The Prophet Proclaims Good News to the People in Exile
Say: Hundreds and thousands of years have gone by since God first promised a Savior to Adam and Eve. And still the people believed and hoped and waited. The prophet Isaiah warns the people that they will be taken into exile—taken into captivity into the foreign land of Babylon. But he comforts them with the promises that God’s kingdom will still come and that the promised Savior will still come.
The Bible Reading
Read Isaiah 40:1-8
Say: The song that we will be singing talks about the people in exile longing for Emmanuel to come to them. Do you remember what Emmanuel means? (God with us).
The Song
The words to the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” appear on the screen so we will be able to sing along.
The Activity
Create a bumpy terrain of some sorts. If you live someplace warm, you could make hills and valleys of dirt and rocks in the yard. If you live where it is cold, you could make a miniature of this with play dough.
Say: We’re going to focus on the idea of preparing or making way for the coming of Christ. In verses 3-4, what sort of changes are going on? (make straight the highway, raise up the valleys, make low the mountains, make the rough ground level)
Have your kids smooth out the rough places and fill up the valleys and make low the mountains. As they do this, ask them some questions:
- What things (like this hill or pile of rocks) get in the way of your relationship with God?
- As you fill in these holes/valleys, what are some things that you could be adding to your faith life?
- What things can help us get ready for the birth of Christ—and for our life with Christ.
This short article by Neil MacQueen on a memorable Children’s Sermon on this topic might give you some more ideas.