Lesson Learned: Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.
Materials Needed: construction paper, cardboard, finger paint, marker, scissors, old pasta box
Bible Verse:
Luke 2:1-5
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Talking Points: Mary and Joseph both knew they were going to have a special baby soon, baby Jesus. Before Jesus was born, however, they had to take a long, long trip from where they lived (a town called Nazareth) to the city that Joseph’s ancestors had been born in, called Bethlehem. Even though they knew their baby would be born very soon, they had to travel for several days on a donkey to get to Bethlehem. They didn’t have cars back then so they had to walk the whole way. This was all part of God’s plan because He knew Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
Questions: Have you ever gone on a trip? Where did you go? What is the longest trip you have ever taken? How long did it take? How did you get there; did you walk, ride in car, fly, take a boat, ride on a donkey like Mary?
Activity:
Before you get started, cut out several triangles out of the pasta boxes to use as stencils.
On a piece of construction paper, draw two dots, one on the top of page and one towards the bottom. Label one Nazareth and the other one Bethlehem. Have the child draw a line between the two dots, explaining as they so that Mary and Joseph had to walk for several days to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Then, trace around the triangels to make “trees” along the path that Mary and Joseph had to walk. (To give the trees a little more Christmas feel, you can use finger paints to decorate the trees).
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for watching over us on long trips and everyday. Thank You for our car that we can drive to get to places far away. You have blessed us so much! Amen!