Unit 4 Summary:

Kairos Christmas

Every kid wants to have the biggest, best Christmas ever. In this holiday-themed unit, kids will discover that having the

biggest Christmas isn’t about the number of gifts they receive, the cookies they eat, or the decorations on their trees. The biggest, best Christmas is a Kairos Christmas, a Christmas where kids learn to recognize God’s activity in their everyday lives and make the decision to do something about it.

Christmas reminds us that God loves to break into the world of ordinary people just like us. From Mary and Joseph to the shepherds to the wise men, this series looks at the major players of the Christmas story and how they responded when God showed up in some surprising ways.

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GAME ON: LESSON 16 (Large Group)

Key Concept: We can share what God tells us with others.

Bible Story: The shepherds and the angels (Luke 2:8-20)

Bible Verse: When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. — Luke 2:17

3DM Principle: The Circle (Kairos)

Large Group Overview: Kids will hear the story of how the angels told the shepherds about Jesus and how the shepherds continued to spread the word.

Huddle Overview: Kids will review the Christmas and identify People of Peace in their lives with whom they can share the story.

Lesson Outline

Game Rudolph Relay (5 min)

Bible Story (15 min)

Application (5 min)

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Hey Guys, welcome back to Kairos Quest. Can you believe that Christmas is coming so fast? How many of you guys have a Christmas tree up and decorated? How many of your families have all your presents wrapped? How many of you have made Christmas cookies?

Well, it sounds like you’re all set. I think I am too, except I just noticed one little problem.

Hold up one of the gift bags.

All of these Christmas cards! They haven’t been delivered yet, and Christmas is almost here. I’m going to need your help to get them delivered as we play a game called Rudolph Relay.

Opening Activity: Ruduolph Relay

Instructions

How It Works:

Put 20 Christmas cards in each gift bag and put the gift bags in the teaching area. Place two cardboard boxes in the back of the room. Divide the class into two teams (such as boys vs. girls) and bring up four kids to be relay runners for each team. Play Christmas music while the runners race to take Christmas cards from the gift bags to the cardboard boxes.

Supplies:

6 2 gift bags

6 2 cardboard boxes

6 40 Christmas cards (these can be actual Christmas cards or just red and green paper folded in half)

6 Fast Christmas music such as “Run, Run, Rudolph,” available on iTunes

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In the Rudolph Relay, we’re going to race to see which team can deliver its Christmas cards the fastest. At this end of the room, we have two bags of Christmas cards, and at the other end of the room, we have two mailboxes, one for each team. I’m going to divide you guys into two teams, and I’ll need four runners from each team to come up and deliver these Christmas cards.

Bring up the four runners from each team. Put the runners in place, one at the gift bag, one at the mailbox and two evenly dispersed in between.

This is going to work like a standard relay race. When I say go, the first runner from each team will reach inside the gift bag, pull out one Christmas card, and run it to the next person in line. As soon as they get it, they will deliver it to the next person, who will take it to the next person, who will deliver it to the last person beside the mailbox. That person’s job will be to drop the card in the box. As soon as the card is in the mailbox, the first person in line can take a new card out of the gift bag. The first team to get all of its cards delivered wins the game.

Play “Run, Run, Rudolph” or another fast Christmas song as kids deliver their cards. After the game, congratulate the winners and send everyone back to their seats.

Wow, you guys did a great job of getting the message of Christmas out to all of our friends. That’s one of the fun things about Christmas cards. They give us the chance to remind everyone we know about Jesus.

For the last several weeks, we’ve learned that having the biggest Christmas ever is all about learning to follow a big God. To follow God, we have to learn to hear what God’s saying to us and figure out what to do about.

But it doesn’t end there. We can actually help other people learn to follow our big God by sharing what God is telling us with others.

