Christmas Lesson Plans for Sunday School

Free Christmas Lessons
It is Christmas and it is a great opportunity once again to share with our little children the Good News about why Jesus came to earth.  I've found this page from Ministry-to-children.com wherein they list a lot of Christmas lesson plans they've used over the years and are 100% free to download for teaching in our respective Children's Sunday School.  Here is the link: http://ministry-to-children.com/christmas-ss/

Here's also a page where you can download for free the Read and Share Bible featuring the Christmas Story from Tommy Nelson.  It is a nice story to share with our little children.

Christmas Song to Teach the Kids
Also last time I taught our children this simple song about Christmas which I saw in one Sunday School material. The song is sung to the tune of Yes, Jesus Loves Me.

Christmas is a time of joy
Not because of gifts and toys
But because God gave His Son
Jesus loves us everyone.

Yes, God gave His Son
Yes, God gave His Son
Yes, God gave His Son
He loves us everyone.

You  can also check out the previous posts on Christmas lessons in this blog.

A Beautiful Christmas Story - Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

Little children love Christmas stories. It is part of the Christmas tradition that parents or grandparents tell the story of Jesus' birth to their children. In these days, many seem to have lost this treasured tradition.  I pray that we could take the time to meaningfully celebrate the season by reminding our children about the birth of our Savior King Jesus.

In addition to the stories we can tell from the Bible, here's a very beautiful story to tell to our kids this Christmas.  The Little Star by Anthony DeStefano is a story telling about what a little star did to share God's love during the birth of the baby Jesus.  Watch the video below as Grandfather Pat Boone reads the story of Little Star to little kids.  You can also get your copy and tell this Christmas Classic Story to-be to your children.

Lesson on Giving: Marbles in the Pocket

Do you know what a Missionary Box is? Well, I will tell you. It is a box sent from a missionary society in a city or town to a mission field. The box contains clothing, bedding, and sometimes toys, dolls and picture books for the children at the mission field.

In a certain city, one Christmas season the children of the Sunday School brought gifts to fill a box. Some brought clothes they had outgrown. Some who had two coats decided they could give one. Others brought books. One little girl brought a beautiful doll. She had other dolls, and this one she dearly loved, but she said, "I want some other little girl to be happy, and I think I can get along without this doll, though I shall miss her dreadfully."

One day the committee came together to sort the gifts and pack the box. One woman picked up a boy's coat. She felt something, hard in one of the pockets. Another woman said, "Better look all through those pockets; you can never tell what a boy will use his pockets for." So she went all through the pockets. In one of them she found a soiled handkerchief tied in a knot. With much pulling, for it was a hard knot, she loosed the little package, and there she found five marbles. With the marbles was a note written in a boy's hand—

"DEAR BOY WHO GETS THIS COAT,

I have eight marbles. First I put in four for you. Then I put in another one. I hope you will like the coat, and the marbles.

From your friend,

JOHN MASON."

Now what do you think of that? Isn't it glorious? To give more to the other fellow than you keep for yourself, especially when that other fellow is someone you have never met, is Christlike.

MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 7: 12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.


KIDS CRAFT: Shoe Box Gift Box
Ask the children to bring a small shoe box. Then, let the children decorate the top cover of the shoe box using colored pens, colored paper, glitter glue or anything they can use for designs.

Then, this boxes can be filled with a toy, a shirt or a small gift like a comb, toothbrush, candies which the children would like to give to poor children. The gifts need not be new, they can be clothes that the kids have outgrown or toys that still looks nice but they don't want to play with anymore.

Give the children some time to do this but make sure that the gift boxes can be shared with other children before Christmas day.

Free Christmas Gifts - Christmas Ebooks for Kids

Thank you for visiting Sunday School Lessons for Kids.  It's Christmas and here are some two E-books for kids that you can download free perfect for sharing lessons about Christmas.  

