The Magi

Video & Music Workshop Lesson

from the Rotation.org Writing Team

Lesson Summary

Students will view and discuss four short video clips to refresh their memory of the story of the Magi, and explore the concept of being a seeker -like the Magi.

• We have embedded the four videos below in this lesson plan, and they are each freely available on YouTube. 
• See the options and instructions below about how to connect and teach with them in your classroom. 

Clip 1: The 3 Wisemen 
Clip 2: How Far I'll Go (from Disney's Moana)
Clip 3: We Know the Way (from Disney's Moana)
Clip 4: Moana and the Magi Know the Way

The fourth video was created especially for this lesson. It combines the dramatic "seafarers" scene and song from Moana (seen in the third video) with video of the Magi coming to visit Jesus -- to make a visual and musical statement and prompt discussion. The Singing Reflection activity at the end of the lesson features the fourth video with "Magi Lyrics" sung by students.

About Moana & Why Moana?
Moana is a young Polynesian girl who feels called to venture out over the horizon. Encouraged by her grandmother, and aided by Maui (a Polynesian demi-god), she sails beyond the reef to seek a way to save her people. We are using the similarities between that story (set to music) and the story of the Magi to promote discussion and lesson retention. Moana's uplifting songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, one of today's most popular songwriters, and best known for his wildly successful Broadway musical "Hamilton".

(Click image to enlarge and print.)

Why we are using a secular film to help teach a Bible Story

Teaching with secular film clips has a long tradition in Sunday School. It's a great way to piggyback our content on memorable films students enjoy and will watch again throughout their lives. Apart from the similarities in theme, fantastic songs, and beautiful animation, it is our hope that for years to come every time your students see and hear Moana --a soon-to-be Disney classic—they will remember that they too are called like the Magi and like Moana, and in so doing, discover who they are.  Read more about this technique in the post following this one at Rotation.org.

See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
There ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising
At night we name every star
We know where we are
We know who we are
and they bowed down and worshiped him

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12

Supplies and Advanced Preparation

• Read the Bible Background and Lesson Objectives for this lesson set.
• View and prepare to show the four video clips: (1) The 3 Wisemen (Saddleback Kids video), (2) How Far I'll Go (from Moana), and (3) We Know the Way and (4) Moana and the Magi Know the Way—a very special "mashup of We Know the Way with scenes from The Magi (movie). We have "embedded" all four YouTube videos in the lesson below with discussion notes. and attached the fourth video which we "mashed up" for this lesson. 

See Video Notes at the end of this lesson.  You will need internet access in the classroom to show these videos found on YouTube, or you will need to download them on a computer and bring them into your classroom to playback on a computing device connected to a TV screen or monitor. As a last resort, you could use a DVD of the movie for the first three video clips, and use download and show the fourth attached to this lesson. Read our helpful notes at the end of this lesson.

• A set of headphones or earbuds you can connect either to the TV or to a cellphone on which you can play back the song "Moana and the Magi Know the Way" so that only one student can hear it as they try to sing it to the class—while the video (without the audio) of the song plays. See Reflection notes and options below.
• Simple Magi costume/headdress 
• Drum
• Print the new Reflection lyrics here.

Lesson Plan

While this lesson plan may look "long" because of our level of detail, each of the four video clips are only 3 to 4 minutes in length. See the Adaptation notes at the end of the lesson plan for options.

Opening

Welcome your students and explain how today's lesson will unfold.

The first video follows Matthew 2:12-12 quite closely, so you can consider it your "Video scripture reading" for the lesson. Otherwise, feel free to add a Bible reading.

VIDEO CLIP 1: an animated video of the scripture

"The Story of the Three Wisemen" ...a brief animated retelling from Saddleback Kids Ministry.

Setup Comments: Our first video is our scripture reading for today. In the video it refers to the Magi as "the Wisemen." Does anybody know another name we sometimes call the Wisemen or Magi? (The three kings.) Does anybody know why we sometimes say "Magi" or "kings" or Wisemen"? (Consult the Bible Background for the answer.) Today, we might call them "seekers" or "faith explorers."

Follow-up Comment and Questions:

Herod was a really bad King, Though known for massive building projects, he was also known as a murderer of his rivals and certain members of his family. He definitely was not going to give up his power to a new king. But God had promised through the Old Testament Prophets that a new kind of King was coming, a Messiah.

Question 1: What is a Messiah? 

Question 2: Herod didn't want to give up his power and lifestyle. What does Jesus ask us to "give up" when we follow him?  And are you willing to give that up to be his disciple?

Question 3: Why did the Magi come all that way to look for Jesus?  Why don't some people want to look for Jesus? Do you think it's hard to follow Jesus? Why or why not?

VIDEO CLIP 2:  Moana ~ "How Far I'll Go"  

"How Far I'll Go" ...Moana's credo and longing for what calls her from beyond the horizon.

Setup Comments:  For those of you who haven't seen the movie... Moana is a young girl in line to become the next leader of her people on the fictional South Pacific island of Matanui. Something is going wrong with their resources, and Moana has always felt to the call to explore a new future beyond the reef instead of staying home and doing nothing.

Follow-up Questions:

Question 1: What was the call to the Magi? How do you think they "heard" God's Call and why did they want to find the Messiah?

Question 2: How "far" do you think the Magi traveled and were willing to "go" to follow the star and find their new King?

