Do You Have A Gift To Bring? (Christmas Lesson)

These are my basic notes and outlines that I used for my Christmas 2014 lesson, "Do You Have A Gift To Bring?". Feel free to to add or take away to them. Our services tend to run long so I always like to have lots of filler and extras just to be safe.
Part1.
I began service with the classic Christmas movie "The Little Drummer Boy."
(See Left)
<<<<<<<
For those of you who don't know the story of "The Little Drummer Boy" here's the IMDB version...
An orphan drummer boy who hated humanity finds his life changed forever when he meets three wise men on route to Bethlehem.
Long story short, he finds Jesus in the manger and his life is changed forever. It's under 25 minutes long, and fit in nicely with my lesson.

I incorporated a PowerPoint presentation with my lesson, if that's not at your tech level or in your budget then props will work fine too.

(SLIDE 1)

Teacher:Do you have a gift to bring?

Teacher:YES! God has given us each gift to give. 

(Slide 2)

Teacher: Are we talking about the kinds of gifts that we wrap up and put under the tree?

(Slide 3)

Teacher: No, not exactly this gift is ever cooler, because it's one of a kind and ONLY YOU can give it. Any guess on what that gift might be? *let the kids answer but act like you're not going to tell them the answer yet* Hmm, I think I heard some really good guesses in there, but the best presents are always a surprise...ok ok. I'll tell you. 

JAMES 1:17

(Slide 4)

Teacher: God specifically gave us two things,

1. Life

2. Our Gifts

There is no one else on the planet that ever has been or ever will be just like you. No one will look exactly like you, think exactly like you, talk exactly like you, or be exactly like you. There are things we have in common, yes, but even twins aren't exactly alike. That's all because of God! He did that on purpose. That's how much time and love he put into you. He loved you so much that he wanted to make you an original! He even gave original gifts and talents! God has put giftings and talents into, and they're so special that there are things on this planet that only you can do. 

Now, what gift do I have you ask? Well, maybe you don't know everything that God's called you to do yet. I still don't know everything that God wants me to do. I'm an adult and I'm still growing up in 

God! 

(Slide 5)

Teacher: Let's look at some of those gifts that God can give us right now.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Teacher: Those are just a few of the gifts God has to give. He may call others to be moms or teachers or business men or marines or...WHO KNOWS! God's plans are infinite and so much bigger than we can dream. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 says that nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined what God has prepared for His people. God's plans are so big that even our wildest dreams can't top them. And in Jeremiah 29:11 the Bible says, "I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future." Even if you're going through a rough time right now you can always have hope according to God's Word.

(Slide 6)

Teacher: Well, so far we've talked about some pretty amazing gifts! But did you know that there is a gift that tops ALL other gifts EVER?! Before I get ahead of myself lets read a story about 3 very important men who gave 3 very important gifts.

(Slide 7)

Matthew 2:1-12

Teacher: I'm going to tell you a little bit about Bible history today. Did you know that there is a gap of roughly 400 years between the end of the Old and the beginning New Testament? 

Numbers 24:17

Teacher: There were hundreds and hundreds of years between Numbers and the end of the Old Testament. People had been searching and waiting for The Messiah for literally hundreds of years...and we get grumpy if we have to wait ten minutes for dinner. 

The Magi, or Wise Men, were actually really famous for their knowledge of the stars. They were like the NASA of Bible times. So, after having all of this time to study the prophecies about Jesus the Magi knew exactly what that big star in the sky meant. They traveled a long way, most people believe they actually traveled thousands of miles, even crossing an ocean! They didn't have to do all of that. I'm sure it wasn't an easy journey and certainly not a cheap one, but they chose do it just so they could come and kneel before Jesus. They didn't actually arrive at the manger like we see in our Christmas plays. Jesus was about 1 or 2 when the wise men came, 

Did you know that we don't actually know how many wise men there were. The Bible never says. We always say the three wise men because the Bible only mentions 3 gifts. 

Speaking of gifts, those 3 gifts are very important. They each mean something very special. 

Gold-Gold was a typical gift for a king. This gift tells us that Jesus is the King.

Frankincense-Frankincense was used by Jewish priests for anointing the priests as they went into the temple. This gift tells us that Jesus is our High Priest.

