In the last session we met a young girl named Mary who was engaged to marry a man named Joseph. Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel and he told her some amazing news – she was going to have a baby! This was going to be a very special baby. This baby would be the Son of God and King of the whole world! A while later, it was time for Mary to have her baby, but first they had to travel to a place called Bethlehem. Let’s watch the video to see what happened:
Story Video:
Video by http://saddleback.com/
Time to Think and Pray
Questions
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Why did Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem?
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Where did Mary have her baby?
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Why was baby Jesus so special?
Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor of Israel, ordered a census to see how many people lived there. This meant that everyone had to go back to the town where they were born to register their family. As Joseph was born in Bethlehem, he and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register. It was a very long journey and must have been very tiring for Mary, who was carrying a baby inside her tummy! When they arrived in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born. Joseph needed to find a place for them to stay, but so many people were visiting Bethlehem because of the census that all of the inns and houses were completely full up! After a long time of searching, an innkeeper let them stay in the place where he kept his animals. Mary gave birth to her baby boy there and the only place to lay him was in a manger, an animals' feeding trough! They named the baby Jesus, just as the Angel Gabriel had told them.
Jesus is the Son of God and the King of the whole world! You would expect a new king to be born in a fancy palace, or at least in a hospital, but Jesus was born in a dirty, smelly place with animals! God wanted to show us that even though Jesus is the King of the whole world, he had come to be with us, as one of us. The Son of God had come to earth to save his people. We will hear more about the story of Christmas next week.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you that you came to earth as a tiny baby so that you could grow up to teach us what God is like and to save us. Please help us to remember that you are the real reason we celebrate Christmas, and to share that good news with others. Amen
This Week's Song: Oh What a Glorious Night
This Week's Crafts: Sock Baby Jesus and Nativity Scene
Sock Baby Jesus
You will need: A long white sock, marker pens, a rubber band, stuffing (or cotton wool), a piece of fabric to wrap your baby in, a piece of ribbon (optional), and a paper bag for a manger (optional).
Follow the instructions by Lacy Lynch on catholicicing to make your very cute sock baby!
Craft by: www.catholicicing.com
Nativity Scene
You will need: White card or paper, colouring pens or pencils, scissors and a copy of the printable templates.
Colour in the stable, people and animals and then cut them out. Where indicated, fold the people and animals in half so they are able to stand up. Do the same with the sides of the stable. Put your nativity scene on display for Christmas!
Craft by: http://madebyjoel.com