• The angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth with a very special message. Study what happened when Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would be the mother of Jesus! This lesson contains both the teacher and student pages.  Download it from Grape Vine Studies

• An eBook version of a new Christmas story, perfect for parents to read to their kids on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or any time between Christmas and New Years, as a reminder of what Christmas really is about. The book is:  The Big Black Book - What the Christmas Tree Saw, by Rev. Warren C. Biebel Jr.  Download it from Healthy Life Press.

Christmas - The Best Word

What is the best word?  I think I can hear each of you as he answers. One says "Mother is the best word." Another says, "Father." Still another, "Daddy." A fourth one answers, "Home." Now I hear a voice that says, "America." Another voice shouts, "Friend." Yes, there are many, many words to which we might rightfully give the title "best word."

But for this season of the year, and for this particular Sunday, there is one word that stands out from among all the others. That one word is "Christmas." On December 25 will be Christmas day. I think this word "Christmas" is the best word because it includes all the other good words.

In your home, you have a rug. There are many colors in that rug, yet it is all one fabric. The many colors are skillfully woven and beautifully blended to make the one fabric. Think of this word Christmas as a rug, made up of many words of many colors. We see in this rug the word "mother." What would Christmas be without mother! We see also the word father, and the words sister, brother, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, friend, home. Then clearest of all in this wonderful rug is the word Christ. Christ is Christmas. Yes, Christmas is the best word for it gathers within its meaning all other good words.

"This happy day, whose risen sun
Shall set not through eternity;
This holy day, when Christ, the Lord,
Took on him our humanity;
For little children everywhere
A joyous season still we make;
We bring our precious gifts to them,
Even for the dear Child, Jesus' sake."

MEMORY VERSE: John 1: 4
"In him was life; and that life was the light of men."

MEMORY HYMN:  "Joy to the world!"

KIDS CRAFT: Christmas Paper Rug

• Fold 2-3 different colored construction papers into paper fan or accordion style with 1/2-1-inch thick strips lengthwise.
• Unfold and cut along the lines.  Set aside.
• Fold another piece of construction paper crosswise.
• From the fold, cut straight lines towards the edge with 1/2-1-inch gap between the lines.  (You can draw guidelines first using a ruler if you wish.)  Do nut cut through the edge.  Leave at least 1 inch of uncut paper at the edge.  Unfold the paper.
• Now, you can start weaving your paper rug.      

          a.  First, insert one strip of colored paper through the slits alternately, over then under.  
          b.  Insert a second colored strip through the slit beside the first strip of paper, but now under then over.   
          c.  Repeat a and b until you reach the other edge.

         d.  Cut off the excess of the cross strips, get 2 more strips of colored paper and glue it to the two longer sides to seal the strips in place.

• Turn the project over then you can decorate with letters or with stickers if you wish.
  

The Christmas Tree

For a few years, I lived in a country where "December is as pleasant as May." The weather was warm all through the year. The ground was never frozen, for there was never any frost. I never saw a snowflake in all the years I lived in the tropics. The trees were trees of the hot climate, mostly palm, bamboo and acacia trees. When Christmas drew near, I thought the day would be a very dreary day, and wholly unChristmaslike because there would be no snow, and we would be without our accustomed tree.

A few days before our first Christmas in the tropics, a friend said to me, "I am sending a tree down from the mountains for your children." In due time the tree arrived. You can imagine the joy of our entire household when they looked upon a genuine, evergreen, Christmas tree. We set it up in our big "sala," that is our living room, and there it remained for many days, the delight of our eyes.

The tree of the Christmas season has some specifically Christmas messages. First, it is evergreen. That reminds us of the eternal Saviour, "the same yesterday, today and forever."

At the very tiptop of the tree, we place a star. There it shines, high above all else, reminding us of the higher, holier life to which we are summoned. The star beckons us to loftier aspirations. Christ came down from heaven. He became one of us, sharing our human life. But he is ever above us as well as with us, luring us on to the life of God.

The Christmas tree is ablaze with lights. Jesus brought light into the world. How dark the world would be without him!

About the base of the tree, and suspended from the branches are many gifts. They are tokens of the love and esteem we hold for each other, and remind us of God's great gift of love, Christ himself.