Myrrh- Myrrh, during Bible times, was used a sort of medicine. So, this gift tells us that Jesus is our healer. But Myrrh has a double meaning because it was also used for people who died. So, this gift tells us that Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice. 

Really, if you look at the wise men's 3 gifts you can see Jesus' life. He was born King of the Jews. He went about teaching and healing the sick. But most importantly he was the sacrifice for our sins. 

(Slide 8)

Teacher: So, what do you think was the greatest gift of all? 

(Slide 9)

Teacher: That's right. It was Jesus. You know, at Christmas we exchange gifts, someone gets us a gift and we give them a gift. Jesus gave a gift, the best gift in the who universe, He died so that we could live forever with God in Heaven. Do you think you have a gift that you can give him? 

You don't have to bring an expensive gift like gold or even a million dollars. There is something that Jesus values more than anything, in fact it's at the top of his Christmas list. 

Do you know what it is?

(Slide 10) 

Teacher: It's you. Jesus loves you so much that he chose to die for you so that you could live for Him. All he asks is that you give your heart to Him. Ask Him to be the Lord of your life, and then serve Him with all your heart. It's not hard and it's not scary and it totally not just a grown up thing. 

Do you remember what the Little Drummer Boy gave? He gave all his talents and all his heart and Jesus changed him from the inside out.

Maybe you don't know what gifts and talents you have to give right now, but just like the wise men followed the star and got closer to Jesus if you will keeping drawing closer to Jesus and getting in God's Word your gifts will start becoming clearer to you and the Holy Spirit will show you all the awesome things that God has for you.

You know, having all those awesome God given gifts and not sharing them with Jesus and the people around you is kind of like getting a cool toy for Christmas and never putting in the batteries. Yeah, I can still have the toy, but it's never going to do much until I put in the batteries.  Put Jesus in your heart and see all the good He'll do.

Our church service ran long...as usual. So, here come those fillers that I mentioned earlier. 

1. Follow the star quiz. 

This is super easy and inexpensive. 

A. Split the kids into two teams Have them "line up their camels" and stand in line facing you.

B. Turn out the lights.

C. Turn on a flashlight and shine it at the end of the room.

D. Ask questions about your lesson. My kids especially liked questions about the history stuff that I told them. I had roughly 7 pages of questions written down before hand. Let everyone have a turn by going in order of the line front to back.

E. If someone gets a question right their camel line gets to take one step forward. This goes on until one team reaches the star. 

Note: We did this in a hallway and it helped to keep some of our more wiggly camels from running away. haha

2. Star Ornament

I LOVE this one. I made these when I was in Sunday School. 

All you need is,

Popsicle sticks

Glue

Yarn

And your choice of graft decor...we used foil pieces, glitter, and yarn...foam cutouts and stickers would work good too. 

1. Use your Popsicle sticks to make a star. The kids had a bit of trouble with this and things got a bit messy so I would recommend having extra help on hand to to glue the stars as the kids place to the Popsicle sticks. 

2. Loop a piece of yarn around the star so that it can be hung on a Christmas tree as an ornament.

3. Let them go to town and decorate it however they see fit, but for the love of all things wonderful DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GIVE THEM FREEDOM WITH THE GLITTER. I made that mistake and I'm still sweeping up stray bits of glitter from a month ago. haha. 

Note: It's helpful if you have a pre-assembled star to show the kids for ideas.

Finish off your day with some juice and Christmas cookies and you'll be the coolest Sunday School teacher around!

Well, that's what I did this Christmas. :) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! We really had a blast. Tell me what your class did in the comments below. I would love to hear from you. Plus...I need ideas for next year! :)

God Bless,

Faith

Christmas Time's A Comin'...In 365 Days

Well, that lovely, snow filled, glittered, and sugared up time of year has came and gone yet again. That's right folks...Christmas!
Now, as a Children's Minister (here forward known as a "CM" cause I'm getting really tired of typing in Children's Minster in every post) I know just how hectic Christmas can be. So, here is few tips from me to you.

1. Christmas gifts can be crazy expensive. So, shop  for presents and crafts early...or LATE!

 If you're like me and you like to do something special for your kids, be it gifts or a special craft, I recommend buying things early in the year or just after Christmas.

So, what do I mean by shopping early/late? Well, I'm glad you asked.

