Mary and the Angel Sunday School Lesson
Mary and the Angel Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
The Birth of Jesus is Good News.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that the good news of Christmas pushes away our fear and worry.
KEY PASSAGE:
Luke 1:26-38. Mary receives a blessing.
MEMORY VERSE:
“And Mary said, 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'” - Luke 1:46-47 (NIV)
SUMMARY:
The birth of Jesus was the cause for much joy on earth and in heaven. But when the angel came to deliver an important message to Mary, her first reaction was fear. When the angel explained how she would give birth to the Savior of the world, Mary rejoiced. Even today, the good news of Jesus pushes away fear and worry.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
The birth of your son, Jesus, is reason to celebrate. Be with us, and take away our fear and worry so that we may worship you freely.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“And Mary said, 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'” - Luke 1:46-47 (NIV)
“Mary said, 'My soul gives glory to the Lord. My spirit delights in God my Savior.'” - Luke 1:46-47 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the girls and boys read the verse aloud together, alternating every other word, so girls say the first word, boys say the second word, girls the third, etc.
SMALL GROUP:
Work as a group to create motions to accompany the verse. Say the verse several times while acting out the motions. (K-2nd)
Give all the kids a Bible. After you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible. (3rd-5th)
SKIT
HAROLD THE ANGEL SINGS: PART ONE
ITEMS NEEDED:
Robes for the angels
Clipboard
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
2M
CHARACTERS:
Harold – an angel who thinks he can sing
Phanuel – angel supervisor
Phanuel enters carrying a clipboard. He looks out at the audience.
PHANUEL: What a beautiful day to be up in heaven. Just like yesterday. And the day before. Well, they're all beautiful day, now that I think about it.
Harold enters and rushes up to Phanuel.
HAROLD: Harold the Angel reporting for duty, sir.
PHANUEL: Ah, you must be the new transfer from Cloud 9.
HAROLD: Yes, sir.
PHANUEL: Oh you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Phanuel. And what did you say your name was again?
HAROLD: Harold, sir. I mean, Mr. Phanuel.
PHANUEL: Just Phanuel. Harold? That's kind of an unusual name for an angel, isn't it.
HAROLD: I wouldn't know. I'm glad to be here, sir. I'm ready to go to work. Do you have an assignment for me?
Phanuel consults his clipboard.
PHANUEL: Well, let's see now. Do you have any special skills?
HAROLD: I can sing.
PHANUEL: We could use a few new guardian angels to help protect the humans. They always seem to be getting themselves into trouble.
HAROLD: I'm a singer.
PHANUEL: Well, I don't really need a singer right now. We're always looking for good messengers.
HAROLD: What do they do?
PHANUEL: They go to earth and talk to humans, delivering the message that God has given them. In fact, we've got a special message that needs to be delivered soon to a young girl in Nazareth named Mary. God wants her to know that she has found favor with him. She is going to give birth to the son of God.
HAROLD: Jesus?
PHANUEL: Yes.
HAROLD: He's going down to earth?
PHANUEL: Yes. It's all part of a very special plan that God the father has to save the world.
HAROLD: Wow, that's exciting.
PHANUEL: I know. Jesus' arrival on earth is going to be the cause of a lot of rejoicing and celebration here in heaven and down there on earth.
HAROLD: That's a big message.
PHANUEL: Does it sound like something you could handle?
HAROLD: It depends.
PHANUEL: On what?
HAROLD: Can I sing the message?
PHANUEL: You're really into singing, aren't you? Okay, Harold, let's hear what you've got.
Harold takes a few moments to warm up.
HAROLD: Me, me, me, me. (screaming, ugly) JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME, LET EAR-
PHANUEL: Thank you, Harold. That's enough now. I've heard all I need to hear.
HAROLD: What do you think? Ain't I a natural born singer?
PHANUEL: You. . . You are. . . something else, Harold. I've never heard anything like you.
HAROLD: So, what time do you need me to go down to earth and sing for this lady who's going to give birth to Jesus?
PHANUEL: You know what? I think I'll send Gabriel. He was down there a few months ago talking to Mary's relative Elizabeth. He knows the lay of the land pretty well already.
HAROLD: Okay, that's fine. So what assignment do you have for me?
PHANUEL: I'm not sure yet, Harold. But we will find something for you to do.
HAROLD: No sweat. It just gives me all the more time to practice my singing. (Screams, uglier than ever) JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME, LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING-
PHANUEL: We better find you an assignment soon.
END.
OBJECT LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
Guitar, badly out of tune.
Christmas is a time of celebration. It's a time to rejoice in Jesus our Savior. One of the ways that we can celebrate is through singing. Songs like “Joy to the World” remind us of the gift that Jesus is, and how he is worthy of all our praise.
Bring out the guitar. Get in position as if to play.
We can sing these songs of celebration on instruments like this guitar.
Strum the guitar. It should sound horrible.
Unfortunately, if I play this guitar, there won't be any celebrating. This instrument sounds awful. Does anybody know why?
Allow the kids to come to the conclusion that the guitar is out of tune.
These strings aren't tuned properly. Some are too loose and some are wound too tight to make the joyful noise that they are supposed to.
That's how it is with fear and anxiety in our lives. We may want to celebrate, but fear robs us of our focus, making us too loose. And then worry comes in and gets us all tightened up. There's no room for joy and celebration.
Tune the guitar if you have the ability.
But if we bring our fears and worries to God, he can take them away. He can settle our spirits and get us back to the place where we are in tune with him.
And when that happens, we can praise God and celebrate Jesus freely. Exuberantly.
Strum the freshly tuned guitar.
