: we’ve only got two more candles to light before Christmas comes! The anticipation! Can you handle it? Christmas is coming. You’ve got to have faith. So remember: (SuperTruth) We can have faith because God keeps His promises.
Dismiss here or use the "Promises to Keep" craft in the next section.