The Wise Still Seek Him Storytelling Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Use the book Mary’s Treasure Box to tell the story. Include the experience of touching and smelling the items mentioned in the book. Play the "left-right" game to focus on story details.
[Note: 1st – 3rd graders visited this workshop.]

For scripture, objectives, and background- see above.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Gather the materials.
• Set up an area of the room in a storytelling tent.
• Read the storybook Mary’s Treasure Box. Be able to tell the story especially the beginning part as actually reading it word for word will take up too much time.
• Organize all of the supplies for the children's boxes on the table.

Supplies List:

• The book Mary’s Treasure Box by Carolyn Walz Kramlich (available used and new from online sellers)
• A wooden box to use as the "treasure box"
• Items to place in this treasure box – straw, sheep’s wool, a wooden flute, swaddling cloth (a piece of flannel), a small gold bracelet, frankincense, and myrrh
• One gift box for each child (we used small jewelry-type boxes purchased at Michael's)
• Items mentioned in story that can be put in each child’s gift box (see source notes at end of lesson)
• A table for these supplies
• Copy of Left-Right game (see end of lesson)
• For 3rd grade: Bibles, One purple Adventure Bible with tabs (Law, History, etc.) and a Bible tab writing kit: tabs, fine-line Sharpie pen
  
  

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Say: Welcome to storytelling! Today we’ll hear stories about Jesus’ birth and in particular, the visit of the wise men.
Ask: Did you know that there is even a day that celebrates the wise men visiting Jesus?
Does anyone know what that day is called?
Say: It’s called Epiphany. Epiphany actually happens on January 6th but we’ll celebrate Epiphany here in this church on January 4th this year because that’s a Sunday.
Ask: I wonder if there will be some sort of special event that day?

Say: Once we go in to the tent we’ll want to sit quietly and listen so I thought first we’d spent a couple of minutes sort of getting our sillies out and stretching a bit.

Ask: What guided the wise men to Jesus? (a star)
How might the wise men have reacted to first seeing this star? (awed, excited)
How do you suppose their faces look?
Say: Let’s pretend we are wise men seeing the star. (Feign amazement and wonder.)
The wise men traveled quite a ways as they followed the star. They might have ridden camels. [Lead the kids in some other creative stretching and movement.]
Ask: How might a camel move?
Herod when he found out he had been tricked? (maybe stamping of feet)
Wise men when they knelt down to worship Jesus?
Jesus, safely asleep on his bed?
[End with a quiet “movement” to get everyone calm.]

Say: Let’s move into the story tent.

Dig- Main Content and Reflection:

For 3rd grade:
Distribute Bibles.
Ask: Where in the Bible would we read a story that included Jesus? (in the NT)
Ask: What are the first four books of the New Testament?
What do we call those first four books? (the Gospels)
Say: If you have your own Bible with you today, be sure you receive a tab for the Gospel section of your Bible. [Show the classroom Bible with tabs. Have the Shepherd put on tabs for students who bring their Bibles. Use the classroom Bible with tabs as an example.]
Have them find the story in Matthew 2:1. Remind them of the quick way to find the New Testament.
Say: This is where you find in the Bible the story of the wise men visiting Jesus. Now I would like you to close your Bibles and listen to a story that I will tell you.

For all students:
Say: Did you know that the Bible in its original form was not a book. Much of it began as stories, stories told from one generation to the next. Stories told in tents as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and much later, as the disciples shared the good news about Jesus. Today I want to tell you a story called Mary’s Treasure Box. This story is not a Bible story but it is based on characters that we read about in the Bible. One of the characters is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She’s a grandmother in this story. Her granddaughter calls her mamme (Pronounced: mam'-may). Listen for other people that we know from the Bible.

Start off telling the story of the book to the students. When actually reading pages, such as from “Sarah picked up a little bit of straw and gave it to Mamme Mary…” be sure to read slowly using “radio reading” (reading with feeling, and pausing at commas with slightly longer pauses at periods.)
At the appropriate part in the story, show your treasure box. As each item is introduced in the book, take it out of the box and show the students. Then encourage them to pass the item around.

Discussion:
As the children finish passing items around, ask a few questions…
Ask: What were the wise men called in the story? (magi)
Say: Sometimes we refer to them as kings but they probably were not really kings. They were people who studied the stars. They saw stars as signs of important events to come; this particular star leads them to Jesus.
Ask: I wonder what leads us to Jesus? (accept all answers)
When the magi found Jesus did they visit Jesus when he was a baby in the stable? (no)

Say: Did you know that most crèche scenes aren’t right? The wise men didn’t visit Jesus until he was older. He might have been up to 2 years old. If you have a crèche at home you can put your wise men on the other side of the room from the stable. When Jesus was staying in the stable is probably when the wise men started out on their journey. Then on Epiphany, when we celebrate the visit of the magi, you may add your wise men to the scene.

