Matthew 1

Book of Matthew: Chapter 1

The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25)

I wonder...

What was it like for Joseph to hear that Mary was going to have a baby?
What would it be like for Joseph to have an angel appear to him in a dream?
What might the angel have been like? How did Joseph know it was an angel?

Christmas on the Move

All resources from Christmas on the Move, a Strandz advent resource, can be found here
Today is the day for Mary and Joseph to arrive at the stable, ready for the arrival of the baby on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This can be linked to the Gospel reading.

Visio Lectio

Thanks to Rev. Sarah West for this print image from Visio Lectio, shared with permission.
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Gospel Conversations

At last we've reached a Christmas story! It is Matthew's wonderful telling of how the gentle man who was to bring up Jesus learned of God's gift to the world. It's not the most familiar part of the Christmas story - not the part we find in Nativity Plays - but it's a story rich with joy and hope and fulfilment. Join Damon, Esther, Anne and Michael as they ponder something of the gift this story is to us.

Craft boxes for home

As Christmas draws close, and families adjust to being on holiday, tensions in the house may be running high. Children will pick up on parental stress, something that’s hard to avoid at this time of year. If you’re extra busy finishing at work and preparing for the holiday, and your children are demanding more time than you’re able to provide, try creating special craft boxes for your children.

Make one shoe box size box for each child - or one box for all of them to share and put a few special arts and crafts things inside. Include some special paper, felts, stickers, pipe cleaners, glue, buttons, paper or card- whatever you have or can easily get. Wool, popsicle sticks, tape, crayons, aluminum foil are also possibilities. When things get a bit rough, pull out the boxes and sit them down. Say something like, ‘You’ve got___ (an amount of time appropriate for their age) to create a Christmas card, or a poster or whatever you think might be of interest. By redirecting their need for your attention, they can work on something fulfilling and you might just get a few extra minutes to finish something that needs to be done.