Isaiah 9 Sunday School Lesson
Isaiah 9 Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
God told us about Jesus long before Jesus was born.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that God foretold his plan of salvation thousands of years before Jesus was born.
KEY PASSAGE:
Isaiah 9:2-7, For To Us A Child Is Born
MEMORY VERSE:
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
SUMMARY:
Thousands of years ago, Isaiah described the coming Messiah as a great light for the people walking in darkness. That light – that star – would be Jesus, the Son of God.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus, and for your awesome love. Help us to share the good news of Christmas this season.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
“A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Put the verse on the big screen and read it aloud with the kids.
SMALL GROUP:
Give all the kids a Bible. Then, after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SKIT
IN THE DARK
ITEMS NEEDED:
A Christmas tree with one random string of lights that work
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
1M/2F
CHARACTERS:
Dad
Mom
Kelly- A kid
The lights are dark on stage. Mom and Kelly sit at center. The Christmas tree is unlit, upstage left, and Dad is behind it, working on trying to get the lights on.
KELLY: Mommy?
MOM: Yes, dear?
KELLY: Why are we sitting in the dark on Christmas Eve?
MOM: You don’t think this is a good way to spend Christmas Eve? It’s the dark night before Jesus was born, the night before the star appeared in the sky.
KELLY: Mom, I’m supposed to be hanging my stockings and setting out milk and cookies for Santa.
MOM: And we will, as soon as your father fixes the lights.
DAD: I’m working on it.
KELLY: Was it really dark the night before Jesus was born?
MOM: I don’t know, honey, but before Jesus, the whole world was in a kind of darkness.
KELLY: It was?
MOM: Mmm hmm. The world was waiting for a Savior, someone to bring light.
KELLY: And that was Jesus?
MOM: That’s right. Jesus is the light of the world. Now that we have Jesus, we have light. Except when your father blows an electrical fuse.
DAD: I think I got it. Almost there.
KELLY: So the world was in the dark, waiting for the light.
MOM: Mmm hmm. Even today, much of the world is in darkness. But we can take the light to them.
KELLY: So that’s why we have Christmas lights.
MOM: I guess so.
KELLY: I sure like Christmas lights. They really make it pretty on a dark night.
DAD: Almost there, just one more thing to check.
MOM: Hurry, honey, the world is waiting for the light.
KELLY: It’s kind of like the Genesis story, all over again. The whole world was dark, and God said, “Let there be light.”
The lone, random string of lights on the tree turns on.
MOM: Wow, that’s amazing. Should I get the camera?
KELLY: At least we have Jesus, Mom.
MOM: Yes, honey, we have Jesus.
OBJECT LESSON
ITEM NEEDED:
An Advent wreath
If your church typically celebrates Advent, begin this lesson by lighting the appropriate number of candles. Even if you don’t, you can still light a candle or two.
Does anyone have an Advent wreath at home? The Advent wreath is an old tradition used to help us remember that we are waiting for the coming of a Savior. Each week during Advent - the weeks leading up to Christmas - we light a candle on the wreath. We start with one, then two, until finally, the Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit.
Each week, the light of the candles grows as one more candle is lit. It reminds us that Jesus is drawing nearer. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light in the darkness that can save us from our sins. He is the reason for Christmas, and for the Advent season.
This season, I want you to look for the lights to get brighter. Look for more houses to light up. Look for more trees to appear in the window. As Christmas draws closer and the days grow shorter, it’s appropriate that the night grows brighter with the lights of the season.
Christmas is coming, and Jesus, the light of the world, is drawing near to light up our dark world.
LARGE GROUP GAME
DECK THE HALLS IN THE DARK
ITEMS NEEDED:
Two blindfolds, two colors of candy canes, a Christmas tree
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pick two players for this game. Give each kid eight candy canes, a different color each. Put blindfolds on each kid. The kids will throw their candy canes at the tree to see how many they can get on the tree. The kid who gets the most canes to stick wins.
VARIATION:
This can also be a timed game for one player. The player has 60 seconds to get five candy canes to stick on the tree. Keep giving him candy canes to throw until time runs out or he gets five on the tree.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
Jesus is the light that broke into our darkened world.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
God told us about Jesus long before Jesus was born.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that God foretold his plan of salvation thousands of years before Jesus was born.
