The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-14)
Printable NativityThe printable nativity in Christmas on the Move is great to print out and give to families as at your christmas services. Encourage them to make their own at home, or give them a pack with pens to start making it in the service.
Head to the Christmas on the Move page on the Strandz website 
Amazing Days
The newest offering from Bible Society UK, based on Bob Hartman’s story booklet The Amazing Days
Download the video Preview the video and find out more Sign up for a free impromptu nativity script with powerpoint The Impossible Promise
The Bible Society NZ has a free Christmas booklet for families, based on Bob Hartman’s story booklet The Impossible Promise.
Animated video (YouTube) Download Video Download PowerPoint Instant Nativity (pdf) |
Gospel Conversations '22Once again the GC team aim for the slightly chaotic goal of nine of their friends tackling the Christmas Gospel, all within 15 minutes! This year we took a verse or two each and dug for the Good News. Who knew there could be good news in a census, or the power of an emperor, or the terror of the shepherds? Join a whole bunch of us as we celebrate this joyous Christmas message and promise.
Gospel Conversations '21 In this video, they opened up the conversation to anyone who had been a part of the Gospel Conversations over the year. The result was a slightly chaotic but joyful and varied sharing of what the challenges, good news and 'so what's' of the story of Christmas might be" - Rev. Dr. Anne van Gend. Thanks Dunedin team - these have been so great!
Overview: Luke 1-2BibleProject Luke 1-2 Overview
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Jesus Presented in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40)
When Joseph and Mary took their infant Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him to God, they met Simeon and Anna—two senior adults who knew who Jesus really was. They rejoiced in seeing Jesus and in what He would accomplish in and for God’s kingdom.
Simeon and AnnaMary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple because God commanded his people to do that. They were being obedient and faithful to God. They weren't expecting anything amazing to happen. But something amazing did happen.
There was a man named Simeon who was living in Jerusalem, where the temple was. Sometimes he went to the temple and sometimes he didn't, but on the day that baby Jesus was going to be there, God told Simeon to go to the temple. God didn't say why, but Simeon obeyed! You see, many years earlier, the Holy Spirit had come to Simeon and told him that before he died, he was going to see the Saviour, the Messiah-- in other words, Jesus, but Simeon didn't know his name! Simeon believed what God had said. He had faith. Do you know what faith is? (allow answers). Well faith is believing in something you can't see. Simeon believed that the Saviour was coming in his lifetime because God told him that, but he hadn't see the Saviour with his own eyes. THAT was about to change. Simeon went to the temple and when he saw Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus, he went right up to them and asked to hold the baby. He said, 'Now I've seen my saviour. Now whatever happens to me is ok." Then he turned to Mary and Joseph and told them how special their baby was, how he was going to be a bright light in the world and save people. Then Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph-- and Mary and Joseph were amazed! God had kept his promise to Simeon! Nearby there was someone else who was going to know who Jesus was. Anna. Anna was 84 years old. She'd been serving God and praying in the temple for many years. Maybe she heard Simeon praising God, or maybe God just led her to where Mary and Joseph and Jesus were, but Anna also was so excited about seeing Jesus. Imagine spending years and years and years serving and loving God and then suddenly seeing the baby that was going to grow up and free people from their sins. Not only did she praise God, but she started talking about Jesus to everyone who wanted to be free! Anna and Simeon both recognized that Jesus was a king, and Mary and Joseph understood even more just how important their baby was! |
ActivitiesSimeon and Anna Puzzle (Sunday School Zone)
Secret Code Activity (Sunday School Zone) Wordsearch (Sunday School Zone) Wordsearch (Bible Explore) Puppets (Sunday school zone) Colouring in (Higher Praise) Quick questions
Story resourceStory and questions(Ministry to Children)
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Jesus as a child (Luke 2:41-52)
Today's story helps us understand that Jesus knew who he was, even when he was young.
Story(If you have a similar story to start with, use your own. If not, you can say that you heard a story about....)
Say something like: "When my children were little, we went on holiday and visited the Waitomo Caves. It was an amazing experience. We especially liked the glowworms. All of us, including our six children, went through the cave together, got into the boat and saw the glowworms. But something happened and instead of 6 children coming out with us at the end of the tour, there were only 5! At first I thought Tim was with his dad and his dad thought he was with me. You can imagine how frantic we were when we realised that Tim wasn't with either of us. There were so many people and it seemed like such a dangerous place. My husband and I looked at each other and quietly asked each of our other children if they'd seen Tim. "No" was there answer. The older boys went up the different paths to see if perhaps he'd gotten ahead of us, but Tim was nowhere to be found. Finally while the others were looking, I went back into the entrance of the cave, hoping that somehow Tim had just gotten turned around. And there he was! He was standing with another group of tourists, listening to the guide and getting ready to go back through the caves. After hugging him and making sure he was all right, I asked him, "Where were you?" He looked up, smiled and said, "Mummy, I love this place. I just wanted to stay longer. Where were you?" That reminds me a little of our story today. Mary and Joseph were on their way home and had been travelling for a full day when they realised that Jesus not only wasn't with them, but he wasn't with any of their friends or other relatives. They hurried back to Jerusalem, frantically looking for him, and found him, 3 days after they'd left the city. He was sitting with the teachers in the temple, asking questions, answering questions, listening. The people were amazed at how wise he was. But still, when Mary and Joseph found him, they were so relieved. It must have been a horrible time not to be able to find their son! When Mary said, "Where were you? We've been looking for you for three days!" Jesus answered, "Didn't you know that I'd be in my Father's House?" Mary and Joseph might not have understood what Jesus meant, but when we hear about that, we can know that Jesus knew who he was. He knew that God was his father and that He was God's Son! Game: What's missing?What you need:
What you do:
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Drinking straw mazeNote: This activity contains marbles so is not for children under 5.
What you need:
What you do:
You can use sello tape instead of a glue gun if you find the straws move too much before you're able to glue them down |
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