MEMORY VERSE: John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


KIDS CRAFT:
You can make a Paper Christmas Tree from Little Handprints - (see complete instructions here) or you can make a simple Christmas card with Christmas tree design made of construction paper (see complete instructions here).


Reference:  Col, Jeananda. Enchanted Learning. http://www.EnchantedLearning.com 1996.

Him and Hymn

I want to tell you today about two "Hims." The first is a man "Him." The second is a song "Hymn."

The man "him" is Phillips Brooks. He was born in 1835 and died in 1893. He never married, so he had no girls and boys of his own. But he loved all children. He had a great, warm heart, and in that heart was a big corner for all young people. He became a minister. His first church was in Philadelphia. Later he moved to Boston. He had not been in Boston very long when, one night, about midnight, the people saw flames breaking out through the roof of the church. A sad congregation, with their pastor, watched their loved church as it burned to the ground.

After the fire, they came together and asked, "What shall we do? Shall we rebuild here or shall we go to another place?" Finally, it was decided to build a new church on Copley Square. That was many years ago. They built a beautiful temple of worship. It is still known everywhere as "Phillips Brooks' Church," so wonderfully did his personality enter into the project.

Now the second "hymn." When Phillips Brooks was a young man in Philadelphia he made a trip to the Holy Land. As Christmas drew near, he wrote and sent back to the girls and boys of his Sunday School, a Christmas poem. The organist of his church composed music for the words, and this hymn was sung for the first time in Trinity church, Philadelphia. It is a beautiful Christmas hymn. Yes, it is my favorite.

"Oh, little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie."




MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 2: 6

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.

KIDS CRAFT:  Handprint and Footprint Angel Craft 
Angels brought the good news of the coming Savior to Mary, Joseph, and to the Shepherds. They played an essential role in the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

This craft will be enjoyable for preschoolers and toddlers.  It makes use of the kids' handprint and footprint.  There is no template for this craft but it is very cute and easy to make.  For complete instructions, please go to this angel craft page.. 

It's December - The First Month?

What month is this? December. It is the first month in the year. "No, no," you say, "December is the last month." I cannot entirely agree with you. December is last on the calendar but first in importance. Now you agree with me, do you not?

How many days has December? One day. "No, no," I again hear you say, "December has 31 days." I think we can reach an agreement on this point, too. There is one day in December of unexceptional importance and loveliness; that day is the 25th. Yes, we all say there is but one day in December. How readily we agree when we understand one another!

What is the twenty-fifth? It is the most important day in the history of the world. It is the day upon which the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords was born. Jesus, son of man and son of God, came into the world as we all come, as a tiny babe. It brings him much nearer to us, does it not, to think that our Savior was once as we are? He grew up as a child, a boy, a youth, a man. It is the birthday of Christ the Savior we celebrate on the 25th of each December.

To whom did Jesus come? He came to a lowly people. He was revealed first of all to the shepherds. The shepherd's task was not an enviable one. He was out in the open, subject to storms and winds and wild beasts. His business was to shepherd the sheep, to lead them to good pasture, to protect them from all harm and danger. The shepherd's task was lonely as well as lowly. His days and nights were passed in solitude. Occasionally a group of shepherds would come together, but for the most part they were alone with their flocks. God chose these people, whose minds were clear, whose lives were pure, to be the first messengers of the glad tidings of great joy. (Luke 2:8-20)






MEMORY VERSE: Luke 2: 10
But the angels said to them (the shepherds), "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy."

KIDS CRAFT:  Christmas Printable Coloring Pages
There are lots of Christmas Printable Coloring Pages that you can find on this website.  You can find the links to the following coloring pages which are related to the lessons today on their website and print from there. (You have to scroll down the page to find the list of coloring pages available on their site)

• Angel's Announcement to the shepherds color by number activity page (This can be used for the Memory Verse as well.
  
• Angel appears to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks coloring page
• Shepherds go to Bethlehem coloring page
• Shepherds find Jesus coloring page

After the kids finish coloring the pages, you can retell the story when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.