LARGE GROUP GAME
O CHRISTMAS TREE
ITEMS NEEDED:
Artificial Christmas Tree
2 – Baskets
12 – Red Plastic Ornaments
12 – Green Plastic Ornaments
INSTRUCTIONS:
Select two kids to be the red team and two kids to be the green team. On opposite ends of the stage, place two baskets. In one basket are the red ornaments and in the other basket are the green ornaments. In the middle, place the Christmas tree.
Give the kids 30 seconds to place all 12 of their ornaments on the tree. At the end of time, the team with most ornaments on the tree wins! In the event of a tie, the winner is selected by an audience vote of which is more beautifully decorated.
VARIATION:
For the younger kids, mix the colors and have the kids work together to decorate the tree in the time allotted.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
Traditions like decorating the tree help remind us that Christmas is a season for joy and celebration.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
The Birth of Jesus is Good News.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that the good news of Christmas pushes away our fear and worry.
KEY PASSAGE:
Luke 1:26-38. Mary receives a blessing.
INTRO
It's just about that time again: Christmas! The time where we remember Jesus' birth. It's a season filled with celebration. There are the gifts and the parties and the singing. One of the most famous songs celebrating Jesus' birth is called “Joy to the World.”
I'm sure you've heard it. “Joy to the World. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing.”
It's true. Christmas is a time for all of creation to sing – whether they be the angels in heaven or the lowliest person here on earth. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of our story of redemption. Jesus was born so that he could live a perfect life and then suffer the death that we deserved, so that we could live.
What an amazing reason to celebrate – both then and now. Unfortunately, sometimes things get in the way of our ability to rejoice. One of those obstacles is fear. Another one is worry.
When we are consumed with fear and worry, we can't see the good that is before us. It's hard to praise God when we are focused on all the bad “what ifs?” that could happen. Fear gets in the way of our ability to celebrate.
When the angel Gabriel visited a young girl named Mary, he had good news for her. But at first Mary was too troubled and fearful to understand it. Let's see what Gabriel's message was, and let's see how Mary responded.
READ Luke 1:26-38.
MAIN POINT
The first thing Gabriel told Mary was that she was highly favored and that the Lord was with her. Those would be pretty good things for any of us to hear. But the Bible tells us that Mary was greatly troubled at Gabriel's words and she wondered at what the angel was trying to tell her.
Mary was afraid. That seems like a perfectly reasonable response to me; you don't get visited by angels every day. But the problem is, if Mary had held on to that fear, she would have missed out on the good news that Gabriel had for her.
The angel told Mary not to be afraid. And then he told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, God's son. And Jesus would reign as king forever. Now Mary's fear gave way to confusion. How could she have a baby? She wasn't even married yet.
The angel said again that Jesus' father was none other than God himself. For nothing is impossible with God.
At this, Mary's fear, worry, and confusion gave way to acceptance. She humbly and gladly accepted the mighty assignment that God had entrusted to Mary. Now, she was able to take the angel's words to heart and celebrate this child which she would soon give birth to.
DRIVE IT HOME
How are you doing today? Are you ready to celebrate who Jesus is and all that he has done for us? Or is there something holding you back?
Maybe it's fear. Sometimes we can be afraid that we're not good enough for God. We imagine that we can't come to God unless we've done all of the right things and not done any bad stuff. But that's not true. The very reason Jesus came was to make a way for us to get to God when we couldn't do it on our own. Do not be afraid.
Maybe you don't think Christmas this year will be much worth celebrating. Some of you have families that are split up, or seem to constantly be fighting. For you, Christmas is a source of worry and anxiety. But you can give this to God, too. You can ask him to take away your worry and to give you more and more of his joy and his peace.
Whatever you are going through this season, remember that Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Fear and worry can rob us of the joy that Jesus brings. If we turn to God and ask him, he can take away fear and worry. That's a reason to celebrate!
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
The birth of your son, Jesus is reason to celebrate. Be with us, and take away our fear and worry so that we may worship you freely.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER
What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
Luke 1:46-47
Work as a group to create motions to accompany the verse. Say the verse several times while acting out the motions.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Play a few rounds of telephone. Talk about the difficulties of delivering an important message through this method. Discuss why God would choose to deliver his message to Mary through an angel.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Luke 1:26-38.
Who was Gabriel?
What message did Gabriel have for Mary?
Why was Mary “greatly troubled”?
Who was the other woman the angel mentioned was going to have a baby?
How can we get rid of fear and worry?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
We celebrate the gift of Jesus this Christmas. Thank you for Jesus. He is the reason that all of heaven and nature sing.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER
What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
Luke 1:46-47
Give all the kids a Bible. After you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Play a few rounds of telephone. Talk about the difficulties of delivering an important message through this method. Discuss why God would chose to deliver his message to Mary through an angel.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Luke 1:26-38.
Who was Gabriel?
What message did Gabriel have for Mary?
What were the different emotions that Mary felt during her conversation with Gabriel?
Who was the other woman the angel mentioned was going to have a baby?
How can you get rid of fear and worry?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
We celebrate the gift of Jesus this Christmas. Thank you for Jesus. He is the reason that all of heaven and nature sing.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Mary and the Angel 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 Mary and the Angel.
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Mary and the Angel Sunday School Lesson:
Christmas Sunday School Lesson: An Angel Appears to Mary
A Visit from an Angel - Children's Sermons from Sermons4Kids.com
Gabriel Visits Mary (Kids Bible Lesson) Isaiah 9; Luke 1:26-38
Free Christmas Lesson: The Birth Of Christ ... - Kids Sunday School