I recommend shopping early...aka the early fall. Granted, at this time you won't find much Christmas related stuff, but you can get some awesome things like pencils and bubbles at a reasonable price.
Or you can follow my second recommendation and shop late.
Usually all major retailers/websites will have an after Christmas sale. The only drawback with this is that things tend to be picked over, but if you get in the action early you can have some great things set aside in the cabinet for next year...just be sure to remember where you put it all!

 Our church buys all the kids toys for Christmas, usually around $10 a child, if you're inclined toward larger gifts. However, I like to give each kid a goody bag just from me. I usually fill it with things like candy, pencils, and stickers...all of which are inexpensive. Particularly when you buy late/early and in bulk.
Speaking of bulk always try to buy a few extras since everyone and their aunt, uncle, sister, and brother seems to show up at Christmas.
I recommend using websites like Oriental Trading where you can order in large quantities. However, if you do ignore my advice, and shop in season instead of out, please bear in mind that shipping may take longer due to the Christmas rush. So, as I said, ORDER EARLY! Or else you will be in a panic that you won't have the gift bags for your class Christmas party, and you will then receive your stuff around 7:00 the night before you needed them. Save yourself the stress and shop smart people. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES. lol


2. If you plan on doing a Christmas party...pageant...play...concert...basically anything that involves other church leaders...please make sure everyone is clear on the plan and the scheduling.

Ok, this is a short one.
We have inadvertently caused unneeded stress by simply not making sure everyone knew what we were doing for Christmas. We've had Christmas play practices scheduled on Christmas party days...and Christmas pageants  Scheduled when the worship leaders had no clue what we were doing, or how He need to direct the service. Just take it from me, make sure everyone who needs to be aware of the goings on is aware. It will save everyone from some unnecessary  holiday stress.

3.Speaking of Christmas plays/pageants...

I love performing. I grew up being on stage every time I could...if it was a church play or a ballet recital I was absolutely there. So, naturally I got unwillingly drafted into being the director of the Children's Christmas Pageant. haha Weeeellllll....let's just say I learned a LOT those first two years. But to condense all of my hard learned wisdom down into as small of segment as possible I will give you four basic tips.

A. Make sure to get an early start. There is a lot more to a Christmas pageant thanhaha
running a few lines on a stage. You...YOURSELF...need to know the material better than your surly shepherds and sulking angels. Otherwise you will have NO clue what to do...and you will end up with surly shepherds and sulking angels.
Speaking of misbehaving biblical characters...in one play we did my niece and nephew played the artistically challenging roles of donkey and cow. Basically their job was to sit for 10 minutes...well that just wasn't enough for them. My niece, who was 5 then, was apparently a narcoleptic cow, because she fell asleep while sitting on all fours...but she stayed in that position the entire time. Well, as if that wasn't funny enough my nephew, who was four at the time, stood up and started dancing...he then began throwing hay at Mary as she sang. HAHA Needless to say that video will be used as blackmail for many years to come.
So, back on topic.
B. Make sure allllll of your fellow Children's Ministers, stage moms, costume & set designers...etc. know what the plan is. No matter if it's a big or small production it can't be a one person show.
C. Try to play to your kids strengths. If they're bad public speakers a 10 page play is probably not going to be doing their talent any justice. Maybe a short concert or a dance would be more suited to them.
The same goes to assigning parts. If a child wants to play The Virgin Mary "Sooooo bad!" Yet, can't work up the nerve to read a Bible verse aloud in class...well you get the idea. You'll be saving their feelings and your sanity in the long run.
AND FINALLY
D. Have fun. Who cares if someone forgets their lines or your angel choir sounds a bit like a flock of seagulls? Kids are adorable people with love your performance even more with it's flaws. So, have fun with it! Don't get so caught up in the show that you forget your tiny performers who are putting their heart into this. Cause that's where the magic truly happens. People will be more touched by an innocent heart than a perfect performance anyway.

And finally I will finish with this last tip.

4. Don't forget to have fun!

Christmas can be a hectic time for everyone between church stuff and home stuff it can be too much for the best of us, but give yourself grace...as well as the others around you. Christmas is meant to be a time where our faith shines the brightest, not burns the weakest. Do your best, and leave the rest up to God. If that means that a present goes unwrapped just remember that they made bags for a reason. :)

Merry "After" Christmas And A Happy New Year! From my classroom to yours!