SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Christmas Sunday THE BIRTH OF JESUS Luke 2:1-20 Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Four, Lesson Twelve Sunday, December 18, 2016 AIM: to teach my class that Jesus is the greatest gift that has ever been given OBJECTS TO HAVE: A wrapped gift; (or one gift for each class member) Mary Joseph The manger scene Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: Just a few more days until Christmas!. Christmas is one of my favorite days of the year. (Describe Christmas morning at your house, or Christmas morning when you were a child. End your description by describing the exchanging of gifts). What are you thinking when someone hands you a Christmas gift? If you’re like me when I was a kid, you’re thinking, “I wonder what THIS is.” But here is something to think about before you open a present: Somebody loved me enough to think about what I would want for Christmas. Then they went to the store to try to find that thing for me. Then they took their own money…money that they could have spent on themselves…and they bought this gift for me. Or do you know what is really special? When somebody takes the time and the effort to MAKE a gift for me. Then they took that gift, and they wrapped it for me. And now they’re watching me open it, because they are really excited to give it to me. Boy…it sure is good to have somebody that cares enough to do all that for me! And you know what? Someday that gift is going to wear out, or break, or run out, or be lost. But the love of the person who gave it to me will be mine forever! What a special thing it is to receive a gift! Of course, there is one gift that is more wonderful and more special than any other gift that has ever been given by anybody anywhere. Let me tell you about it. STORY: When God made man, God gave man a choice: man could be a close friend to God…or man could rebel against his God, disobey God, turn his back on God. Do you know what we chose? We chose to rebel against God. Man chose to sin. Every man, woman, boy, and girl who has ever lived is a sinner. We have all chosen to sin against our God. God could have destroyed us all if He wanted to, and He would have been right to do it, for He created us, and we rebelled against Him. But God loved us! God did not want to destroy us; instead, He wanted us to turn back to Him. But before God could allow us to turn back to Him, He had to fix our sin. How can sin be fixed? By being punished. Once God punished our sin, He could forgive us, if we turned our hearts back to Him. But there was one other problem: the only way to punish our sins would be to send us to hell for ever and ever. So there was no way to punish us AND forgive us. But wait…there was ONE way. God would allow someone else to be punished FOR us. Someone else could go to hell in our place. Someone else would be our substitute. Then anyone who would put their trust in that substitute would be forgiven for rebelling against God. What a wonderful plan! So who would that someone else be? There was only One who could be that substitute: God’s own Son. If God sent His Only begotten Son into the world, He would be the One who was able to be punished for us. God’s Son would be God’s gift to the human race. So here is the story of how God gave His Son as His gift to us: When the time was exactly right for God to send His Son into the world, God looked down from heaven and He saw a young lady named Mary. Mary was a young Jewish girl who lived in Israel. She was a good, godly young lady. She had kept her life clean and pure. God said, “That is the young lady that I need to use to give my precious gift, my own Son, to the world.” Now Mary had dreamed all her life of growing up and getting married to that very special man that God would bring into her life. She had finally met that very special man—his name was Joseph. Joseph and Mary loved each other. 0000

Joseph had asked Mary to be his wife, and Mary had said, “Yes.” We call that “getting engaged.” Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married. They were very excited, and very busy planning and preparing for their wedding. One night, before Joseph and Mary’s wedding day, an angel appeared to Mary. That angel said, “Mary, I have a very special message for you. This message is from God Himself. God said that He is going to use you to do a wonderful thing. God wants to give a gift to the whole world. That gift is God’s own Son. God is going to give His Son to the world. His name is Jesus, and He will save God’s people from their sins.” Mary did not know what to say! The angel continued: “Mary, you are going to have a baby. That baby is the Son of God. Go ahead and get married to Joseph, just as you had planned. Then you and Joseph will raise that baby boy to be a godly man.” Mary was thrilled and humbled. Joseph did not know what to do when Mary told him the news. But an angel appeared to Joseph, and gave him the very same message from God. What a joy to be chosen by God to give God’s gift to the world! Months later, the time was getting close for Mary to have her baby. Usually at a time like that, a woman wants to be as still and comfortable as possible. But Mary and Joseph had to take a long journey, just as the time was drawing near for Jesus to be born. You see, the government had a law that at that precise time everyone in the land had to return to his hometown, the town where his family was from, to pay a tax and to be counted in the census. Mary and Joseph lived in a town called Nazareth, but they had to travel to the town of Bethlehem in order to obey the law. Ready to have her baby boy at any time, Mary rode all that way on the back of a donkey! That was a very long and difficult trip for ANY person, but especially for a woman who was about to have a baby. When they got to Bethlehem, Joseph went to find a motel room. He knew that Mary would have that baby at any moment now. Joseph went to an inn, which is like a motel, and asked if they could have a room. The innkeeper said, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any rooms left.” Joseph tried to persuade him, saying, “Please, sir, my wife is about to have a baby at any time!” The innkeeper said, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do. But wait a minute…we do have a stable where the animals stay. If you would like to, you may take shelter in there.” Joseph and Mary had no choice. That night, in a little stable in Bethlehem, with animals all around, God’s gift was born into the world. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a man, born as a baby in Bethlehem. Nearby were some shepherds taking care of their flocks. Out in the field with their sheep, the night was still and quiet. But suddenly in the darkness, a choir of angels appeared and announced the birth of Jesus, the King of kings. The shepherds could not believe what they were hearing! They made their way to the stable where Jesus had been born, and there they saw Joseph and Mary, and in a manger, which is a wooden stand that holds hay for the animals to eat, in a manger the shepherds saw the newborn baby boy, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God’s gift to the whole world. The shepherds fell down on their faces and worshipped Jesus. Then they got up, and they went and told everyone they could find that God had given His wonderful gift, His own Son, to the world. Later some wise men came to worship Jesus. They had studied the Old Testament and understood that God had promised to send His special gift, the Saviour of mankind. Then they saw a star in the sky that led them to where Jesus was. They brought him gifts to honor him, and they worshipped him. Imagine grown men worshipping a baby! But they knew that this was not just any baby. This was the Son of God, the Saviour of man, and God’s gift to the world. God gave us His wonderful gift so that we would have the opportunity to choose to turn our hearts back to Him. God sent Jesus to earth to die for your sins because God loves you and He wants you to be His friend; He wants you to be close to Him. But you cannot enjoy a gift if you do not first receive it. If someone hands you a Christmas gift and you push it away and say, “NO!”, you will never enjoy the thing that is inside. No matter how wonderful a gift it may be, no matter how much someone may have worked or spent or sacrificed for you to have it, you will never enjoy it if you do not first receive it. The same is true with God’s gift. God did all of the work. Now it is up to you to receive Jesus as your own. If you have never received Jesus as your personal Saviour, today would be the perfect day to do it! Christmas is the day that we celebrate that God GAVE us His most wonderful gift; it would be the perfect time for you to decide to RECEIVE God’s gift! Let’s learn our memory verse. Luke 2:11 – For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Christmas Sunday THE BIRTH OF JESUS Luke 2:1-20 Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Four, Lesson Twelve Sunday, December 18, 2016

Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I.

JESUS IS GOD’S GREATEST EXPRESSION OF LOVE TO MAN. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” John 3:16. It is so easy to overlook the great blessing that is right in front of us. We are so used to hearing about it, so familiar with every detail, that it does not even move us anymore to think about the fact that Almighty God gave His Son so that we, His rebellious creation, could be redeemed. But that babe in the manger is God in the flesh, and He is God’s ultimate expression of love to man.

II.

EVERY HUMAN BEING OUGHT TO REJOICE THAT GOD BECAME A MAN. There is no greater truth than the fact that God became a man. The Christmas Carols that we sing celebrate the fact that God became a man. Let’s be sure that these are not just empty words rolling off of our lips. Let our hearts give praise to Almighty God, that He loved us so much to send His Son to save us!

III.

LIKE ANY GIFT, GOD’S GIFT MUST BE RECEIVED TO BE ENJOYED. Romans 6:23 says that God’s gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ. God has done all of the giving. But no gift can be enjoyed unless it is received by the person to whom it is given. You cannot earn a gift or deserve a gift; you can only receive a gift. But you must make the choice to receive it for yourself; otherwise, for you, God has given His gift in vain.

IV.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS THE FIRST OF THE THREE GREATEST EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE. The three greatest events, in chronological order, are 1) the birth of Jesus; 2) the sacrificial death of Jesus; and, 3) the Resurrection of Jesus. To place them in order of importance is futile, since they are all directly related to one another.

V.

JESUS IS SALVATION. For the first 4000 years of human history, God had promised to send His salvation into the world, to send His people a deliverer. Throughout the Old Testament men expressed their hope in God’s salvation. Genesis 49:18, Exodus 14:13, I Samuel 2:1, etc. When the Saviour was born into the world, the angel instructed Joseph to name Him “Jesus,” which is the Hebrew word for salvation. The angel was literally saying, “Call His name ‘Salvation.’” 4000 years of Old Testament saints did not realize that they were calling the actual name of their coming Saviour.

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The Birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-20 Sunday, December 18, 2016

God Becomes A Man I.

LUKE 2:1-7 Jesus is Born in Bethlehem 1-3 Caesar decrees a tax 4-5 Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem 6-7 Jesus is born in a stable

II.

LUKE 2:8-14 Angels Announce Jesus’ Birth 8-10 The good tidings to the fearful shepherds 11-12 The identifying sign of the newborn Saviour 13-14 The glorious singing of the heavenly host

III.

LUKE 2:15-20 Shepherds Visit the Newborn Saviour 15-16 The shepherds go and see 17-18 The shepherds spread the word 19 Mary considers every detail 20 The shepherds return to their flocks Adult Bible Class

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THE BIRTH OF JESUS Luke 2:1-20 Sunday, December 18, 2016 God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as His gift to the entire human race, so that we could be saved from our sins.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

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THE BIRTH OF JESUS Luke 2:1-20 Sunday, December 18, 2016 Match the answer from the right column that best fits the clue in the left column. Write the LETTER of the correct answer in the SPACE beside the matching clue.

____ Gave His Son Jesus as His gift to

A Mary

the human race

____ Appeared with a message to a young

B taxes

lady

____ Name of the young lady that the

C God

angel gave the message to

____ Name of the town where Mary lived

D Jesus

____ Name of the young man that Mary

E Nazareth

would be married to

____ The king passed a law that everyone

F stable

had to go and pay these

____ Mary rode this all the way to

G Bethlehem

Bethlehem

____ Building where Mary delivered her

H A donkey

____ What Mary named her baby

I An angel

____ Town where Jesus was born

J Joseph

baby

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 0000

THE BIRTH OF JESUS Luke 2:1-20 Sunday, December 18, 2016 The answers to this week’s puzzle

C

Gave His Son Jesus as His gift to the human race

A Mary

I

Appeared with a message to a young lady

B taxes

A

Name of the young lady that the angel gave the message to

C God

E

Name of the town where Mary lived

D Jesus

J

Name of the young man that Mary would be married to

E Nazareth

B

The king passed a law that everyone had to go and pay these

F stable

H

Mary rode this all the way to Bethlehem

G Bethlehem

F

Building where Mary delivered her baby

H A donkey

D

What Mary named her baby

I An angel

G

Town where Jesus was born

J Joseph

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