LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS
TRUTH: Jesus Christ came to this earth to save
sinners.
VISUALS
Make
a series of six cards with the six words – Who? When? Where? What?
Why?
You? Or write these words on six cards shaped like a question mark
LESSON:
Do
you like birthdays? Isn’t it a pity they only come once each year?
Do
you like Christmas also?
I’m
sure you do. Why do we have Christmas? What does it celebrate?
(Give
an opportunity to respond). I am sure you know that Christmas is the
special birthday of Someone very special celebrated by many millions of people
all over the world.
WHO? (Show
card)
Who
is so important that so many people celebrate His birthday? The answer is – the
Lord Jesus, the Son of God. Of course He was alive before He was born!
What
do I mean? Well He lived in Heaven with His Father before the world ever
existed, but He did not have a body. He was God, not man. But on the first
Christmas day He, the Son of God, became human. He was born. He now had a body!
WHEN? (Show
card)
This
happened about 2000 years ago. And it was such an important birthday that we
date our time from His birthday. This year is 2005 AD (or whatever the year
is) and that means it is 2005 years after He was born. The letters A and D
mean Anno Domini, the year of our Lord. The years before He was born are called
BC or Before Christ. So you can see how important He is and how important His
birthday was.
WHERE? (Show
card)
He
was born in a little town called Bethlehem in the country we now call
Israel.
One of the writers of the first part of the Bible (700 years before His birth)
had prophesied that He would be born there (Micah 5 v2) – and it happened
exactly as he had written.
Was
He, the Son of God, born in a palace, in a special cot for royal babies?
No!
He was born in a stable or cattle shed - and was laid in a simple little box or
feeding trough made of rough wood.
WHAT? (Show
card)
What
happened?
His
mother Mary gave birth to Him just as any mother gives birth to
her
baby.
Angels
told the shepherds what had happened and they rushed to see
Him.
Later
on wise men were guided by a star to come and worship Him.
WHY? (Show
card)
But
why did this happen? Why did the Son of God become a baby and why was He born
in such humble conditions?
He
came to die for us and to take the punishment for our sins. Thirty-three years
later He died on the Cross for us. He came, lived and died to save us.
That
is why He was called Jesus. His name means Saviour. He wants to be your
Saviour. Have you trusted Him? (Show card with the word “you”). Why not
do so today? If you are saved thank Him for coming and dying for you.
GOD’S GIFT TO A SINFUL WORLD
TRUTH: God has a special gift for every boy and girl.
VISUALS:
A
chair. Make
four cards and print the following words on each:
GOD
LOVES
GOD
GAVE
I
TRUST
I
HAVE
If
you wish you can include pictures on each card along with the words – a red
heart (representing God’s love), a cross (representing the death of the Lord
Jesus), praying hands (representing faith) and a white heart (representing salvation).
LESSON:
What
do you think is the best known verse in the whole Bible? (Give the
opportunity to respond). Most people everywhere agree that the best known verse
in the Bible is John 3 v16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believe in (trusts) Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.”
We
learn four things from this verse:
GOD
LOVES (Show card) This
verse tells us what God is like.
This
is the first thing we learn. God is love and He loves each one of us.
Love
is what God is like. And He just keeps on loving us.
Who
does God love? He loves the world and everybody in it – no matter how
bad or how sinful they are. This verse says, “For God so loved the world.” That
means He loves you and me.
How
much does God love you?
GOD
GAVE (Show card)
Love
can be measured by what is given by the one who loves. God loves
you
and me so much that He gave His best and His greatest gift to the
world.
Our verse says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son.”
He gave His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ Who came to this earth and died on the
cross, and took the punishment for our sin, so you and I could be saved. But we
need to do something about it.
I
TRUST (Show card)
You
need to put your trust in Jesus Christ. Our verse says, “that whoever believes
in Him.” To believe in Him means to trust Him, to put your confidence in
Him, to ask Him to save you. What does it mean to trust Him? Do you see this
chair? It is a good strong chair. I think it would hold me if I sat on it. But
it is not enough for me just to look at it or think about it. Am I willing to
trust it? How do I trust it? I sit on it (Do so).
Now
I trust it.
It
is not enough to think about Jesus Christ or talk about Him. You need
to
do something. You need to put your trust and confidence in Him as I
did
with this chair. And if you trust Jesus Christ God promises first of all
in
our verse that you will never perish or be lost. He says that you “should not
perish”. But He promises more than that.
I
HAVE (Show card)
This
Bible verse tells you that if you trust Jesus Christ you will have
everlasting
life. And so our verse says, “have everlasting life”. The moment you
trust Jesus Christ all your sin will be forgiven and you will receive the gift
of eternal or everlasting life – and when you die you will go to Heaven to be
there forever more.
Have
you received this great gift? Trust Jesus Christ now, today, and you can be
sure that you will be saved and that you will live forever.
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