Giving gifts to God is a way to express our love, devotion, and commitment to Him. This act of worship is emphasized throughout the Bible, from the story of Cain and Abel to the Widow's offering. Giving gifts to God is never about the gift itself, but rather the heart, and no one exemplifies this better than small children!
In this lesson bundle, you will learn about the special gifts given to the newborn Jesus by the wise men. These gifts, given at great personal cost, symbolize Jesus' role and mission. As we study these gifts, we are reminded that when we love the Lord, we should also be willing to give our best and hold nothing back.
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 K A R A O K E V I D E O : "Love One Another"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N:
You will need to gift wrap a small box for each child. Label each gift, “To: Jesus” and “From: Me.” You will also need an image of Jesus Christ. As an alternative option for the gift wrapped boxes, you could simply print and cut out the “Gifts for Jesus” printable at the end of the lesson bundle.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Place the presents on the floor in the center of the room. Place the image of Jesus Christ on a table or tape it to the wall.
Discuss the following questions:
1) What does it mean to give a gift to someone? (Discuss the childrens’ ideas.)
2) What makes you want to give a gift to someone? (We give gifts when we love someone and we want them to know that we love them.)
3) When we give a gift to someone, should we expect something in return? (Discuss some of the Lord’s promises that can be found in the scriptures.)
Now, invite the children to think silently about a gift they would want to give to Jesus Christ to show Him that they love Him. Explain that the gift can be anything! It doesn’t have to fit in a box. They can just imagine it’s inside the box.
Allow each child (one at a time) to choose a present from the floor and to reverently place it next to the image of Jesus Christ while they are thinking about what’s inside.
🎥 V I D E O : " Gifts of Jesus | Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about some wise men who brought some very special gifts to Jesus Christ after He was born! Let’s watch and see why they wanted to give these gifts to Jesus!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) What was the first gift that the wise men gave to Jesus? (Gold.)
2) What was gold a symbol of? (They wanted to show Jesus that He was their true king!)
3) What was the second gift that the wise men gave to Jesus? (Frankincense.)
4) What was frankincense a symbol of? (They wanted to show Jesus that they worshiped Him as the Son of God!)
5) What was the third gift that the wise men gave to Jesus? (Myrrh.)
6) What was myrrh a symbol of? (They wanted to show Jesus that they knew He would die for us and that he would overcome death and be resurrected!)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the scripture verses below and discuss the questions that follow.
[Read Matthew 2:11]
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
1) Why did these men want to find Jesus? (They wanted to worship Him and give Him gifts.)
2) What does it mean to worship the Lord? (It means using all of our heart to show love, reverence, and gratitude to the Lord!)
3) Why do you think giving gifts is a good way to show the Lord that we worship Him? (Discuss.)
[Read John 14:15]
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1) If we love the Lord, what is a gift that the Lord would like us to give Him? (To keep His commandments.)
2) Can you think of some commandments that the Lord has given us? (Discuss.)
[Read Luke 21:1-3]
And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
1) Who is talking in this verse? (Jesus is teaching a lesson about giving.)
2) Why did Jesus say that the poor widow gave the most? (Because she didn’t hold anything back and she gave all that she could. Her true gift was giving her heart!)
➤ C O L O R I N G P A G E
Invite the children to color the image of the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. Use this time to talk about gifts that we might offer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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