Celebrate the Gift of Jesus

STICKY STATEMENT

Give because God gave.

LESSON OBJECTIVE

Children will learn about the birth of Jesus and will be challenged to give to others as a way to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ.

LESSON OVERVIEW

The wise men searched for Jesus because they knew He was precious. They worshiped, or celebrated, Jesus by giving Him gifts that demonstrated a knowledge of how special Jesus was. Jesus is the greatest gift and the reason why we give gifts at Christmas.

KEY VERSE

Matthew 2:11

DEFINITIONS

Worship: “anything we think, say, or do that is pleasing to God”

TEACHER’S CHECKLIST

1. A PowerPoint is available for this lesson.2. Video: The Lost Ring: https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/OBS20/41-1/ (Hook)3. Optional: a small Christmas tree (Lesson Content)4. Optional: ribbon (Lesson Content)5. Optional: a large wrapped gift box (Lesson Content)6. Tape (Lesson Content)7. The five “Star Clue” cards (Lesson Content)8. Writing utensils (one for each child) (Next Steps)9. Blank star cards (one for each child) (Younger Adaptation and Next Steps)10. A small wrapped gift box (Younger Adaptation)11. The “Jesus” star card (Younger Adaptation)

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HOOK

Teacher’s Note: If you are choosing to use the Younger Adaptation, use it instead of the Hook section.

Does anyone have an example of a time when you lost something and thought it was gone forever, but then you found it? [Allow for raised hands.] What did you lose? [Allow one or two children to share.]

Those are great stories. The video you are about to watch is the story of a lady who lost her engagement ring! Can you imagine losing something so valuable and precious? Watch what happened.

Teacher’s Note: Show the missing ring video: https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/OBS20/41-1/.

If you cannot or do not want to show the video, here is a brief description of the video so you can simply tell the story.

A lady named Faith Goldberg from Cedar Park, Texas got home one day after running errands, looked down at her finger, and realized that her engagement ring was gone. She had been married for seventeen years and thought that she would never see her ring again. But, a young boy from another Cedar Park family happened to notice a ring on the ground in the parking lot. His mom, Stacy, didn’t think the ring was worth anything, but realized rather quickly that it was a priceless engagement ring.

Faith made a post on a social media site hoping that if someone found the ring, they would see the post and return it to her. Stacy saw the post and her family was determined to return it to Faith.

Since the ring had been in a parking lot, it was beaten up and badly scratched. Stacy didn’t want Faith to get the ring back in such bad condition. So, she had a jeweler repair the ring. The boy presented the ring back to Faith in restored condition and in a new ring box.

Optional: If you would prefer to tell your own story of something that you were searching for, feel free to use that personal story instead of the story provided.

If you chose to use the Younger Adaptation, begin teaching with the following paragraph.

Tonight’s lesson is part of a four-part series called, “Celebrate.” As you might have guessed, this is the Christmas lesson. We are going to look at Christmas from the perspective of the wise men. They were not searching for something that was lost, but when they found Who they were looking for, they were overwhelmed with joy.

LESSON CONTENT

Let’s read Matthew 2:1-2 to hear about the beginning of their search. [Read Matthew 2:1-2.] It is interesting that the Bible calls this group of men, wise men. What we know about these wise men is surrounded by mystery because the Bible doesn’t tell us many details about who they were or what they knew. We know they studied the stars, and they were considered wise, but we don’t even know how many there were exactly.

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Some people think that there were three wise men, but the Bible only tells us there were three gifts. No matter how many there were, their actions give us at least five clues that show they knew Jesus was a priceless treasure and they learned to give because God gave.

Before we talk about the five clues, I need to ask for your help with this lesson. Every time I stop and point to you, I want you all to say, “Give because God gave.” Throughout the lesson, as we learn about the wise men, we will have five stars to hang up. Each of the stars will be a reminder of what the wise men knew or what they gave. I will choose a specific person to hang a star for all of us to see each time there is a new one.

Teacher’s Note: The stars should be hung where the children can see them throughout the lesson. If you want to give it a Christmas feel, you could hang them on a small Christmas tree or tape them to a large wrapped gift box. If you choose to hang them on a tree, it is recommended that you punch a hole in the top of each card and tie a ribbon on the star so it can be hung. If you choose to tape them up, be sure to have tape available for the child who hangs each star.

Our first clue, that the wise men knew Jesus was a special baby sent by God, is that they chose to travel a long way to see Jesus. In their travels, they would have given up time and comfort. [Hold up the “Time and Comfort” star card.]

We don’t know exactly where they came from; we only know that they came from the East. Travel in those days was slow and hard. There weren’t any cars, buses, planes, or trains. So, how do you think they got there? [Give the children a chance to answer.] The only two ways to get somewhere in those days were walking or riding an animal like a camel or a donkey. Both of these ways of traveling were long and hard. The people and the animals would get tired and thirsty. Because God gave His Son Jesus to the world, the wise men chose to give as well. The wise men gave up their time and comfort to [Point to the group and have them repeat the Sticky Statement.] “give because God gave.”

[Select a volunteer who will hang the “Time and Comfort” star card for all to see.] It could have been up to two years from the time the wise men started their journey until the time they found Jesus, but the length of the journey did not stop them from wanting to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.”

Our second clue we have, that the wise men knew Jesus was a special baby sent by God, is the words that they used. [Hold up the “Words” star card.] They may not have known everything about Jesus, but they did know one extremely important thing. The wise men knew that Jesus was a King. When they went to find Jesus, they stopped to ask King Herod about Him. [Re-read Matthew 2:1-2.] They described Jesus as the King that was worthy of worship. [Select a volunteer to hang the “Words” star card for all to see.] They gave their words of praise to Jesus.

Unfortunately, King Herod and the others who heard their words did not celebrate Jesus or think that He was a rightful King worthy of worship. The thought of another king made Herod angry. He felt threatened by the baby Jesus. [Read Matthew 2:3, 7-8.] He asked the wise men to come tell him where they found the new King so he could worship Him. King Herod didn’t really want to worship Jesus. Instead, he was worried this new king would take his throne. He didn’t want to take a chance of that happening. Herod decided to kill this newborn King. But while Herod was making his evil plans, God had a plan to protect baby Jesus. We will talk about God’s plan to protect Jesus in a few minutes.

Our third clue we have, that the wise men knew Jesus was a special baby sent by God, is the fact that they worshiped Him. [Read Matthew 2:11a.] Only God is worthy of worship. [Show visual #1: the definition of worship.] “Worship” is “anything we think, say, or do that is pleasing to God.”

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The wise men knew Jesus was worthy of worship because He is God. They actually bowed down and worshipped Jesus. [Hold up the “Worship” star card.] Through their worship, they chose to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.” [Select a volunteer who will hang the “Worship” star card for all to see.]

Our fourth clue we have, that the wise men knew Jesus was a special baby sent by God, is the gifts they gave to Him. [Hold up the “Gifts” star card.] Some of you might know what gifts the wise men gave to Jesus. What were they? [Allow for responses, and then read Matthew 2:11b.]

● The gold they gave Him was the symbol of a king. ● The frankincense they gave Him was a symbol of the fact that He was God. ● The myrrh they gave Him was a symbol of the fact that He came to die. (Myrrh was an

embalming oil of that time period.)

While the wise men didn’t know how Jesus would die, we can read in our Bibles today about how Jesus chose to die on the cross to save us from our sins. By giving Jesus costly gifts, the wise men chose to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.” [Select a volunteer to hang the “Gifts” star card for all to see.]

Our final clue we have, that the wise men knew Jesus was a special baby sent by God, is their obedience. [Hold up the “Obedience” star card, and then read Matthew 2:12.] Even though the wise men must have known King Herod would be upset with them, they chose to obey God’s warning. This is how God would protect Jesus. The wise men chose to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.” What did they give? They gave their obedience. By returning to their country another way, they were obeying God. [Select a volunteer who will hang the “Obedience” star card for all to see.]