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Bible Story

The teaching area should be set with five Christmas stockings hung on the back wall or displayed on a table. Place the following props inside the stockings:

Stocking #1: stuffed sheep

Stocking #2 flashlight

Stocking #3: nativity figure of Jesus

Stocking #4: cell phone

Stocking #5: Letter U cut out of cardboard, foam board, or poster board and painted a bright color

We’ve already heard the story of how the angel appeared to Mary and told her she was going to have God’s Son. We’ve already seen how Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem when Mary was about to have the baby. Today we’re going to see that God was so excited about Jesus coming into our world that He couldn’t keep the good news to Himself.

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Every day we see people who need to be reminded that God is real, that He loves them, and that He is at work in their lives. They need to know that He really does answer prayers and do amazing things in the world today.

Everyone needs Jesus, and the best present we can give anyone this Christmas is sharing Jesus with them.

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Stocking #1: Stuffed sheep

Pull stuffed sheep from stocking #1.

The Bible says that a group of shepherds was living out in the fields near Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. They were keeping watch over their flocks of sheep that night. That’s what shepherds did – hang out with their sheep, make sure they had plenty of food and water, and protect them from animals like bears and lions.

These shepherds were taking care of their sheep as they had done a million times before, never dreaming that God was about to show up and rock their world.

Stocking #2: Flashlight

Pull flashlight from stocking #2 and turn it on.

Then it happened. Suddenly the sky exploded with light, and an angel of God appeared before them, bright

and shining with God’s awesome power. When the shepherds saw him, they totally freaked out! This was no cute little angel baby like you see on

some Christmas cards. This was a fiery warrior of heaven. The Bible says the

shepherds were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in David’s hometown over there a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to help you recognize him: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, a whole bunch of angels appeared with the first angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom God’s favor rests.” And then just like that (snap fingers), they were gone. The shepherds were left standing in the silence of the night, wondering what had just happened. They must have been totally blown away.

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Stocking #3: Nativity figure of Jesus

Pull nativity figure of Jesus out of stocking #3.

Then one of the shepherds said, “Let’s go into Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried and found Mary and Joseph, and lying in the manger,

just as the angels had said, was Jesus. This was a fragile little baby who was the all-powerful Son of God.

This was the Savior who God had sent to live and die so that we can be forgiven and live as God’s kids and be a part of

God’s kingdom.

Imagine what it was like to be standing there in a dirty barn, knowing that the Savior of the world was right in front of you. It was just like the angels had told them.

Stocking #4: Cell phone

Pull cell phone from stocking #4.

The shepherds couldn’t keep news like this to themselves. The Bible says that, after they had seen Jesus, they told everyone about what had happened and everything the angels had said about this child. He was here! He was finally here! The Savior had come at last!

Everybody who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed at what they said. Who would have guessed such an incredible thing would happen right there in Bethlehem? No wonder the shepherds couldn’t stop talking about everything that had seen and heard.

Stocking #5: Letter U

Pull letter U out of stocking #5.

The same goes for you. Just like the shepherds, you can share God’s good news with everyone you meet. Not just at Christmas but at any time. The biggest, greatest news you could ever share is that on that first Christmas many years ago, God’s Son came to

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earth to invite all us to be friends with God no matter who we are or what we’ve done. That’s really good news.

The same God who showed up on that first Christmas night is still doing incredible things. He’s still showing up in unexpected places during unexpected times. That same God is still speaking to everyday average people like you and me.

Application

What do we call moments when God shows up in our day? (Kids answer, “Kairos.”)

God sure broke into the shepherds’ day. For the shepherds, it wasn’t enough to hear from God. They acted on what God told them through the angels, and when they did, who did they get to see? (Kids answer, “Jesus.”)

The shepherds were so excited that they couldn’t help but tell everyone about what they had seen and heard. That’s what our Bible verse today says. It’s Luke 2:17: “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” In other words, they didn’t keep their kairos to themselves. They shared it with everyone they could.

We can do exactly the same thing. When God does something cool in our lives, we can tell someone about it.

What can we do? (Kids answer, “Tell someone about it.”)

Telling them will encourage them and remind them that God is still at work and that he wants to do great things in their lives too.

So this Christmas, if there’s a Bible verse God keeps putting in front of you, what are you going to do? (Kids answer, “Tell someone about it.”)

