Aim to know that Jesus was special, and God loved him very much

Aim
*To know that Jesus was special, and God loved him very much
* We can learn many things from Jesus about God

Materials
* Children’s Bible stories
– The visit of the three wise men and the flight to Egypt
– The boy Jesus at the temple (Luke 41-52)
* Picture of Jesus and children to colour
* coloured pencils

Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. Story & Discussion
3. Activities – colour picture, ‘Going to see Jesus’ game
4. Review the aims
5. Prayer

1) Introduction
* Remind the children about Christmas and that it celebrated the birth of Jesus who was a very special baby. Ask the children if they know anything about Jesus. He loved God very much and to God he was the most special of all babies. Every year, the whole world remembers when Jesus was born.

* Today we will learn more about Jesus when he was 12 days old and later when he was 12 years old.

2) Story & Discussion
* Read the story of the wise men and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:1-12)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, wise from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the wise men secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they 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.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.

* The wise men visited Jesus 12 days after he was born, on January 6th, which marks the end of Christmas celebrations. They knew that a special child would be born and were led to Jesus. The bowed before him, gave gifts and treated him like a king. Many people at the time expected someone very special to be born. Jesus was this person.

* We don’t know much about when Jesus was a boy, but there is one story when he was 12 years old.
* Read the story of Jesus at the temple (Luke 2: 41-52)

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

* This story shows that Jesus was a very clever boy. He had many questions. Jesus wanted to know about God and how to be a good person. When he was older he became a teacher, telling people about God. He said we are all God’s children and God is our Heavenly Father, like our mummy and daddy. God loves us very much and he us wants to love Him by being good children and loving each other. He told many stories to teach people what is right and wrong and how to be good. In Sunday school we will be learning a lot about Jesus and the stories he told.

* Even though Jesus lived a long time ago, many people want to be like him and learn from how to be good and loving children of God
* He especially liked to talk to children about God. If we listen to what Jesus said we can learn the right way to live and be happy people

4) Activities
* Colour the picture of Jesus talking to children
* Play the game “Going to see Jesus”

5) Review the aims
*To know that Jesus was special, and God loved him very much
* We can learn many things from Jesus about God

6) Prayer
* Say a prayer to thank God for Jesus and help to learn from him so we can be good and happy children