The document outlines the story of Christmas, detailing the birth of Jesus Christ and the events surrounding it, including the roles of Mary and Joseph, prophecies, and visits from shepherds and wise men. It explains how Mary, a young woman, was visited by an angel and informed of her miraculous pregnancy, while Joseph later received reassurance from an angel about his role. The narrative emphasizes the significance of these events in the Christian faith and contrasts traditional celebrations with modern commercialism.

1. What is the festival of 'Christmas’?
Who was Joseph and Mary?
What was happening around the time
when Jesus was born?
Let’s run through all of these events
about 2000 years ago…..
[i]
Teachers note:
Topics we will look at
See more Free Lesson Plans at: https://notmanywise.uk
What is Christmas? Lesson Plan

2. Some churches celebrate certain events in the life of Jesus
and also some events in the early church.
These festivals are held on certain dates throughout the year
and this is known as the Church Calendar.
For example:
• Lent, (when Jesus was in the desert for 40 days without food)
• Pentecost (when God poured out His Spirit upon the early church).
But today we are going to look at the festival of 'Christmas'.
How do you and your family celebrate Christmas?
Do you like Christmas? Describe why. [ii]

3. What event in the Church Calendar does Christmas celebrate?
[iii]

4. Christians believe that Jesus Christ has always been God's Son.
But Christmas is when Christians celebrate the time when Jesus took on human nature
by being born of a woman, which was about 2000 years ago.
Some Christmas cards have pictures or cartoons relating to this story,
ie: the baby Jesus in a manger (a cattle feeding trough), shepherds, a bright star that guided 3 wise men, etc.
[iv]

5. Here is how it happened:
Mary was just an ordinary very young woman who was engaged to a man called Joseph.
Suddenly an angel appeared to Mary and said:
Mary was petrified!
Greetings, God is pleased with you!
Mary replied: “How come?! I can't have a baby, I'm not married!”
Don't be afraid Mary, God is pleased with you.
You are going to have a baby, and you must give him the name 'Jesus’.
God will be the father, so he will be called the Son of God!
God's Spirit will make this happen, don't worry.
[v]

6. Mary believed what the angel had told her.
But she had a problem…
How was she going to tell Joseph!
Joseph, an angel appeared and spoke to me!
I am going to have a baby!!
You are not the father!!!
God is the father!!!!
He will be called the Son of God!!!!!
[vi]
WHAT? !!!!!
[vii]

7. [vi]
What do you mean, you're pregnant!
I haven't touched you!
Our wedding can't go ahead!
I'll cancel all the arrangements!
But an angel appeared to me! You've got to believe me!
God is going to be the father of this baby!
It's true Joseph, you'll have to believe me!
What am I going to do?
This is bringing shame upon me!
[vii]

8. [v]
While Joseph was in despair, an angel appeared to him and said:
Joseph!
Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife!
God is the father of this baby.
Mary will give birth to a son,
and you are to name him Jesus.
He will save his people from their sins.

9. Now all this happened according to a prophesy which was spoken 700 years earlier.
The prophet had said:
"See, a virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and he will be known as Immanuel,
which means, 'God with us'."

10. There was another prophecy, relating to where this child was going to be born. And that place was Bethlehem.
But Mary and Joseph lived in a little village called Nazareth, which was 180 miles from Bethlehem!
So did they remember the prophecy and go to Bethlehem just to have the baby?
No! This is what happened:
As the time got nearer to the baby being born, the Roman authority, who ruled Israel, did an amazing thing.
They decided that everyone in the whole Roman empire should be counted.
But they didn't issue forms to be filled in.
They ordered that every family was to go back to the town
where the head of their household was born.
So for Joseph, that meant travelling to Bethlehem!
[viii]

11. When Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem
they found the town heaving with people,
and all the guest houses and hotels were full.
But because Mary was so pregnant, an Inn
keeper had pity on her.
He took them to a stable where there was at
least some dry straw to sleep on.
Mary gave birth to a son and she laid him in a
straw lined feeding trough - known as a
'manger'.
[ix]

12. Meanwhile out on a hillside nearby, a group of
shepherds were huddled around a camp fire.
Suddenly an angel appeared to them and said:
[x]
Don't be afraid!
I bring you great news - not just for you, but for everyone!
Today in the town of Bethlehem a Saviour has been born.
He is God's Son, the One that all the prophesies point to.
Go and look!
This will be the sign to you that you've found the right child:
You will find a baby wrapped in small strips of cloth and lying
in a manger.
May everyone adore and worship God,
and may His peace be upon those who
please Him.

