Sermon Title: "Losing Jesus"
Scripture Reading:Luke 2:41-52
HIDE AND SEEK:
Choose someone to be "LOST" and let children play hide and seek looking for the one that is chosen to be LOST! Give all the children an opportunity to be LOST and then found!
The teacher will HIDE various objects in a designated area of the room and then make an announcement for a lost item - one at a time. The children look for the object that has been announced as LOST and then continue the LOST ANNOUNCEMENTS as time allows, with children trying to find each object.
TAPE RECORDING AN ANNOUNCEMENT:
Let the children take turns being "recorded" as they ANNOUNCE something or someone who has been lost! Tell children that someone is lost in today's lesson and share our Bible story today.
Give children ideas of where to find the LOST JESUS (which could be part of a nativity set) and let children look around the area trying to find Jesus! The first child who finds Jesus will put baby Jesus back in the correct place in the nativity set. If time permits, the teacher could hide the baby Jesus again and let the children try to FIND Jesus again. Continue as time allows.
JESUS IS SHINING:
Let children cut out letters to spell J-E-S-U-S and glue onto a piece of construction paper. Give children glue and glitter and make the letters SHINE. Hang the pictures on the classroom wall in the shape of a Christmas tree. At the top of the tree, on a decorated STAR, write "LET JESUS SHINE -- DON'T LOSE JESUS".
JESUS AT THE CENTER:
Give children a large circle to cut out. Tell children to write the word JESUS in the VERY CENTER of their circles. Write this in bright colors or gel markers, etc. Decorate the circle with stars and stickers. Tell the children to write as SMALL as they possibly can around the very outside "edge" of the circle with names or things and people that might take their attention off of JESUS at the 'center'!!
LOOKING FOR JESUS:
The teacher will tape little pieces of paper all around the room -- under chairs, under pews, behind the pulpit (if children are permitted to do this in the auditorium)...or anyplace that the kids could go for a BIG hunt! Each little piece of paper could have a name on it, but after children have looked and looked and have been calling out -- "WHERE'S JESUS, WHERE'S JESUS.... JESUS WHERE ARE YOU?"... the teacher quietly tapes a piece of paper with JESUS written on it to a picture of a church and puts it in a CONSPICUOUS place so that the children can FIND JESUS. This will be a good game to lead into the story!
SING A SONG:
"I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me"
Song: "I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me"
Words and Music (pdf)
MP3 Accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)