Christmas is about Jesus. He’s the main character. But sometimes focusing on the lesser known people can teach us quite a bit. This Birth of Jesus object lesson focuses on Joseph and his role in an event that changed the world.
Scripture Focus: Matthew 1:18-25
Materials: Gold/yellow, black, red, white, and green poster board
Geography: locate Nazareth and Bethlehem
Background: An angel appeared to Mary explaining that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. She was to be married to Joseph, but when he was told that she was pregnant, that changed everything.
Bible Lesson and Life Application for The Birth of Jesus:
{Use the poster board to cut out huge letters spelling JESUS using the colors of the Wordless Book. J = gold/yellow; E = black; S = red; U = white; S = green. I found that I needed to support the letters, so I taped dowel rods and chopsticks to the back! Another option would be to use thin foam board posters.}
{Ask:}
- What do you know about Joseph? [Allow for answers. You will find that they will not know much. I had answers such as: a shepherd, Mary’s husband, etc.]
The book of Matthew tells us that Joseph was a just man. When he heard that Mary was with child and they were not married yet, Joseph knew he could legally break off their engagement. He could do this publicly so everyone in town would know. He could have said loud and clear and that the baby was not his and that he wanted nothing more to do with Mary.
But Joseph was a just man. This tells us that Joseph was a man of character. He was honorable. One who cared for Mary and wanted what was best for her. Therefore he decided to break the engagement quietly so no one really knew what happened.
While he was thinking all of this over an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel told him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the baby in her was made by the Holy Spirit. The angel then told him that she would have a Son and that he was to call the baby Jesus because He would save His people from their sin.
Joseph awoke from his dream and did as the Lord commanded him and took Mary to be his wife. Once the baby was born, Joseph named the baby Jesus.
Jesus is a great name. In fact, it is the name above all names. It’s a name that saved people from their sins.
{Ask:}
- What is sin? [Anything we think, say, or do that does not please God.]
- What are some examples of sin? [Accept answers.]
{Hold of the J and ask:}
- What do you know about God? [Allow for answers; examples: holy, perfect, without sin, eternal, never changes, kind, etc.]
The color yellow helps us to remember heaven and God. God is perfect. He is holy. The Bible tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh. Therefore, Jesus is perfect and He is holy.
{Hold up the E and ask:}
- What do you know about people? [Allow for answers; examples: not perfect, selfish, temporary, etc.]
- Can people ever do good things? [Yes]
- Why do people need Jesus? [Allow for answers; help children to see what the scripture says in Matthew. Jesus is to save His people from their sins.]
- Can people save themselves from their sins? [No]
- Can people do enough good things to show God they deserve to be saved? [No]
Scripture tells us that our good works are like filthy, dirty rags. We are born into sin. Because of that sin we deserve death. HOWEVER!
{Hold up the red S and ask:}
- What does red remind us of? [blood]
At Christmas, we set aside time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But really, it is the death of Jesus that saves us from our sin. When we believe in our heart that Jesus is God, that He was born on this earth in flesh, that he died and rose again, and we confess sorrow for our sin, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all of our unrighteousness. Our black sin doesn’t look like that to God anymore. He sees the blood of Jesus covering you instead.
{Hold up the U and ask:}
- When you decide to live for Jesus, do you always obey God with what you do? [No, we still sin.]
Even though the blood of Jesus covers us, we still make wrong choices. But each time we ask God to forgive us, we are cleansed again of our sin. It’s a constant thing we need to do. Whenever we recognize that we have messed up, we need to tell on ourselves to God. Jesus in the One who saves us from our sin, so we need to stay in constant contact with Him.
{Hold up the green S.}
Jesus was born. We are celebrating His birthday. You have a birthday every year. And for each birthday you are a little bit taller, a little bit smarter, and little bit wiser. The more you learn about Jesus and spend time with Him, the more you will grow spiritually.
After Jesus saves you from sin, then you need to grow. We celebrate Jesus’ birthday one day a year, but we should be growing to know Jesus better 365 days a year. This is when God begins to turn you into a person like Jesus. We can never be perfect like Jesus, but we can reflect Him the best we can by loving others and serving them.
What name is above all names? Jesus. And the angel said He will save us from our sin. He will. He will save you from your sin. Choose Jesus.
What can we learn from Joseph? We should believe what the angel told him and know that Jesus will save us from our sin.
Recommended Resources for The Birth of Jesus:
