Sunday 20 December 2020 - The Best Gift!
The Best Gift!
Video:
Worship:
Join with Rachel, Wellie and Jodie to sing along to this special Christmas song that Rachel has written for us all - ‘The Best Gift Ever’:
Word:
Why not sit together and read the story of Jesus’ birth together either from Luke 2: 1-20 and Matthew 2: 1-12 or from a children’s story Bible? A great way to help children remember scripture is to get them to re-tell it in their own words. So I suggest reading it together a couple of times and then re-telling it in your own words (or even acting it out). Ask the children to imagine being Mary or a shepherd etc and how they felt when the angel visited or to wonder what the wise men thought when they found the new born king in a stable?
A fun clip to potentially watch together where children try to retell the story of Jesus’ birth can be watched on the following link:
Talk about how Christmas is often thought about in England and by many children. Some questions to help this conversation include;
- Why do your friends like Christmas?
- What do the adverts you see on TV and online promote about Christmas?
- Who do people expect to see at Christmastime?
- What do people do to get ready for Christmas? Etc
Explain that it is great to give and receive presents at Christmas. It is good to enjoy tasty Christmas treats and special foods. It is a special time to spend time with family. It is fun to get ready and decorate our house with Christmas trees and lights. But the most exciting thing of all is to remember that at Christmas we are celebrating THE BEST GIFT EVER!!!
At Christmas we remember and celebrate that God sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the World; the one who makes all things right. God loves us SO MUCH! And He really, really wants us to get to know Him better, to trust Him for everything and to accept all the amazing good gifts that He wants to give us, not just at Christmas, but all the time!!
In John chapter 1 verse 12 it says;
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
This is talking about Jesus - everyone who accepts the gift of Jesus and believes in Him and chooses to follow Him, will become ‘children of God’ - God’s special friends! Jesus (the best gift ever) is available to everybody of all ages and all we have to do is choose to say yes to Jesus. John 3 verse 16 shows how much God loves the world and how much He longs for everybody to believe in Him, so that we can be with Him forever!
For older children, you might want to go on to look up different scriptures about some of the gifts that are given freely by God when we choose to accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. For example: Ephesians 2: 8 / 2 Timothy 1: 7 / Romans 6: 23 / 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 / James 1: 5 / John 15: 9-11 / Romans 15: 13 / Acts 1: 8 and so on….
Activity Suggestions:
Family Movie - Why not watch “The Star” (http://www.thestarmovie.com/discanddigital/) - get the popcorn out and snuggle together!
Surprise a neighbour - Make a home-made gift to deliver to a neighbour to show that you are thinking about them and praying for them this Christmas. You could make a Christmas tree decoration, bake some Christmas biscuits, make a Christmas card, decorate a clean jam jar and fill it with wrapped sweets etc…
Design a poster/picture - Create a poster or picture to display in your window telling everyone about ‘Jesus - the best gift ever!’ Make it colourful and bright.
Make Christmas Gift Tags - make a different gift tag for each different gift that God gives. Use these as decorations on the Christmas tree or as gift tags on family member’s presents.
Reflection:
Cut out a star shape (use foil or shiny paper if you can). Think about how the star guided the wise men to find Jesus; the new born king. Invite God to show you what He would like you to do this Christmastime. He wants you to follow Him because He loves you! As the star twinkles it might also remind you that you can help other children to get to know Jesus and to discover that Jesus is the best gift ever, not just for Christmas, but for every day!!