Question 3: What makes a person want to seek and follow God even when it's hard? (What are the risks and rewards of following Jesus?)

VIDEO CLIPS 3 & 4

Video Clip 4 is a special "mashed up" version of Video Clip 3.

You'll first show Video Clip 3 which is the actual movie clip of the song, "We Know the Way." After showing it, you'll ask students "how similar is her story to the Magi's?" And then show them Video Clip 4: "Moana and the Magi Know the Way." (Which will blow their minds.)

Setup Comments for Video 3: "We Know the Way"   Frustrated and feeling called to do something to help her people, Moana discovers a cave on her island full of the ancient boats—stored away and waiting for a brave leader to once again lead their people. As you watch this clip, I want you to imagine that Moana is a kind of "Magi" ...a "Young Wise Girl" who feels the Spirit calling her to something important beyond her island, something that will ultimately save her people.

Follow-up Questions:  Connecting Moana to the Magi

Question 1: What is "The Way" that Moana and the explorers say they "know"? Is the "way" a path to a destination? Or a way of living and exploring?

Question 2: What is "The Way" when Christians talk about it? What is "The Way" we and the Magi are searching for and want to follow?  (Seeking God. Path of Discipleship. Finding Jesus who is the way -the One we follow -the island we long for.)

Setup Comments for Video 4: "Moana and the MAGI Know the Way!" 
With the previous video clip, I asked you to think about how Moana and her people are like the Magi. This next video clip does something to make that point stand out!

Follow-up Questions

Question 1: What are the similarities and dissimilarities between the stories of Moana and the Magi?  (Some students may not have seen the movie or remember it, so you can stick to what they learned in this lesson if needed. )

Question 2: What would YOUR faith life look like if YOU were a Magi?

• Would you just go through the motions of Christmas, doing what everybody else does to celebrate, or would you slow down and look more closely to see what it's all about?
• Would you be willing to leave what you're doing to go follow a star wherever it might lead? and however long it might take to explore and find what God has promised you?  Or are you content to just sit back and watch others grow and explore their faith?

A Singing Challenge Reflection

In this fun reflection, students volunteer to come forward and put on headphones so that ONLY THEY can hear the audio coming from the playback of Video Clip 4: "Moana and the Magi Know the Way." 

Their job is to try and sing the NEW LYRICS to the song "We Know the Way" found on the attached handout. It may take some practice, but that's okay because repetition is the cornerstone of remembering.

To make this happen, you will need a set of headphones or earbuds that you can plug either into the TV or the cellphone/tablet you are using to play back the video and thus muting the audio to the rest of the class.  Everyone else will get to see the video and hear the student sing! You can bet each will want to give it a try.

Print the original and new lyrics here.

The New Lyrics:

We are the Magi who hear the call of God
Across this ocean of sand we search
We seek the King of Kings, yeah!
Get ready -- he comes!
Star on the move, oh yeah.
Aue, Aue
To Je-ru-salem
The Spirit guides us to the one true King
Aue, Aue
To bow and worship him
He is the one I search for
My heart’s true home!

We read the Bible and Pray
…to our God on High
We lift our sails to be
in heaven’s breeze
At night we look to the stars
We know where we are
We know who we are, whose we are
Aue, Aue
We know in life we’ll find
Our Savior Jesus everywhere we go.
Aue, Aue
We keep his teachings in our mind
And when it’s time to find home
We know the way
Aue, Aue
We are like Magi reading every sign
We tell the stories of our elders
In the never ending chain
Aue, Aue
Holy Spirit take us there
The home my heart belongs to
You are the way!

Tips: Provide a Magi headress and drum. Pick a natural ham to go first.  Shy students can pair up. You can forgo the headphones and have the entire class try to sing along and provide the drum beat. If you're using your cellphone's ability to connect to YouTube, be sure the phone has a headphone jack that's separate from the jack you are using to connect your phone to the TV screen.

Adaptations

For younger children and shorter classes: Considering not showing Video 2. 

For non-readers: Have a couple of teens sing the new lyrics to Video Clip 4. Have the children join in on Aue, Aue by cueing them when it's time to sing.

Mashup Attached

The "mashup" of Moana and the Magi is available to play here on YouTube. We have also attached a copy of the MP4 video file to this lesson for offline playing.

Options for showing these videos in your classroom

Internet, WIFI, Cellphone Option

If your classroom can access your church's internet WIFI or has an internet cable, or if you can bring a modern cellphone into your classroom that can connect over your phone's internet connection, then you can easily show the four free videos from YouTube on a large modern TV in your classroom.

• You will use your internet-connected cellphone, tablet, or a laptop to connect to YouTube (or to this lesson page).
• You will display the videos on a large screen, such as a modern TV, by connecting your cellphone, tablet, or laptop to the TV by a cable.
  
  

Non-internet option:

• You could also cue up the three songs/scenes on a DVD copy of Moana to show them, and burn a copy to DVD of the fourth video we created and attached to this lesson.
  
  

For more information read our article about how to connect your phone, tablet, or computer to your TV.

Read our article about how to download videos from YouTube for offline use.

Written by Neil MacQueen for the Writing Team
Lesson text copyright 2018, Rotation.org Inc.

Display of the YouTube Disney videos and the creation of the Mashup video were
posted under the Standard YouTube License provision and used here for the permissible purposes of commentary, teaching, and creating a transformative work.