This is a review of some of the names of Jesus. 
Key Concepts:
1. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan. 
2. God's story points to Jesus. 
3. Jesus is God's son. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Jesus, Name Above All Names
Jesus is My Best Friend
Shine Jesus Shine
I Love the Lord Messiah
Stand Up and Shout It

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Name Game
Help each child come up with an adjective that describes them and starts with the same letters as their first name. For example, Adventurous Adam or Joyful Jane. Let each child share their name and the review each person that went before them. Once everyone has gone, see if there is a child who will volunteer to name everyone. 

2. Who Am I? 
Supplies: Blindfold
Have a volunteer stand by you, turning his back to the rest of the kids. If desired, put a blindfold on the volunteer. One at a time, have several of the kids say in their regular voices, “Hello. Do you know who I am?” Have the volunteer guess who it is. Give every student an opportunity to guess who several people are by listening to their voices.
ASK: How else do you recognize people? (seeing them, seeing their uniforms, hearing something about them)
How would you recognize someone you had never met or never heard? Accept responses.
SAY: In today’s lesson, two people recognize someone they had never met or heard, but they knew about Him. Let’s dig into God’s Word to find out about it. (Idea from MinistrySpark.com) 
​
READ  the story of the names of Jesus. 
EMPHASIZE that:
​1. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan. 
2. God's story points to Jesus. 
3. Jesus is God's son. ​

1. What are some of the names of Jesus? 
​2. Why are names important? 

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's plan for salvation. ​

Names of Jesus Wreath Craft Kit from Oriental Trading

Names of Jesus Wheel 

Names of Jesus Craft Ideas from Danielle's Place

This is the story of Jesus's birth. 

Key Concepts
1. Jesus's birth was the fulfillment of God's promise. 
2. Jesus's birth fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies. 
3. Jesus was with God, and was God, who came to us to fulfill God's plan for redemption because he loved us. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Go Tell It On the Mountain
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
Silent Night
Away in a Manger
Be Still and Know
I Love the Lord Messiah
Said I Wasn't
Shine Jesus Shine
Stand Up and Shout It

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Nativity Sets
Gather a nativity scene and let the kids help you set it up. Discuss the different elements of the story. Ask the kids if they would keep a baby in a barn with animals? 

2. Find a place to stay
Lay a number of cards face down on a table. The more cards used, the more difficult the game. Write “No” on all of the cards except one. Write “yes” on one card. For younger children, you could use colors. Red for no, green for yes. Take it in turns to pick up one card. The idea is to find somewhere to stay (The card with yes). The first person to find the card wins. Rearrange the cards on the table and play again. (Idea from TruewayKids.com)

​3. Good News
Tell the children that you have some good news. Share with them something that would be good news. For example, you may share that you're going out to eat your favorite restaurant for lunch or that your flowers are finally blooming. You may share that someone special is coming to visit you. Ask them to tell what they think good news is. Introduce the word gospel, which means good news. Give each child an opportunity to share some good news they have. Our story today is the best news we could ever receive. 
​
READ Matthew 1:18-24 and Luke 2:1-38 or tell the story of the birth of Jesus. 
EMPHASIZE that:

• Jesus was born just like God said he was. 
• All of the prophecies came true. 
• God loves us so much, he sent Jesus to rescue us from sin. ​

Video: Jesus's Birth by Saddleback Kids

Video: Birth of Jesus by God's Story

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's plan for salvation. 

Design Your Own Nativity Scenes by Oriental Trading

Nativity Sticker Ornament

Nativity Color Wheels

Lost Sheep Puppet by Crafting the Word of God

Christmas Nativity Scene by Crafting the Word of God 

Stable Scene Craft by TruewayKids

Cardboard Tube Shepherd by Trueway Kids

This is the story of Mary's visit to Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist. 

Key Concepts: 
1. John the Baptist and Jesus were both promised by God. 
2. We should rejoice with others. 
3. With God, all things are possible. 

