Jesus' Birth Through the Eyes of Isaiah and the Prophets
VIDEO WORKSHOP
Summary of Lesson Activity:
Uses the DVD The Legend of the Three Trees.
Scripture Reference:
Isaiah 9:2-6; 11:1-2
Objectives:
- To locate the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament.
- To be able to name several other prophet’s names.
- To see the characteristics of the Christ Child through the eyes of Isaiah, and also understand that Isaiah foretold Jesus' ministry and death.
Leader Preparation:
- Preview the movie.
- Make sure you can operate the television and equipment to play the video.
Materials list:
- The Legend of the Three Trees (Tommy Nelson) running time about 30 minutes.
Note: This wonderful video can be previewed on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktYroQP5A1c - And a way to play or stream the video. (Tips here.)
- Optional: popcorn or a seasonal snack.
Presentation:
Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Explain that today We will see a video that helps tie Isaiah's prophecies into Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection.
Ask if they have ever thought of the Easter story (Jesus' death and resurrection) as part of the Christmas story.
Dig- Main Content and reflection
Read the scripture and give a bit of background information:
- The Prophets are a major portion of the Old Testament writings. Their writings make up 16 books, which use the prophets' names as titles.
- A prophet was a messenger of God to the people of that day. Their major task was to call the people back to the way of God. The prophet’s life was often filled with frustration and rejection. They spoke against violence, oppression, greed, dishonesty and idolatry.
- Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet, the son of Amoz of Jerusalem. He was a prophet during the years 742-700 BC, in and around Jerusalem.
- Our verses speak about a child, who would be their deliverer, the Messiah. The region spoken of in chapter 9, Zebulun and Naphtali, was generally the area in which Jesus grew as a child and later ministered.
- “A great light,” “authority,” wonderful counselor,” mighty God,” “Prince of Peace” all give us a different understanding of the Christ Child.
- In chapter 11, the prophet ties the birth of the Messiah to the family of Jesse and to King David.
The Movie:
Play the video. The movie is about three trees each with its own hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Their dreams don’t seem to come true. Disappointed and dejected, the trees despair about their existence until they all interact in some way with Jesus Christ in His birth, ministry and finally his ultimate sacrifice. They find God has a special purpose for all of them in his kingdom.
Discussion Questions:
- About 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah talked about him. I wonder if people were excited about this news. Did what Isaiah foretold happen right away? (People had to wait)
- In the video, were the trees looking forward to great things? Did those things happen when and how the trees expected? Did any of the trees’ dreams come true?
- Can your dreams not come true and yet things work out anyway? Is God's plan always clear and as we expected?
Closing:
Close with prayer, asking God to guide each person present and to help make hopes and dreams align with his will -- and come true.