KEY PASSAGE:
Isaiah 9:2-7, For To Us A Child Is Born
INTRO
Christmas is a weird holiday. Don’t you think it’s weird? We do a lot of weird things at Christmas. For example, when Christmas comes, we completely rearrange our homes. We shift everything around in the living room and we put a giant, fake tree covered in lights and ornaments right in the middle. Some people really go all out and re-decorate the whole house. Those people have to have a special place in their attic or basement to hold all those decorations for eleven months of the year, just so they can completely change the house around in December.
Christmas has its own music. Radio stations completely change their format in December to play nothing but Christmas songs. Some even start the day after Halloween! We listen to everything from Mariah Carey to the Chipmunks to old time singers like Bing Crosby. And some of the songs are downright silly. Anyone here know the words to “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”?
Christmas also has its own movies and TV shows, and it seems like more are added every year. How many of you will see It’s a Wonderful Life this year? What about Elf? A Christmas Story? A Charlie Brown Christmas?
But you know what’s really odd? Christmas, the happiest time of the year, the brightest of all holidays, comes at the darkest time of year here in America. Christmas comes in the middle of winter, four days after winter solstice, the single shortest day of the year. As the days to Christmas draw shorter, so does the daylight. Why in the world would we celebrate Christmas, such a happy holiday, in the dark?
Actually, it’s kind of appropriate that we celebrate Christmas during the darkest days of the year. It’s appropriate because on the first Christmas night, a brilliant star appeared in the sky. The star was a symbol that a new light had come to a dark world. That light is Jesus.
Many years before Jesus was born, a man named Isaiah wrote about his coming. Isaiah tells us why we need a Savior, and he tells us just what the Savior will do when he comes into our world.
READ ISAIAH 9:2-7
MAIN POINT
Who are the people living in darkness? To the Israelites who first heard these words, the darkness meant captivity. They were captives in a foreign land, taken from their homes. They were waiting and praying for God to set them free.
Isaiah wasn’t just referring to captive Israel. He was referring to the whole world. We were all lost in the darkness of sin. Sin separated us from God, and it doomed us to spend eternity away from God. But, Isaiah says, a child will be born who will change all of that. He will set us free, and he will set up his own kingdom.
Christmas is the time we celebrate the coming of the light. That light is Jesus!
DRIVE IT HOME
As the days grow darker this year, I want you to think about the words of Isaiah. I want you to remember that the whole world was once lost in total darkness. We were separated from God and his light when Adam and Eve sinned. But God loved us so much, he refused to leave us alone in the dark.
God broke through the darkness at Christmas time. He sent a light to hang in the sky, a brilliant star, to show us that Jesus had come. Jesus came to die for our sins, and in doing so, he made a way for us to have eternal life here on Earth and in Heaven.
This Christmas, keep your eyes open when the sun goes down. Look for the lights to appear outside. Look for the lights in our city streets. Look for them to get brighter as Christmas day draws near. The world may be filled with darkness, but a bright light has come.
Jesus is the light shining in the darkest night. He has come to bring his light to the whole world.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus, and for your awesome love. Help us to share the good news of Christmas this season.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER
When does your family put up Christmas decorations?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
Isaiah 9:6
Give all the kids a Bible. Then, after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Have the kids get up and sing a few Christmas songs together.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Isaiah 9:2-7
How does Isaiah describe the world?
What does Isaiah say will happen for the people in darkness?
Who is going to be born?
What names will he have?
How can we share the light of Jesus with others this Christmas season?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your light into our dark world. Let your light shine in our hearts so others can know Jesus.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER
When does your family put up Christmas decorations?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
Isaiah 9:6
Give all the kids a Bible. Then, after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Have the kids play charades, either acting out the names of Christmas songs or Christmas movies.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Isaiah 9:2-7
Why was the world lost in darkness?
Who is the light that is coming?
What names does Isaiah give to Jesus?
How did Jesus bring light to our world?
How can we share that light with others?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your light into our dark world. Let your light shine in our hearts so others can know Jesus.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Isaiah 9 Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).
Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on Isaiah 9.
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching an Isaiah 9 Sunday School Lesson:
"Jesus is Coming" Sunday School Lesson from Isaiah 9:6
FREE Christmas Bible Lesson on Isaiah 9: A Royal Birth
Prophets & Promises: Unit 10, Lesson 48 - Children's Ministry