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophets: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:22-23 (In reference to Isaiah 7:14b)

My God is So Big
Jesus Loves the Little Children
J-E-S-U-S
I'm Happy Today
You're the One
Magnificat (best for older kids or teach youngers the first verse) 

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Just the Right Time
Explain that John had a very important job to do. His job was to prepare and make ready the way for Christ. Ask the child if they know what prepare means. To illustrate, select a recipe of some kind. This can be dinner, dessert, or a special snack. Before you start, lay out the ingredients. (For illustrative purposes, a recipe that uses items like flour, baking soda, or other items that are not good before preparation would be best.) Ask the child if the flour or other items are ready to eat. As you begin to prepare the recipe, ask the child throughout the process if the item is ready. Explain that the item will only be ready at the proper time when all the ingredients are assembled and baked. Talk about how, just like the ingredients, God selected a time and people to make ready the way for His Son. (Idea from Trueway Kids) 

2. Scavenger Hunt
Hide baby items and/or little baby dolls around the room. Challenge the kids to find them like a game of hide and seek. Discuss how the Israelites had been looking for two special people God has promised to send to them. They were looking for a new prophet to announce the birth of the new King and for the new King that would set them free. John and Jesus were those promised babies.  
 
READ Luke 1:5-80 or tell the story of the Birth of John the Baptist. 
EMPHASIZE that

• God has a plan.
  
• Nothing is impossible for God. 
  
• God keeps his promises. ​

Video: God's Story-The Story of John the Baptist

Video: John the Baptist by Saddleback Kids

Slideshow: Birth of John the Baptist by Mission Bible Class

Printable Book: Birth of John the Baptist by Trueway Kids

1. Who did Mary go to see? Her cousin Elizabeth
2. What did the baby do when she heard Mary's greeting? Leaped in her womb
3. What happened when Zachariah named his son John? He was able to speak again
4. What were some of the amazing parts of John's birth? His parents were too old to have children, his dad couldn't speak until after he was born, the baby leaped at the sound of Mary's voice
​5. Where did John go to live when he grew up? The Wilderness

Connect their story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's plan for salvation. 

Baby Bell Christmas Ornament Craft
Discuss how a bell is used to announce something imporant and John was like the bell, announcing the coming of Jesus. 
Oriental Trading

Roman Tabula by Trueway Kids
Supplies: Cardboard, Plasticine / Modelling clay, Scissors, Glue, Colored paper, Tape
Let the children create their own tablets to write "His name is John"

John the Baptist Paper Puppets by Sunday School Zone
​Supplies: Template, Scissors, Popsicle Sticks (optional)

This is the story of how God revealed his plan to Mary and Joseph. 

Key Concepts:
1. God has a plan. 
2. We can trust that Jesus is God's Son. 
3. Mary and Joseph submitted to God's plan for their life even if it wasn't what they expected. 

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).

New Testament Books
J-E-S-U-S
If You Love Jesus
Oh, How I Love Jesus
Standing on the Promises
​Go Tell Us On the Mountain

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Find baby photos of the kids in your classroom. Let the children guess who each of the babies is.  Say: Today we are going to learn about a very special baby. This is a baby sent by God.

2. Play a game of Good News. Let each child share a piece of good news. 
-
READ the story above or read Matthew 1:18-25. 

Angel Craft from Trueway Kids

Doily Angels from I Heart Crafty Things

Handprint Angel Craft

This lesson is focused on how the prophets predicted very specific details about the birth of Jesus. 

Key Concepts:
1. God always has a plan. 
2. We can trust that Jesus is God's Son.
​3. Inspired prophets foretold of God's foretold of God's coming Son, the Messiah, who would save mankind. 

​22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).

New Testament Books
J-E-S-U-S
If You Love Jesus
Oh, How I Love Jesus
Standing on the Promises

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Remind the children about what a promise is. Remind them that Jesus is a promise from God. 

2. Introduce the idea of probability to your students with some low-prep probability activities such as a coin flip or pulling a marble from a bag. Discuss the odds of the prophets accurately predicting what would happen hundreds of years later in perfect detail and one man making all of those things happen. 


READ the story above or review who the prophets were and how they served God as his messengers. 

Video: The Promise of a Savior

Video: Isaiah-God's Story

1. Based on what you know about probability, do you think someone could pretend to be the Messiah? 
2. How easy would it be to fulfill all of the prophecies on your own? 
3. What does the word Messiah mean? 
4. Why do you think God gave the Israelites the prophecies?
5. What does God want us to know about the prophets words? 

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's overall story. 

Pin the Promise
Use these matching cards and game to play this version of pin the tale on the donkey. 

Probability Stations
Use these ideas to set up probability stations. 

Detective Notebook
Provide each student with a “detective notebook” (simply blank pads of paper) and ask them to investigate the prophecies of Christ and jot down clues that led up to the birth of Jesus. As you go through the next few weeks,  have them go back and put check marks next to the prophecies as they are fulfilled.