The Wise Still Seek Him

Video Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Watch an animated video of the story The Very First Noel from Exclaim Entertainment. Learn critical viewing skills. Only part of the video is shown during class; total viewing time: 16 and 1/2 minutes.
[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.
• Before the start of class, make sure you know how to use the TV/DVD, especially how to pause and restart and how to scan forward. Or be prepared to stream the video, if you found it online.
• Insert the DVD. Have the video ready to start from the beginning. From MAIN MENU, choose SCENE SELECTIONS. This is where the video will be started.

Supplies List:

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the video workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Say: Today we are going to watch a video about Jesus and the Wise Men.

Dig- Main Content and Reflection:

Ask: Have you ever seen a nativity scene or crèche set before?
What things do you see in a nativity scene?
Who can tell me something about the Wise Men and their visit to Jesus?

See how much of the story your group knows. List the words and drawings (stick figures) to represent the different parts of the story as they are offered. [If someone mentions wise men, don’t draw them as part of the stable.]

Use their responses to make a “Things to Watch For” chart for the video. Tell the students to watch the video for each of the following:

• Wise Men/Magi
• Mary and Joseph
• the angel Gabriel
• Jesus
• Shepherds

Say: There is one more person who is important to our story, someone who isn’t part of a crèche scene, who you will see more about later, and that is King Herod (add King Herod to the “Things to Watch For” list).
Say: Before we watch our video, let’s review in the Bible the part of the story about the visit of the Wise Men. Pay close attention to the Bible story; we’ll want to see if the movie tells the story correctly.

For 1st and 2nd graders:
Say: This story is found in the New Testament of the Bible, the part of the Bible where we learn about Jesus’ life and what he taught. We find our story in the Gospel of Matthew.
Read them the story on pages 250 – 255 of The Young Reader’s Bible. Show the pictures as you read the story.

For 3rd grade:
Distribute Bibles.
Ask: Where in the Bible would we find stories about Jesus and his teachings?
Where do we find the New Testament? [Remind them of the quick way to find the New Testament.]
Say: Our story is found in Matthew, one of the 4 Gospels of the New Testament.
Ask: What are the other 3 Gospels? (Mark, Luke, John).
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 add tabs for students who bring their Bibles. Use the classroom Bible with tabs as an example.]
Have them find the story in Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1-12.
[Make sure they understand the difference between chapter numbers and verse numbers.]
Say: In order to have enough time to watch our video, I’m going to read you our story. The practice you just had in finding the story was important. I encourage all of you to read this story at home this week.
Read Matthew 2:1-12. [Note: The exercise of finding the story is important – don’t skip it.]
Show  the pictures on pages 254 and 255 in The Young Reader’s Bible as you read verses 11-12.

For all students:
Say: For the Word of God in scripture, for the Word of God among us, for the Word of God within us…
The class says: Thanks be to God.
Remind the class that those are the words that are spoken in the worship service after the Bible is read. We say those words in class so that we will be used to saying them when we hear a Bible story read in the worship service.

You will want to refer to the “Things to Watch For” chart as you work your way through these paragraphs before starting the video.

Say: Let’s talk about what I just read to you, and what you’ll see in our video.
Ask: Can someone tell me what “Magi” means? (wise men)
Say: We sometimes refer to these visitors as kings, but they probably were not kings.
Ask: In our reading, does it say how many Wise Men there are? (no)
Say: We really don’t know how many Wise Men there were. Because three gifts are mentioned in the Bible, we assume that there were three visitors. In the video, there are three Wise Men. You will also meet Mary and Joseph – Jesus’ parents – in the movie, the angel Gabriel; you’ll see shepherds, and King Herod.
Ask (“one last question": What does King Herod ask the Wise Men to do once they have found Jesus? (he wants them to tell him where Jesus is)

Show the Video:

Have the Shepherd distribute the snack.

Using the DVD, from MAIN MENU, choose SCENE SELECTIONS.
Choose – #1 “The Journey Begins.”
VIEW scene of about 3 minutes.
PAUSE when Melchior is seen riding into the expanding view of the star. (Approximately 3:00).
[Note: The PAUSE button is one of the most powerful tools in your workshop. Don’t be afraid to use it!]

Ask: Who is talking in this part of the video? (Melchior, one of the Wise Men)
Was the name “Melchior” part of the scripture reading? [Open the Adventure Bible to look.] (no, it was not)
Say: Videos about Bible stories sometimes add on to the story. It is good to check with the Bible to see if they are telling the story correctly.
Ask: What did you see in this part of the video - what is happening? (a Wise Man has seen the star and is traveling to see the new king)
Say: That is a part of the story that the video is telling correctly – we do know that the Wise Men said: [Hold open the Adventure Bible and read Matthew 2:2]. We find those words in the Gospel of Matthew.

RESUME VIEWING.
VIEW scene of about 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
PAUSE after the angel leaves Joseph. (Approximately 5:30).

Ask: How do you suppose you would feel if an angel came to visit you?

RESUME VIEWING.
VIEW scene of about 1 minute, 13 seconds.
PAUSE after Balthasar says, “no matter where it went” and the screen darkens (approx 6:43).

Ask: Why does Balthasar follow the star? (because it said that’s what wise guys do)
[Note: If the kids don’t know, use the SCAN BACKWARDS to watch the scene over again.]
Say: The magi studied the stars. In that time, people said that a new star usually appeared when new kings were born.

RESUME VIEWING.
VIEW scene of about 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
PAUSE after Joseph and Mary head for Bethlehem (words are: “as he took Mary south on a long donkey ride.” (approx 9:21).
Say: You’ll notice that this video is also telling us the other parts of the story of Jesus’ birth. We are going to skip parts of this video so that we have time to watch the important parts.

SCAN FORWARD…As the video scans forward…
Say: The Wise Men traveled a long way… finally they came to Jerusalem and entered the town.

RESUME VIEWING when it shows the Wise Men entering Jerusalem.
VIEW scene of about 2 minutes, 45 seconds.
PAUSE after Herod says, “Be quiet about it. Bring me those guys.” (approx 13:52). [It is ok if next scene of Mary and Joseph traveling appears before you are able to pause.]

Say: Tell me about King Herod.
Ask: What is he like? What does he want?

Ask: I’ll bet you all know what has been happening with Mary and Joseph?
How old do you suppose Jesus was when the Wise Men visited him?

Say: It must have taken the Wise Men a long time to get to Jesus, because they were coming from a long way away and did not have cars or airplanes. In fact, by the time they reached him, Jesus would probably have been a toddler! He could have been 2 years old. The Bible does tell us that the Wise Men visited Jesus in a house. Let’s keep that point in mind as we watch the rest of this video. Meanwhile Herod wanted to see the Wise Men.

SCAN FORWARD…
RESUME VIEWING when the three Wise Men appear. (approx 14:37).

VIEW scene of about 1 minute 20 seconds.
PAUSE when the bright star appears over the shepherds. (approx 15:59)

Ask: What was it that Herod wanted the Wise Men to do? (tell him where Jesus was)
Say: The video got that part of the story correct.
Ask: Who visited the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born?
Say: The angels told the shepherds that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem.
Ask: Do you suppose that this video is going to show the Wise Men visiting Jesus as a newborn baby in the stable?
Say: That wouldn’t be telling the story right. We can still enjoy the movie even if they do tell the story wrong because we know what the Bible really says.

SCAN FORWARD…
RESUME VIEWING when the shepherds head for town. (approx 17:17).
VIEW scene of about 3 minutes.
STOP when the camera pans back on the manger scene. (approx 20:12).

Discussion:
Say: So the video did show the Wise Men arriving a little too early.
Ask: What parts of the story did the video tell correctly? (allow a few responses)
Say: I am wondering about the part that said that Jesus came for everyone.
Ask: Did anyone hear that part?
SCAN BACKWARDS to the entry of the Wise Men to the manager (approx 18:48) and VIEW this scene again.

Say: God has given everyone his son Jesus as a gift. Jesus came to earth as a person to teach us about God’s love for us and to teach us how we should act.
Ask: What did the Wise Men do when they saw Jesus? (worshipped him & gave gifts)
God has given us Jesus as a gift. How can we respond to this gift? (allow all responses)

Say: We also worship God. We can also respond by sharing our gifts. The video shows a little boy who comes to see Jesus too.
Ask: What does he do for Jesus? (he plays his drum for him)
Say: We don’t know that there really was a little boy who came to play for baby Jesus. But the video shows us an example of a very nice gift that the boy gives to baby Jesus and his family; he does something special for them. Just like the Wise Men give very precious gifts to Jesus, and like the drummer boy gives a gift to Jesus by playing the drum, we can give and do things that are special to other people. Most parents love it when people give presents to their babies – it tells them that their baby is loved and welcome. God is the same way – God loves it when we do special things for his son, when we give him gifts or do loving things for him.
Ask: What are some loving things we can do for Jesus? What are things we can give?

Ask: What lead the Wise Men to Jesus? (a star)
Who put that star in the sky? (God)
I wonder if it would be handy to have a star that showed us the way to Jesus?
(allow all responses)

Say: God reaches out to us, to lead us to him, even though we may be unaware of it.
Ask: Think about your experiences, I wonder if you’ve had a “star” show you the way to God? (allow all responses)

Say: God led the Wise Men and the shepherds to find Jesus. God still leads us today. He may not send a star, but he leads us in many other ways.
Ask: What are some ways that God leads us to him? (through our family, through prayer, the Bible, church, music, etc.)

Closing:

Say: Let’s close in prayer.
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 gift of your son and for loving all of us so much. Thank you for the stars that appear in our lives leading us to you. (End with the Lord’s Prayer) Amen.”

Resources:

• Bruno, Bonnie and Carol Reinsma. The Young Reader’s Bible. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 1998.
• MacQueen, Neil. "A Brief Introduction to Teaching with Video.” 2002.  Updated version at https://www.rotation.org/topic...-video--a-v-workshop
• The Very First Noel. Exclaim Entertainment, © 2006 Reel FX, Inc. Here is a low resolution preview of the entire video:
  

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

Copyright 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.

If you use this material, even in a modified form, please include the following reference:
Pauer, Lynne and Carol Hulbert. "The Wise Still Seek Him: Video Lesson." 2008. Place URL where lesson found inside angle brackets<>.

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