CONNECTION

Jesus is the greatest gift the world has ever received and is the real reason why we give gifts to each other at Christmas. We need to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.”

Our gifts may not be as fancy or expensive as the gold, frankincense, and myrrh the wise men gave to Jesus. That’s okay. Some of the things that the wise men gave could not be bought in a store. We may not have the money to purchase gifts, but all of us have time we can give to others. Would someone like to share a gift of time you could give?

Teacher’s Note: Allow for several responses. If the children can’t think of any ways to give of their time, you could ask questions like, “Could you help a friend or family member with a chore?” or, “Could you help an older neighbor do some yard work?” or, “Could you just take the time to listen to someone who needs a friend?”

We also have encouraging words we can give to Jesus and to others. We can tell Jesus how wonderful He is when we pray, or with the songs we sing. We can tell others how special they are to Jesus. We can tell others how thankful we are for what they do for us. Would someone like to share a gift of words you could give? [Allow the children to respond.]

All of us can worship Jesus. [Show visual #1 again: the definition of worship.] Remember, “worship” is “anything we think, say, or do that is pleasing to God.” We can worship Jesus by singing and praying. We can also worship by telling others how wonderful Jesus is. Would someone like to share a gift of worship you could give to Jesus? [Allow the children to respond.]

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All of us can obey Jesus, our parents, and our teachers. We can choose to obey God’s Word. We can do what we are asked by our parents or our teachers the first time. Would someone like to share a gift of obedience you could give? [Allow the children to respond.]

When we do have the chance, we can give physical gifts to others as well. Gift giving happens a lot during Christmastime. But we shouldn’t just give a gift to someone because it is Christmas.

Whatever gift we give, our goal should be to recognize Jesus is the greatest gift. He is worthy of any gift that you give Him. Jesus is worthy of being honored by the way we give gifts to others. When we give these types of gifts to Jesus and to others, we are giving because God gave. We show others around us how special Jesus is. So, no matter what the gift, [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.”

CHOICE

Sometimes, during Christmastime, we can be distracted from celebrating Jesus. We can get focused on all of the presents that we want to get that we forget about the greatest gift of all, Jesus! Instead of being focused on what you will get this year, take time to think about the wonderful gift God has given us in Jesus.

Will you take time right now to ask God to help you to remember the greatest gift ever given? You could say,

“Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus, the greatest gift of all. Help me to remember to give to others because You gave Jesus to me.”

[Allow the children to take some time to pray.]

NEXT STEPS

[Refer to the five star cards.] Look at the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus. The physical things they gave Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but they also gave gifts of time, comfort, words, worship, and obedience. What is one gift you can give Jesus this Christmas season? Which one of these can you give to a family member or a friend?

Will you give the gift of time to God or to others?

What about the gift of words of praise to God or words of encouragement to others?

Only God deserves worship; will you give Him the gift of worship?

Will you give the gift of obedience to God or to your authority?

Think of something specific. For example, don’t just choose to give your mom words. Choose some specific words to say. For example, “I appreciate the way you take care of me when I am sick,” or, “Thank you for cooking so many wonderful meals for me.”

[Hand out the blank star cards and writing utensils.] To help you with what you will do, when you get to your Personal Training (PT) Huddle, have your PT Coach help you write a description of your gift and who it is for on your star. Then, take it home to remind you to [Point to the group.] “give because God gave.”

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YOUNGER ADAPTATION: (Hook)

Teacher’s Note: Prior to teaching the lesson, use the blank star cards to create a scavenger hunt around your room. On each star, write a clue to where the next star can be found.

