Dear Parents,

Thanks for joining us again as we do Children’s Worship from home!

Note: Please let us know about how your family is enjoying Children’s Worship! Take some pictures of your family participating in Children’s Worship or share a story. You can post to the Gold Avenue Church Facebook page or send by email at goldavechurch@gmail.com

Wise Worshipers

Based on: Matthew 2

Activity One: Read the intro. Watch the video.

Activity Two: Discuss the story using provided questions as prompts.

Worship: Singing

Activity Three: Respond to the story by doing the activity.

Activity Four: Bless your children

EQUIP:

(It’s not an activity, but just a little background on the story for you, the parent, to read.)

What do you think of when you hear the word “worship”? We tend to use that word for the music portions of church services. Many people love Christmas music, but music isn’t the full story of worshiping Jesus at Christmas.

When Paul wrote to the Romans about worship, he told them to present their bodies as living sacrifices—it was their spiritual act of worship (see Romans 12:1)! That doesn’t sound like just singing a song or playing music at church! No, in light of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, the only reasonable response is to give Him our all— our time, our finances, our dreams, our desires, our rights, our very selves. Choosing to bring honor to Jesus in everything we do is true worship— the best Christmas gift for Jesus!

When the Magi—wise men from a very different culture and background—came to worship Jesus, they gave us a glimpse of the day when Christ will rule over all the earth. On that day, people from all nations will worship Jesus as Savior and Lord. The future we look forward to is described in Philippians 2:10-11: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

(From Debbie Barber, Senior Editor of this curriculum)

Activity 1: STORY

Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds.

Introduction to read to the children:

After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary didn’t go back to their hometown of Nazareth. They stayed in Bethlehem, about five miles outside the big city of Jerusalem. The young couple moved into a house and began to take care of this amazing baby who came from God!

Do you like to look at the stars? Can you count all the stars in the sky? I don’t think so, there are way too many!

When Jesus was born, somewhere far to the east, lived some men who were carefully watching the stars. They noticed an unusual new star! And this star didn’t just make them curious; they knew that it MEANT something important— that a very special King had been born to the Jews! These men, called Magi, or wise men, or some people call them kings, decided they wanted to see this new King!

Let’s watch this amazing story.

Watch the video:

Activity 2: DISCUSSION

The story doesn’t end there, though. Listen as I read verse 13. You’ll hear what an angel told Joseph in the middle of the night. 13 When they (the Wise Men) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

Joseph didn’t waste any time. He woke Mary, and they took little Jesus in the quiet of the night and moved to the south as fast as they could. They knew Herod was a dangerous man.

When Joseph’s little family got to Egypt, they stayed there until an angel told Joseph that Herod was dead. Then they moved north, to Nazareth, the town where Mary and Joseph had come from.

Wonder Questions:

Why did the wise men make such an effort to find and worship Jesus?

How did King Herod respond to the news about Jesus’ birth? Why did he respond that way?

Why do we worship Jesus? (He is God’s Son. He loves us. He died on the cross to pay for our sins and then came back to life again to make a way for us to live forever in God’s family.)

After discussing the Wonder Questions, you’ll have the opportunity to pray with and for each of the children.

Jesus was no ordinary baby! The wise men traveled a very long way to meet Jesus. They did this because they recognized that Jesus was the One God had promised to send. They came to honor Him by giving Him gifts and thanking God for sending Him.

Let’s take a minute to pray and thank God for keeping his promises by sending Jesus and thank Him that through Jesus we can be part of God’s family.

Encourage children to respond with their own words. Then, transition into a time of prayer for personal requests.

Worship Songs:

Activity 3: RESPONSE ACTIVITY

Make a popsicle star for your Christmas tree:

Instructions are found here: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/popsicle-stick-star

Christmas Star Maze:

Christmas Maze:

Activity 4: CLOSING BLESSING

Christmas is a time to thank God for sending Jesus. In everything you do this week, remember to show that you worship Jesus, just like the wise men did so long ago. May you worship Jesus because He is the Savior of the world!