Is Jesus the Messiah?: Week Four

This week we did something a little different and split the kids up into age groups. We have a new set up downstairs that's really awesome and allows us to be more creative and more savvy in how we teach the kids. We started down in the "basement" together as a group and reviewed the last few prophecies (David, Abraham, a virgin, Immanuel) and looked at the puzzle pieces to see how the puzzle looked. We had the kids color Yarmulkes (since we're Jewish children!) and then we prayed, read the Old Testament scriptures, and split into separate rooms.

K-2 went with Ms. Amanda into the library and focused on the prophecy that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. They read Micah 5:2 and talked about how the verse tells us that the Messiah will come from a small town called Bethlehem, that it's a Jewish town, and that there will only be one Messiah who will rule from beginning to end. Then the kids read Luke 2:4-6, and Matthew 2:1-6 and they went on a journey.

In the passage, we learn that Joseph wasn't even supposed to be in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary actually lived in a town called Nazareth, but they had to go to Bethlehem for a census since Joseph was part of David's line, and David was from Bethlehem (throw back to first prophecy!) So the kids all pretended to be Mary and Joseph going on a journey. Now, Nazareth was only about 80 miles away from Bethlehem but we've got to shift a minute... Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? The Samaritans and the Galileans were in a huge fight. Nazareth is located in Samaria, Bethlehem is in Judea, and in the middle was Galilee. Going a direct route to Bethlehem would have been REALLY dangerous. We had the kids sneak around the warring towns--it would have been too dangerous for Mary to go through the straight path! So, Joseph and Mary had to travel around the towns--almost double that amount!--to get to Bethlehem. This could have taken at least a week! God really went out of his way to make this prophecy come true.

Two things we found were special about Bethlehem:

• David is from Bethlehem - That's why Joseph and Mary had to go back there. They were part of David's line.
• Bethlehem literally means "House of Bread"- Many times in scripture, Jesus refers to himself as "the bread of life".

3-5 stayed with Ms. Karis in the big room and talked about the other part of the prophecy, found in Psalm 72:10. We talked about what it meant to bring gifts to someone. Usually gifts are given to someone you think highly of, or love. We talked about the difference between someone walking from Mexico to bring you gifts vs. sending it in the mail and what message it sends to you... that you're important and loved.

We then read Matthew 2:9-12. We talked about how the gifts that were brought to Jesus were both prophetic and common for a King. They were very expensive gifts and very common for royalty. The first things they show us is that the Magi recognized the importance of Jesus. The meanings of the gifts also point to the Messiah.

• Gold - the most precious, given only to royalty. Tells us that Jesus is a KING (per Daniel 2:38)
• Myrrh - heals wounds. We likened this to the potion Edmund got from Lucy in Chronicles of Narnia. It shows us that Jesus is a reconciler and a healer (per John 19:39)
• Frankincense - represents life and purity. Tells us that Jesus is sinless and a lifegiver (per Leviticus 5:11).

We also talked about how the Magi were not Jewish (they were astrologers!) so they knew nothing about this Jesus guy or the Messiah. They just saw a star and followed it.

Then all the children came back into the big room and taught each other about the prophecy they learned. We added a puzzle piece to the mix, prayed, and sent the kids upstairs. 6/200