The Launch!

We launched our Children's Ministry with a summer VBS program "Search & Rescue: Jesus is Looking For You!" (more info on VBS). We have Sunday Worship service every Sunday during the first part of our church service.  The program is designed to bring the children up along side the adult service, but in a language that the children can take to heart.  The children join the adults at the "Peace" where they can participate with the adults in communion.  

Questions

What Does God Get?

Year B, Epiphany

This week the readings are: Isaiah 60:1-9, Psalm 72, Ephesians 3:1-13. Matthew 2:1-12.

The wisemen were pretty interesting fellows.  They weren’t Jewish like Jesus, Mary, Joseph, King Herod or the religious leaders of the Jewish people.  The Jewish people lived in a place called Israel where there was a big city called Jerusalem and smaller town called Bethlehem.  Jesus and Mary and Joseph lived in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  The wisemen were called “gentiles” which just means they weren’t Jewish.  The wisemen came from very, very far away, maybe even as far away as Persia in the east.  

Even though the wisemen were gentiles, they still believed that the King of the Jews would save them from their sins too.  They were so devoted to the King of the Jews they traveled for a long, long time over deserts and mountains and across rivers.  When they finally found Jesus in Bethlehem, the worshiped him as a king and savior.  They brought him special gifts of gold, frankincense (a special smelling resin, kind of like a rock), and myrrh (a special smelling oil).  

We can be devoted to Jesus too.  We can seek Him every day by reading the bible, talking to wise Christians, and praying to God.  We can also give gifts to Jesus.  Jesus says if we do nice things for people in need, we are doing those same nice things for Him too. 

We read the Gospel scripture and had a discussion.

Discussion Questions

1. The wise men were not from the same country as the Jewish people.  The wise men traveled from which direction? (hint: verse 1)
   
2. Who were the wise men looking for? (hint: verse 2)
   
3. Why did the wise men want to find Jesus? (hint: verse 2)
   
4. Where did the priests and teachers of the law say the King would be born? (hint: verse 5)
   
5. What did the wise men do when they found Jesus and his mother Mary? (hint: verse 11)
   
6. What were the three gifts the wise men gave to Jesus’ family? (hint: verse 11)
   

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Keep the Faith All Week

Memory Verse

“They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Matthew 2:11

Theme Snack

Star Snack

Materials list

• Peanut butter (or something sticky)
• Pretzel sticks

Instructions

1. let children assemble their own star.

Wisemen Seek Jesus Memory Game

(For all ages.)

Material list:

• Three markers to represent the Three Wisemen
• printed memory cards (3-4 pages, as desired)
• game board 
• Dice

Preparation:

• Print out the game board and assemble
• print out the cards and cut
• Shuffle the cards and place the cards in two piles, blank and memory verse.​

How to play:

1. Determine who goes first.
2. Roll the dice and move the wise man the number of stars.  If the player lands on a "M" star, they take a card from the memory card pile.  If they don't already have that card, they keep it.  If they have the card, the card is returned to the bottom of the pile.
3. If the player lands on a numbered space, they must draw from the blank pile and follow the directions on the card.
4. The first player to reach Jesus with a completed memory verse wins. 
5. If a player reaches Jesus, but doesn't have a completed memory verse, they move back 12 spaces and draw from the blank pile and follow the directions. 
   *Place all blank cards on the bottom of the blank pile once used.

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References & Resources

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This app is created by Life.church and is available on the Android, iOS and Amazon platforms.  Follow this link to download this amazing app to take on the go and keep your kids engaged with God's Word.

Link to the mobile app

And if you want to reinforce the biblical learning found in the app, Life.Church has accompanying worksheets to download for free!

Get the curriculum