If there’s a lesson God has been teaching you, what are you going to do? (Kids answer, “Tell someone about it.”)

Tell som

eone!

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If God is helping you to be more like Jesus in some way, what are you going to do? (Kids answer, “Tell someone about it.”)

Now that you know the true Christmas story, what are you going to do? (Kids answer, “Tell someone about it.”)

Tell someone about it. Who knows? Maybe your kairos will become their kairos. This may be exactly what they need to hear to discover a big God and have the biggest Christmas ever.

Let’s pray.

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for coming to earth that first Christmas and giving us the gift of yourself. Help us to share what You did and what You’re doing with anyone we can this week.

Amen

GAME ON: LESSON 16 (Huddle)

Key Concept: We can share what God tells us with others.

Bible Story: The shepherds and the angels (Luke 2:8-20)

Bible Verse: When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. — Luke 2:17

3DM Principle: The Circle (Kairos)

Large Group Overview: Kids will hear the story of how the angels told the shepherds about Jesus and how the shepherds continued to spread the word.

Huddle Overview: Kids will review the Christmas and identify People of Peace in their lives with whom they can share the story.

Supplies

6 Christmas Clue cards (1 set per group)6 Dry erase board or drawing paper6 Dry erase or regular markers6 Timer (30-second game timer on

a watch with a second hand, a stopwatch, or a smart phone)

6 Index cards for Huddle discussion (1 per child)

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Welcome / Large Group Review

Gather kids in a circle either on the floor or around a table.

Welcome back to Huddle. To begin, I want to ask you a few questions about Christmas.

6 What are you guys most excited about this Christmas?

6 What would be the most amazing present you could imagine getting this Christmas?

6 If you got this present, would you keep it a secret or tell everyone about it?

In today’s Bible story, the shepherds were so excited about something that they went out and told everyone about it.

6 What was it?

6 What do you think they told people?

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6 Pencils or pens (1 per child)6 Bible Verse cards (1 per child)

Huddle Group Outline

Welcome / Review Questions (5 min)

Activity 1 What’s the story? (10 min)

Huddle Discussion People of Peace (10 min)

Bible Verse (5 min)

Prayer (10 min)

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Huddle Activity 1: What’s the story?

The purpose of this activity is to help kids review the Christmas story from the Bible.

How It Works:

This is a picture-guessing game in which kids will take turns drawing Christmas Clue cards from the deck. Once a child has a card, he or she will get 30 seconds to attempt to draw what’s on it so that the other kids can guess what it is. After the kids guess, they have tell you if what’s in the picture is a part of the biblical Christmas story or not. For groups with younger kids, the Huddle Leader may need to do the actual drawing and just let the kids guess.

Supplies:

6 Christmas Clue cards (1 set per group)

6 Dry erase board or drawing paper

6 Dry erase or regular markers

6 Timer (30-second game timer on a watch with a second hand, a stopwatch or a smart phone)

Today we saw how the shepherds shared the great news about Jesus on that first Christmas. If we’re going to share that great news, we had better make sure we remember the story. So today, we’re going to play a game to see how well you can remember the true Christmas story from the Bible.

I have a deck of Christmas Clue cards. When it’s your turn, you’ll draw a card and read what’s on it. Don’t show it to anyone, though, because then you’re going to have 30 seconds to try to draw what’s on it so that everyone else can guess what’s on the card.

Once we guess what it is, then I’m going to ask you guys if it’s a part of the Christmas story from the Bible or not.

Choose a child to go first. Have that child draw a card. Start the timer and encourage the child to draw what’s on the card. You may need to provide some hints on how or what to draw when kids get stuck. Kids may try to guess the

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drawing at any time. Once the time is up, give the group one last chance to guess. After the clue is revealed, ask kids if this clue was a part of the Christmas story from the Bible.