Ask: Does the Bible tell us how many wise men came to visit Jesus? (no!)
Say: Tradition assumes there were three wise men because of the three gifts mentioned but we don’t know for sure if there were only three.

Ask: What were the gifts that the wise men brought? (gold, frankincense, and myrrh)
Say: These gifts had significance to Jesus. Gold was certainly a gift for a king. Frankincense was burned in the Temple as a gift for God. Myrrh, a valued spice and perfume, was used to prepare a body for burial.

Say: Now let’s play a game called the "Left-Right" game. To play this let’s move out onto the rug.

Pass out a box to everyone. Gather everyone standing in a circle. Check to make sure that everyone knows “Left” from “Right.”

Say: I have a story to read to you about the wise men visiting Jesus. It is a story from the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible. As the story is read, listen carefully. Pass your box in the direction of the clue words “right” or “left” - passing your box to the right or to the left. The box you have on the last clue is yours to keep. Then you’ll have a chance to put some of the things from the story into your box to take home.

Read the story:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem a star appeared right over the stable where Jesus was born.
Wise men in the east – magi who studied stars – saw this star. One wise man said to another, “look at that new star!” “Where?” said his friend. “Right there,” the first wise man responded.
Ooooh.

Now the wise men knew that God had promised he would one day send a king to rightfully rule over his people. Could this star be a signal left by God, that the new king had been born? The wise men left right away to follow the star. They left their homes behind. They followed the star, which lead them right towards Jerusalem.

The wise men stopped in Jerusalem and asked King Herod, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising, and have come to worship him.” King Herod was afraid. He was afraid that a new king who would kick him right off his throne! Herod asked the Jewish leaders where this Messiah was to be born. The Jewish leaders went right to their scrolls. They read what the prophets had foretold: the Messiah would be born right near by, in Bethlehem.

Before the wise men left, Herod asked them when the star had appeared. Herod told the wise men that he wanted to be told where they found this new king so he too could worship him. Ah, but was Herod telling the rightful truth? Alas, you are right, he was not.

After the wise men left, the star lead them right to Bethlehem. The star led them right to Jesus. When the wise men saw Jesus, they dropped right there and worshipped him giving him their gifts. Then they left for their own country by another road because they had been warned in a dream not to go back to see Herod.

Right, it’s The End.

Closing:

Say: Jesus came to earth to teach us about God’s love for us. God has given us his son Jesus as a gift. The wise men brought gifts to Jesus. We can respond to God’s love by sharing our gifts. Take home your box and share the gift of the story about Jesus’ birth.

Let’s close in prayer, then you may put one of each item from the table into your treasure box.
Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. Use the Lord’s Prayer as the ending. A suggestion: “Dear God, thank you for the story of the wise men. Thank you for stories that teach us that all can worship God, even travelers from afar. Thank you for everyone who is here today. Be with those who couldn’t come this morning. We are thankful that you love each of us! (End with everyone joining in on the Lord’s Prayer.) Amen.”

Allow kids to go fill their boxes from the items at the table. (Please: one of each item).

If you have extra time:
Encourage kids to use their boxes to tell each other the story of Jesus’ birth.

Resources for Storytelling Workshop:

• Crane, Amy. “Storytelling In Sunday School Settings.” 1999.
  https://www.rotation.org/topic/biblical-storytelling
• Kramlich, Carolyn Walz. Mary’s Treasure Box. Tommy Nelson, Inc. 1998. [Unfortunately this book is out of print. It is possible to find a copy through used book sources on the internet or check your local library.]

Book Updated 2015: "Mary's Treasure Box" by C.W. Walz (Carolyn), B&H Publishing, 2015, 9781433683947.   Art work is new, storyline appears to be the same.

What did we use for the treasure box items:
Straw: the real thing
Sheep’s wool: the real thing (raw and uncombed! Donated by a local sheep farmer from Manchester, MI.)
Swaddling cloth: small pieces of flannel
Gold: In 2002 we gave kids a choice of gold coins, gold painted hearts, or large gold beads. In 2008 we gave them each one shiny penny.
Frankincense: orange, scented bath salts
Myrrh: Real Myrrh Oil (Purchased at the local Whole Foods store) was applied to a cotton ball and placed in snack sized zip bag for each child.

Note: real Myrrh and Frankincense can be purchased on the internet. Use a search engine like google.com.

We had many positive comments from parents about this workshop and its affect on their child. This book has beautiful illustrations and properly shows the wise men visiting Jesus as a young child (i.e. not in the manger). It also includes the story of the escape to Egypt.

Question: Supporting Member  pizza* asked in the help lounge:  Looking for other ideas of what to use that may smell and/or look like frankincense and myrrh to be used with the "Mary's Treasure Box" lesson.

Suggestion by Neil: How about incense sticks cut into pieces and a bunch of those free perfume samples they give out at department stores?

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert for First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI

Copyright 2002, 2008 First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI.
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

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