Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem for 1_______ counting of people. Many people go to Bethlehem 2 _______ the counting. There is no bed for Mary and Joseph. 3 _______ and Joseph must stay in a stable with the animals. 4 _______ Jesus is born this night. Mary wraps him 5 _______ soft cloth. She lays him in the 6 _______

Who announces the birth of Baby Jesus?

1. This night shepherds are in the field near Bethlehem.
2. They are watching their sheep.
3. Suddenly the sky is very bright.
4. God sends an angel to tell the shepherds about the birth of Jesus.
5. The shepherds are afraid.
6. The angel says: "Do not be afraid. I have good news!"
7. "A Savior is born this day in Bethlehem."
8. "He is Christ the Lord."
9. "You will find him in a manger in Bethlehem."
10. The shepherds hurry to find Baby Jesus lying in a manger.
11. The shepherds are excited!
12. They tell everyone about the good news of Jesus' birth.

Choose one of these words to fill in the blanks below:

This night shepherds are in the field 1 _______ Bethlehem. They are watching their sheep. Suddenly the sky 2 _______ very bright. God sends an angel to 3_______ the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The shepherds 4 _______ afraid. The angel says: "Do not be afraid. I have 5 _______ news! A Savior is born this day 6 _______ Bethlehem. He is Christ the Lord. You will 7_______ him in a manger in Bethlehem." The shepherds hurry 8 _______ find Baby Jesus lying in the manger. The shepherds are excited! They tell everyone about the good 9 _______ of Jesus' birth.

(Stories #1 and #2) Write the correct answer in the blank for each question. The first one has been done for you.

1. Is the counting in Bethlehem for sheep or for people?
2. Are there many or few people in Bethlehem? _____________________
3. Do Mary and Joseph stay in a hotel or a stable? _____________________
4. Is Baby Jesus born in the night or day? _____________________
5. Does Mary lay Baby Jesus in a crib or a manger? _____________________
6. Are the shepherds in a field near Nazareth or Bethlehem? _____________________
7. Are the shepherds watching sheep or cows? _____________________
8. Are the shepherds afraid or not afraid? _____________________
9. Does the angel have good news or bad news? ____________________
10. Are the shepherds excited or worried to hear this news? _____________________
1. The angel from God has good news for the shepherds. Then the angel tells the shepherds to do something. Look at the sentences on the Reading the Story #2. What does the angel tell them to do?

Write these instructions on the board as the students identify then:

Do not be afraid.
Go to Bethlehem.
Find Jesus in a manger.

2. Your teacher is the "angel" and you are the "sheperd". Listen to the "angel". Do everything the angel tells you to do.

3. On the night Jesus was born the sky was beautiful and bright. And an angel came to announce the birth of Baby Jesus. And now - almost 2000 years later - we still celebrate his birth! Do you have a story about something unusual that happened when you were born? How do people celebrate birthdays in your country? Do you have a special birthday song? Could you teach our class to sing this song? Do you have a favorite birthday memory? Discuss these questions in your small group.

1. From the beginning, God has had a plan for His creation-for the world He made.

He planned for day and night, for rainy season and dry season, for the color of animals to protect them from danger.

"In the beginning God made from nothing the heavens and the earth. . .God saw all that He had made and it was very good." (Genesis 1:1, 31, NLV)

"There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLV)

2. In God's plan, God sent Jesus into our world to tell us about the love of God.
"God was in Christ. He was working through Christ to bring the whole world back to Himself. God no longer held men's sins against them." (2 Corinthians 5:19, NLV)
"The Son shines with the shining-greatness of the Father. The Son is as God is in every way. It is the Son Who holds up the whole world by the power of His Word. The Son gave His own life so we could be clean from all sin. After He had done that, He sat down on the right side of God in heaven." (Hebrews 1:3, NLV)
"Jesus Christ shows us what God is like." (2 Corinthians 4:4b-CEV) "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son (Jesus), so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!" (John 3:16-17, CEV)

3. The time and place for Jesus' birth are a part of God's plan. Many years before his birth, men of God told people about the birth of Jesus.

"Bethlehem. . . from you One will come who will rule for Me in Israel. His coming was planned long ago, from the beginning." (Micah 5:2)

"A young woman, who has never had a man, will give birth to a son. She will give Him the name Immanuel." (Isaiah 4:14) [Immanuel = "God with us."-Matthew 1:23]

4.From the beginning, God has had a wonderful plan for YOU.

King David, one of the Old Testament writers, said to God:

"You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do." (Psalms 139:13-16, CEV )

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 'plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:10, NLV)