Christmas Clue Cards

6 Santa

6 Mary

6 Joseph

6 Reindeer

6 Snowman

6 Shepherds

Now we have one pile of Christmas stuff from the Bible and one pile here of Christmas stuff that’s not in the Bible. Things like snowmen and cookies are a blast, but when it comes to telling someone the true story of that first Christmas, the Christmas stuff from the Bible is what we need to remember. God gives us all of these things to enjoy, but the Bible story of that first Christmas reminds us that the greatest gift God has ever given us is Jesus himself.

Huddle Discussion

One of the great things about Christmas is that it’s a very easy season for us to talk to people about Jesus the way the shepherds did. It’s also a great time to show people Jesus by serving them in some way.

The cool thing is that God will sometimes send us special people who are ready to learn all about God and His Kingdom. We call these People of Peace, because God has it made it easy for us to build a friendship with them and show them how much God loves them.

6 Angel

6 Wise men

6 Star

6 Baby Jesus

6 Bethlehem

6 Cookies

Snowma

nWise MenStar

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What are they called? (Kids answer, “People of Peace.”)

We’ll call People of Peace POPs for short. POPs are people who are easy for you to talk to or who might have questions about God. They are people who God has been getting ready to hear the good news of Christmas. Our job is to keep our eyes open and ask God to show us people who are ready to hear about Him.

Pass out index cards and pencils or pens to kids.

We’re going to take some time right now to try and think about some of the POPs in your life. This could be someone you see all the time or some you have only met once or twice. Think about kids you know and about adults who like you, listen to you, and want to help you. Who is easy to talk to?

Write down any names you think of. If you can’t think of anyone, just draw a question mark.

Let kids share about potential People of Peace in their lives and talk about ways they could serve these people or share the Christmas story with them. Encourage them that even if they can’t think of any People of Peace in their lives, they can ask God to show them people who are ready to hear about Jesus.

Bible Verse

Pass out Bible verse cards.

Let’s read today’s Bible verse together: “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” (Luke 2:17)

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Can you imagine being one of the people the shepherds told about Jesus? What do you think you would have thought of their wild story? Would you have wanted to see it for yourself?

Put this Bible verse card somewhere this week to remind you to look for POPs whom you can tell what you know about God’s love.

Prayer

Before we leave, look at your index cards out again. If you have a question mark, think about the fact that God has some POPs out there just for you. He is getting them ready to hear about Jesus. Let’s pray for the people on our cards even if we don’t know their names yet.

God, thank You for sending Jesus so we can be Your kids. Thank You for sending the angels to tell the shepherds about Him, and thanks for sending the shepherds to tell all the other people too. Please show us some People of Peace this week whom we can love and talk to about the real story of Christmas. We pray for the people on these cards and for anyone else who You want to send our way.

Amen.

Lesson 16 Huddle

BibleVerseCards

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning

what had been told them about this child.

— Luke 2:17

LESSON 16 (Family)

Today I Learned: We can share what God tells us with others.

Bible Story: The shepherds and the angels (Luke 2:8-20)

Family Challenge

This week your kids learned about how the angels shared the good news of Jesus with the shepherds, who then shared it with others. They also talked about how they could share Jesus with the People of Peace in their lives – those who are open to receiving whatever God wants to say through you to them about Jesus.

For this week’s challenge, place any Christmas cards you’ve received in a bowl. Let one of your children close his or her eyes and draw out a card before dinner or bedtime each night. Take some time to pray for whoever’s card they choose. Give thanks for people in your lives who have helped you follow Jesus and pray for God to connect you with People of Peace to share Jesus with this Christmas as well.

Plan • • Discuss

LearningCulture

Act • • Observe

Account • • Reflect

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* The four questions you are asking are ways offiguring out what your kids’ Kairos moment was

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Dinnertime Discussion

At dinnertime this week, ask some of these questions to get your family talking.

1. Who are some of your favorite people to spend time with?

2. Who are some new friends that God has brought into our lives this year?

3. Who are some of the People of Peace that God has brought into our lives?

4. How can we serve and share with these People of Peace this week?

Use these questions to help kids learn to identify the People of Peace in their lives and to share Jesus when God supernaturally opens a door.

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