Bible Passage: The Advent Story – Luke and Matthew
Lesson:
This Moment is the third of four. You will want to borrow some baby books from the parents of the children in attendance.
In the last two weeks we have talked about the shelter that Joseph and Mary needed when they came to Bethlehem and the innkeeper who gave them the best that he had available. We also talked about how many people we see each day may also be in need of shelter and God tells us to help our neighbor with the best we have.
Today I want to talk about some visitors who came to that stable where the baby was born. How many of you remember when you were born? I have some baby books here that talk about first visitors.
(Open book) This one says the first visitors were Grandma, Aunt Alexis, Grandpa and Aunt Clydine.
(Open another book) This one says that sister Margot was there and Tom and Nadine.
Now, here’s another baby book of sorts (open Bible). This one says:
Mary gave birth to her first child, a son. That night an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared among some shepherds, who were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. The shepherds were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior–yes, the Messiah, the Lord–has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others–the armies of heaven–praising God:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors. ”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
How many of you had angels do your birth announcement or shepherds come to see you when you were born?
But wait! There’s more!
About the time Jesus was born, some wise men arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have come to worship him.”
A star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
(Close book)
How many of you received gold, frankincense and myrrh when you were born? Me neither.
These stories tell me that, no matter what else you believe, the birth of the baby Jesus must have been a pretty extraordinary thing! Just how extraordinary? Well, that’s why there’s Sunday School.
Now we’ve talked about the shelter for the weary travelers, the people who made them welcome and their very amazing visitors. Who do you think we’re going to talk about next week? Well, you just have to come and find out.