Welcome to Sunday School Online! Hi, Boys and Girls! Welcome to the month of December! And you know what that means . We will be studying the Christmas story! Last week we looked at some of the prophecies about the coming of Jesus the Messiah! Our first lesson of the Christmas story is about how Mary and Joseph were told by the angel Gabriel that they would be the earthly parents of Jesus! But first . PARENTS! Wow! Here we are in the last month of 2020. so What a year, huh! You guys are amazing and we are so grateful for you taking the time to instruct your kids in the word of God! YOU’RE DOING AN AWESOME JOB! These lessons are designed to help you teach the Word of God to your kids! We hope YOU are blessed just as much as they are as you go through it with them! GOD BLESS YOU!!! Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate . Rather, give them SOMEONE to imitate! Here is some great advice from the Apostle Paul that you can pass on to your kids: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” I Corinthians 11:1 Remember, more is “caught” than “taught!” One generation shall praise Thy works to “These words, which I am another, and shall commanding you today, shall be on declare Thy mighty acts. your heart. YOU shall TEACH Psalm 145:4 them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by Thy word I have hid in the way and when you lie down and my heart, that I may when you rise up.” not sin against Thee. Deuteronomy 6:6,7 Psalm 119:11 “. That they should TEACH them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children.” Psalm 78:5,6 O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord! Let’s begin today’s lesson by talking to God in prayer! “. My house shall be called a house of Pray and thank prayer for all the God For: nations . .” Jesus Mark 11:17 Calvary Chapel Downey Wisdom, Blessing and Protection for Pastors, Staff and Congregation Your Family All who are in authority (President, Leaders, Teachers, Police, PARENTS, etc.) END THE CORONA VIRUS Pray for people who are sick! Pray that the unsaved will seek after God! PEACE AND UNITY IN OUR COUNTRY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST RAIN (Don’t for get to thank Him for the rain!) Don’t forget to Strong in faith As their beliefs are challenged Grounded in God’s Word and Drawing strength from their relationship with Him Prayer Provide for them and their All their needs family Healing From emotional and physical injuries Love their persecutors With a real, supernatural love Family members who do not know Jesus! Pray for whatever is on your heart. Make your own list. Let’s look back for a quick review of last week! (in case you missed it) Jesus Is coming! The prophecies of the coming of Jesus started with: Jesus will be a Jew from the tribe of Judah! Jesus will be called the Son of David! And, as you can see, both Joseph and Mary come from the line of King David, which automatically makes their son Jesus related to King David! Jesus would be born in Bethlehem “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2 What’s significant about the word “Ephrathah” is that there are two towns named Bethlehem mentioned in the Bible; this famous one in Judah, the other one in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). Bethlehem-Judah is first mentioned as the place formerly known as Ephrath (Genesis 35:16), where Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies (Genesis 35:19). This prophecy is very specific about the birthplace of JESUS! So the Jews should have known where their Messiah All people on earth! would be born! God – Through Micah! It’s like God Early 700 BC even gave them 1-800 - Micah 5:2 the zip code! My Son Jesus will be born in in JUDAH, in the city of BETHLEHEM, the City of my servant David! REMEMBER THIS SO WHEN IT HAPPENS YOU WILL KNOW! SOME OF OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES ABOUT THE COMING AND BIRTH OF CHRIST! 1. Jesus will be born into Abraham’s lineage! 2. Jesus will be an ancestor of Isaac! 3. Jesus will be an offspring of Jacob! 4. Jesus will be born from the tribe of Judah! 5. Jesus will be an offspring of King David! 6. Jesus will be born of a virgin and His name will be called Immanuel! (God with us) 7. Jesus will be born in Bethlehem Ephratha! These are important to know as we begin our study into the early life of Jesus on the earth! Kids, every Sunday morning in ”Big Church,” Pastor Jeff has all the people in the service read a Psalm together with him before preaching. So let’s do that as well before we get into the lesson. If you have your Bible, you and your parents can read Psalm 89:1-7 and see how it applies to today’s lesson. If you don’t have a Bible, you can read the following: Psalm 89:1-7 1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. 5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. 6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? 7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. Memory Verse: Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Memory Verse: Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus . .” Mary would give birth to the Savior of the world, Jesus! Jesus’ Hebrew name is Yeshua, which is a shortened version of Yehoshua. Yeshua means ‘he will save’, and is translated into English as Joshua. Memory Verse: Matthew 1:21 “. for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” This Week’s Lesson: God’s Greatest Promise The Announcement of the birth of His Son! Also known as “The Annunciation” Scriptures: Luke 1:26-47; 2:1-3 Matthew 1:18-24 OK kids, if you have prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to give you understanding, then open your Bibles to Luke 1 and Matthew 1 and let’s begin! Genesis 1:3 – “Let there be light!” Genesis 1:6 – “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters . .” Genesis 1:9 – “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” Genesis 1:11 – “Let the earth sprout vegetation.” Genesis 1:14 – “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens . .” Genesis 1:20 – “Let there be fish and birds . .” Genesis 1:24 – “Let there be animals . .” Genesis 1:26 – “Let us make man in our image . .” Not only did God speak everything into existence, but And today we will see how those Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah were fulfilled. Mary was probably alone, thinking happy thoughts as she was soon to be married to Joseph, and eagerly looked forward to the time when they would be in their own home, and planning how she would make that home lovely for Joseph. From verse 24, we see that “in the sixth month” Luke 1:26-27 meant in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (soon to be mother of John the Baptist). We know from Scripture that the angel Gabriel is a messenger who is entrusted to deliver several important messages on God’s behalf. Gabriel appears to at least three people in the Bible, first to the prophet Daniel, referenced in Daniel 8:16; next to the priest Zechariah to foretell and announce the miraculous birth of John the Baptist (Luke 19:19); and finally to the virgin Mary to tell her that she would conceive and bear a son, referenced here in Luke 1:26-28. Daniel 8:16 says that Gabriel “looked like a man,” and after he finished speaking with Daniel, Daniel was “exhausted and sick for days.” So we can assume that Gabriel probably looked like a man, but even so, he had to tell Daniel and Mary to “Not be afraid!” But for our lesson, we will use a simple man in a white robe! What did Gabriel call Mary? Luke 1:28-29 What was her reaction? Look what Gabriel said to her! WOW! And she was just a teenager! What did Mary ask him? Luke 1:34 Mary was concerned because she was not yet married.