Jesus' Birth through the Eyes of the Shepherds, Angelic Host, and the Stable

Video Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activity:
Uses the DVD "Christmas Is." Available on the "Three Christmas Classics" DVD.  It does not appear that you can buy it alone on a DVD.

Description: Little Benji isn't thrilled being second shepherd in the school Christmas play, until a dream carries him---along with your kids!---back to Bethlehem. There they discover how important the second shepherd actually was, and what Christmas is really all about. 22 minutes.

Scripture Reference:
Luke 2: 8-20

Key verse for this lesson:
Luke 2:11, “This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.” (CEV)

Lesson Objectives:

• Children will view the video “Christmas Is”
• Children will discuss the importance of the poor shepherds in bringing the message of the birth of Jesus to the world.
• Older children will discuss the birth of Jesus as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.

Leader Preparation:

• Watch the Video ahead of time
• Read the background Materials
• Make the popcorn

Materials List:

• "Christmas Is" DVD
• Popcorn

Lesson Plan

Opening

1. Greet the children and introduce yourself
2. Tell the children that today they will be watching a video about a boy who didn’t want to be a shepherd in the Christmas play. We will talk about what happened to the shepherds and how we can be like them.
3. Distribute the popcorn

Dig

1. Give a brief outline of the video. Benji is a boy in a Christmas play. He is to be a shepherd in the Christmas play but he thinks that isn’t a very important role. Then a strange thing happens. In a dream, Benji goes back in time 2000 years to the night that Jesus was born. He learns how important the poor shepherds were in bringing God’s message to us about the birth of Jesus.
2. Show the video. It’s about 22 minutes long. Cue the video to the beginning of the rehearsal scene.

Application:

1. Stop the video just as Benji is going back in time. Remind the children that Benji is dreaming or thinking about the night of Jesus’ birth. The story goes back in time to the time of Jesus’ birth. All of Judea, Jesus’ country, had been captured by the Romans. The Roman Empire in those days was bigger and more powerful than the United States today. The Roman soldiers were the police and the government. The Jewish people had to do what the Roman soldiers told them and pay their taxes to the Roman government. Imagine if the United States was taken over by another country, if we had no say in the government and if we had to pay our taxes to another country. How would we feel? The people were very poor. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth but had to go to Bethlehem so that the government could count them and make sure they paid their taxes. The trip was about 80 miles. They had to walk it and Mary was about to have a baby.
2. Roll the tape to the end.
3. Discussion: recap the main events of the story with the children. What did Benji learn about the role of the shepherds? How did Benji act like a modern day shepherd? (he told his friend to come and see the play) What does this story tell us about how to be a good shepherd?
   
   What does the word Messiah (Hebrew)/Christ(Greek) mean? (anointed or chosen one)
   
   Older Children: Discuss how the Old Testament books, written many years before Jesus was born, told about the birth of a Messiah or Savior. The Jewish people knew about this prediction or prophecy (refer to the scene in the video when the Jewish people in the inn were discussing this). Many Jewish people expected that the Savior would be born into a powerful royal family and kick out all the soldiers and people from foreign countries and lead the Jewish people to magnificent victory. They did not expect the Savior to be born into a poor family in a poor barn.
   
   Look up one of these predictions in Micah 5:2-5. Micah was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. See how it talks about the birth of a great ruler. Verse 2: Ephrathah is a district where Bethlehem is located. Who is the “ruler”? (Jesus). The ancient line refers to a descendent of King David. Bethlehem is the City of David. Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem because they belonged to the “line” or the family of David and so would the baby Jesus. Can you see how the Jews might have expected Jesus to be a great king, to be born to important people? Jesus is a great king but in a different way.
   
   Look at another prediction of Jesus’ birth. Ask half the class to look up Isaiah 9:6. Ask the other half to read Luke 2:11. Isaiah was written about 700 years BEFORE Jesus was born. Read the Isaiah verse, then the Luke verse. The Luke verse describes what the angels tell the Shepherds. Discuss the similarities between the two passages. Discuss how Jesus’ birth is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a “Savior”; a “prince of peace” – God’s royalty!

Reflection Time:
Ask younger children to draw a picture of shepherds or how the sky might have looked filled with angels. Ask older children to describe how they could be good shepherds today.

Closing
Prayer: Prepare a 4 or 5 sentence prayer with one sentence per slip of paper. Number the slips 1-5. Ask for volunteers to help with the prayer. Give a slip to each volunteer. Suggestions for prayer sentences: Thank you God for keeping the promise of long ago to send the Savior of the world, a prince of peace. Thank you for the poor shepherds who brought this great message to the world. Thank you God for sending us Jesus. Help me to be a shepherd and share the good news of Christ.

References
Family Films Video – Christmas Is, distributed by Gateway Films/Vision Video

A lesson from: Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church, Cary, NC

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