How do you celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with your kids? Here are 4 creative Bible-based activities that will celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – the true reason for the season.
What is the true message of Christmas that you need to share with your children?
The true message of Christmas can be found in the Bible in the books of Matthew 1:18 – 2:23 and Luke 2. These biblical accounts should be read and shared with your children every Christmas to remind them of God’s great love for them.
John 3:16 says this: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (NKJV)
The first phrase of John 3:16 beautifully expresses the Christmas message. Because of God’s great love for the world, He gave His Son Jesus into the world to save the world from their sin. God’s greatest gift to mankind is the gift of His Son. In fact, the reason why we give gifts at Christmas time is because of God’s great generosity.
As you celebrate Christmas this year, make sure you take time to turn your hearts and your children’s hearts to Jesus.
You will find 4 Bible-based activities below to help you celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with your kids. And, if you are looking for affordable religious items like a praying hands religious figurine, you might want to visit sites like https://www.houseofjoppa.com/collections/rosaries and check a wide array of religious merchandise on sale.
1. The Gifts of Jesus: A Bible Object Lesson with a Beautiful Surprise
The true meaning of Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus – God incarnate – into our world. As Christians, we believe that God sent His Son Jesus into the world to ultimately give His life upon the cross to forgive us of our sins. When we take Jesus as our Savior and live our lives for Him, then the Bible says that Jesus will come and live inside of us through the power of His Holy Spirit.
I love how the Apostle Paul stated this fact for his own life in Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (NKJV)
Furthermore, because the Bible calls our bodies the temple of the Holy Spirit, once we receive Christ as our Savior, then the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.
1 Corinthians 6:19: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (NKJV)
On top of all this, if you know anything about the Holy Spirit, you know that He LOVES to give gifts. (Galatians 5:22-23) Gifts like love, joy and peace will always be at the top of the list of the greatest gifts ever given to mankind.
It’s probably safe to say, that your kids are learning that the best gifts can’t be bought at a store. In fact, the best gifts can’t be bought at all, because the greatest gifts come from God the Father, the Giver of all good gifts.
The gifts that Jesus pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit will create beautiful things in our lives. And this brings us to my Bible object lesson, “The Gifts of Jesus.”
This is an object lesson that I have included in my Bible program called “O Come Let Us Adore Him.”
Take a look at the video of the presentation and share it with your kids this holiday season to help them learn a little bit more about the gifts that Jesus gives.
2. Who Were the People in the Christmas Story: A Bible song that reminds us of the important people in the Christmas story
Whenever I create a new Christmas Bible program, I always include an element that will creatively remind the children of the true Christmas story. For one of my preschool Christmas Bible programs, I wrote a song called, “Who Were the People in the Christmas Story?”
It’s a fun song that introduces the following characters in the Christmas story:
- The shepherds who were watching their flocks of sheep by night.
- The angel who proclaimed the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the field.
- Joseph, the husband of Mary at the time of Jesus’ birth.
- Mary, the young virgin who gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus.
- Baby Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us!
For each of these characters, except Jesus, I created large format banners behind which a child could stand. His or her little face could be seen through the hole cut out for the face. Here is a picture of these banners:
I think you can get the picture of how cute the children’s faces would look peering through the cut outs!
Here is the complete video of all four of the main characters in the Christmas story. Have fun sharing it with your young children and sing along.
As a BONUS, here are the lyrics to the song “Who Were the People in the Christmas Story?”
Who Were the People in the Christmas Story? by The Scripture Lady
Who were the people in the Christmas story?
Who was there when Jesus born?
Who were the people in the Christmas story?
Who played a part in the birth of our Lord?
Watching the sheep was the job of this man
It was at night when God shared His plan
An angel of God appeared in great glory
Sharing the news of the great Christmas story
Who is this person from our Christmas story?
This is God’s servant from Heaven he came
To the shepherds he gave good news to proclaim
He told of the birth of our Savior and Lord
He came as a baby. The one we adore.
Who is this person from our Christmas story?
This woman would give birth to her first baby boy
Who was our Lord Jesus. She sang out with joy
She wrapped baby Jesus in cloth where he lay
She cradled her baby in the manger of hay
Who is this person from our Christmas story?
This man was married to Mary his bride
God told him to always stay by her side
He was by Mary’s side when Jesus was born
He was fill with great joy that first Christmas morn
Who is this person from our Christmas story?
This is the baby we’re singing about
He is God in the flesh. I have no doubt.
He would grow up to save us from all of our sin
For this great gift we should all worship Him
Who is this person from our Christmas story?
3. 11 Bible Story Pictures: Wonderful Bible pictures to help you share the story of Christmas
Using Bible story pictures for the story of Christmas is a great way to teach your kids about one of the greatest stories in the Bible. The story of the birth of Jesus is one that all our children should treasure.
Sharing Bible story pictures for the story of Christmas is a great way to teach this story and the truth of how God came to earth as a little baby. The story of Christmas should definitely be celebrated with beautiful pictures. Whether you read the story straight from scripture or give a retelling in your own words, these pictures will be a great addition.
The Bible story pictures for the story of Christmas come from a great resource which I purchased several years ago. They come from a 2-DVD collection called “The Ultimate Bible Picture Collection.” All of these pictures are found in the public domain.
These pictures can be used in a variety of ways including adding them to your existing children’s church curriculum or with your family devotional.
I have provided you with select scriptures for you to read while showing your children the pictures, however, feel free to use a retelling of the Christmas story. Terms like “census” can be hard for children to understand, but they can still enjoy the Bible story pictures while you tell the story in your own words.
If you are in a Christian school setting, you can encourage your children to create their own Bible story pictures for the story of Christmas after being inspired by these pictures. They could create their own journals using the pictures or use these pictures for creative dictation.
These Bible story pictures for the story of Christmas are also a great tool for helping your children remember the parts of this story. Each picture can be used as a memory “clue” or “jogger” to help your kids recite the timeline of what happened during this story.
Here are the following pictures. I have provided them for you as thumbnails. Just click on each one and you will be led to the full size version.
You may want to read the scriptures from BibleGateway.com as you show the Bible story pictures.
Bible Story Pictures for the Story of Christmas (From Matthew and Mark):
Picture Eleven: Matthew 2:9-11
4. Ornaments Coloring Pages: Simple coloring that shares some gifts from God to us
My fourth and final activity that I wanted to give to you today is some simple ornaments that your children could color.
These ornaments showcase all nine of the Fruit of the Spirit. They will remind your children that God loves to give gifts, too. When your child believes in Jesus as their Savior, He gives them His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
You could have them glue their finished pictures onto construction paper and then add a ribbon in order to hang them on their Christmas trees. Enjoy!
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