13. All the angels have gone!
Amazing!
This is something special to tell the family!
Let's go down to Bethlehem and see
the baby! Come on!
So the shepherds found
Joseph, Mary and the baby
lying in a manger, just as the
angels had told them.
They then returned to their
hillside, praising and
worshipping God, and whoever
they met they told them what
they had seen.
[xi]

14. Later, some wise men from the east saw a very bright star and they believed that it was
telling them about the birth of a great King in Israel.
So they travelled to that land to meet this newly born King.
But the trouble was, they didn't know where he was, so they went to the capital - Jerusalem, and met king Herod.
Where is the one who has
been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star, showing that an
important king has been born in Israel. So we have come to worship
him and give him gifts.
What! A king has been born!
Where? I haven't heard about this!
I am the king around here!
I want to know more about this.
Get my advisors!
[xii]

15. This king that these wise men from the east are looking for,
does the Scripture tell us where he will be born?
Yes king Herod.
The Scripture tells us that he will be born in Bethlehem.
And that he will be a Ruler who will shepherd his people.
You wise men, go and find this newly born king.
Then come back to tell me where he is. I want to worship him as well!
Do you think
that king
Herod really
wanted to
worship
him, or kill
him?

16. The wise men left king Herod and the star reappeared which led them to where Joseph, Mary and Jesus
were. They were now living in a house at Bethlehem, which was much more comfortable than the stable!
Then there was a knock at their door and Joseph found a group of men from a far away country.
They told him that they had followed a star to their house!
They wanted to give some gifts to the newly born King!
I bring you gold, to show that you are indeed a King.
I bring you incense, to show that you are God.
I bring you myrrh, to show that you will die.
[xiii]

17. The wise men get warned by an angel not to go back to king Herod, but to go home by a different route.
King Herod wasn't interested in worshipping Jesus, he just wanted Jesus killed, so
that there was no threat to himself being king.
When king Herod realised that the wise men hadn’t come back to say where Jesus was,
he ordered his troops to kill all the boys under 2 years old in that area.
That would guarantee that Jesus would be killed!
But God sent an angel to Joseph and Mary:
[v]
Joseph, get out of here! Quick!
Escape to Egypt, because king Herod’s troops are coming
to kill the child!
So they left that very night and went to Egypt.
When king Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph and said:
Get up! Take Jesus and Mary to the land of
Israel, for those who were trying to take the
child's life are now dead.

18. They then went back to Nazareth, and in doing this they fulfilled
another prophecy which said:
"Out of Egypt I called My Son. "
Jesus grew into a young man.
He taught many people about God - calling Him 'Father’,
and he performed many miracles proving that what He had said was the truth.

19. This is the real story of Christmas.
How does this story differ from the Christmas that you celebrate?
Do you think that Christmas has become too commercialised?
Explain.
[i]

20. Photo credits:
[i] http://pngimg.com/uploads/christmas_tree/christmas_tree_PNG137.png
[ii] https://pngimg.com/uploads/santa_claus/santa_claus_PNG9972.png
[iii] https://live.staticflickr.com/1932/31852583368_57e215fb22_b.jpg
[iv] https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/847/503/649/jesus-christ-christmas-lights-virgin-mary-wallpaper-preview.jpg
[v] https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/80000/nahled/angel-wings.jpg
[vi] https://www.pngall.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/St.-Mary-Free-PNG-Image.png
[vii] https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/m/scared-man-face-young-expression-people-emotions-portrait-81711071.jpg
[viii] https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2637/4098790549_e82d50591c_z.jpg
[ix] https://i0.wp.com/famvin.org/en/files/2012/12/Manger-today.jpg
[x] https://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/Main_Page
[xi] http://img.heartlight.org/articles/shepherds_baby_jesus.jpg
[xii] https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/SMRrrSmIUt6FfVXJAC8sTxDkgOY=/768x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ThreeKings-91728413-
5a0f2b5e482c5200373a8b36.jpg
[xiii] https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/200000/velka/christmas-tree-wise-men-sunset.jpg