For example, if your room has a cabinet, you could hide the second star in the cabinet and then write the following clue on the first star: “Look for me in the place where we store things.” If you have a craft table, on the second star you could write, “Look for the next star clue under the table where we make crafts.” These clues should be easy, so the whole activity can be completed within a couple of minutes. The final star clue should be taped to a gift box. The gift box should be wrapped and have the word JESUS inside. (A star with the name “Jesus” on it is available at the end of this lesson for you to use inside the box.) Before the children arrive, hide the star clues around the room where you will be teaching. Begin the process with the following script.

Tonight, we are going to have some clues to help us find some stars. The clues are going to help us discover the greatest gift of all. [Hold up the first star clue.] This clue will lead us to another star and another clue. When I read it, if you think you know where the next clue is hidden, raise your hand, and I will call on you. If you are right, you will get to go find the star and read the next clue to us.

Teacher’s Note: Read the first clue, and then call on a child with their hand raised to guess where the next clue is hidden. Then, allow that child to go find the star and read the next clue. Continue to call on children to solve the clues and find the stars. Allow the last child to open the gift box and tell the other children what the greatest Christmas gift is.

PERSONAL TRAINING TIME

The Goal of the Personal Training Huddle: To help the children see how the wise men celebrated Jesus by the things they gave and help see the real reason for the gifts we give at Christmas.

Discussion Questions

1. How did the wise men celebrate Jesus? (Possible answers: gifts of time, words, worship, and obedience, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The goal of this question is to see how much the children understood about the lesson. See if they made the connection of how we can give gifts that are not purchased at a store.)

2. Do you think we should celebrate Jesus only at Christmas? Why or why not? (Possible answer: No, we should celebrate Jesus all the time because He is the greatest gift that has ever been given.)

3. What gift will you give this Christmas as a way to celebrate the greatest gift of all? (Allow the children to use their star cards to write down what gift they will give and to whom they will give it. Help them to be specific about what they will give. Example answers: I can give my mom the gift of time by folding the laundry. I can give my friend the gift of words by telling my friend how good he is at playing soccer. Help them to remember that there are other gifts that we can give that are not bought in a store.)

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PARENT CONNECTION

Tonight’s lesson was part of a four-part series called, “Celebrate.” As you might have guessed, it was the Christmas lesson. We looked at Christmas from the perspective of the wise men.

Your child learned how the wise men chose to give because God gave.

They celebrated Jesus by giving Him their time and comfort as they traveled to find Jesus.

They celebrated Jesus with their words that declared Jesus was the King of the Jews.

They celebrated Jesus by worshiping Him.

They celebrated Jesus by giving Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They celebrated Jesus by their obedience to God’s warning not to go back to Herod.

Your child was reminded that Jesus is the greatest gift and the reason why we give gifts at Christmastime. They were encouraged to give because God gave. The challenge was to choose one gift to give to Jesus and one gift to give to a family member or friend. These gifts don’t have to cost money. Just like the gifts of the wise men, gifts come in many forms: time, comfort, words, and obedience can be given to God and others. The gift of worship is reserved for God alone. Your child was given a star card and asked to write down what gift they will give and to whom they will give it. Please help your children to choose some gifts they can give to someone during Christmastime.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Why did the wise men follow the star? (They wanted to find and worship the newborn King of the Jews.)

2. Whom did they ask where to find the new King? (King Herod)3. How did King Herod feel about them looking for a new king? (He was angry.)4. What did King Herod ask the wise men to do? (Come back to tell him where they found the

new king so that he could worship Him too)5. How did the wise men feel when they found Jesus? (They were full of joy.)6. What did the wise men do when they found Jesus? (They worshiped Him.)7. What was one gift the wise men gave Jesus? (Gold, frankincense, myrrh, worship, time,

comfort, obedience, words)8. How did the wise men know not to go back to tell King Herod about Jesus? (God warned

them in a dream.)9. What book of the Bible tells the story of the wise men? (Matthew)10. What is the main point we should remember from the wise men? (Celebrate the gift of

Jesus or “Give because God gave.”)

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