Get wrapped up in Christmas.

WEEK

3Read: Luke 2:1-8These eight verses in the book of Luke tell us one of the most amazing stories in history. On that night, over two thousand years ago, God’s Son came down to earth as a tiny, helpless baby. He wasn’t born into a wealthy family with lots of fame or power. The greatest gift the world has ever known arrived in the last place you would ever imagine: a stable surrounded by farm animals. What an entrance. What a gift. What a generous God!

Do you know what a nativity is? It’s like a model of Jesus’ birth. Gather things you find around your home to create one of your own. You could use toilet or paper towel rolls or Popsicle sticks for the people. You could create a stable from a shoebox. Ask a parent to help you gather materials, along with some glue, scissors, paper and markers to begin building your own nativity. Remember, you need Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in the manger, some animals, and a stable.

Thank God for sending Jesus to earth the first Christmas.

DAY 1

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Read: Luke 2:8-12Once Jesus was born, God made a BIG birth announcement. But this announcement was unlike any other! Can you imagine what it must have been like for those shepherds out in the field that night? What an incredible middle-of-the-night wake-up call!

And though it might seem crazy to us, Jesus’ entrance into the world wasn’t without thought. God wanted the world to know that this gift, this precious, perfect gift, was for everyone—not just the rich, or well educated, or super popular people. That first, most important Christmas gift was for every single person so that everyone would know the love of their heavenly Father. It’s what Christmas is all about. That’s why He told the shepherds first. God sent this gift for everyone.

Today, add some shepherds and sheep to your nativity scene. You can use the same materials you did yesterday to create a couple of shepherds. Then use paper to draw the outline of a sheep and glue on cotton balls for their wool!

Ask God to help you remember what Christmas is really all about.

DAY 2

Get wrapped up in Christmas.

WEEK

3Read: 1 John 5:11Why did God send Jesus to the earth that first Christmas? What was the real reason for His generosity? Because God loves us. And people who love, give.

See, we aren’t perfect; we do things that are wrong; we sin. That sin separates us from God, and we can’t do enough good things to somehow make up for it. We can’t earn our way into a relationship with Him. So God sent Jesus as a baby, to grow on earth and show us what He is like. And then Jesus paid the ultimate price and took the punishment for our sin. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have a relationship with Him forever. What an amazing gift.

Find two popsicle sticks or two small twigs from your yard and some yarn or twine. Create a cross shape by laying one popsicle stick on top of the other and wrapping the yarn/twine around the sticks to bind them together.

Look for ways to tell others about the gift of Jesus this Christmas.

DAY 3

Read: Titus 3:4-7Somehow, Christmas has become all about getting instead of giving. It’s easy to forget about what God had in mind for celebrating Jesus’ birth: His amazing generosity to us! His only Son Jesus was the ultimate gift anyone could ask for. Jesus is the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas.

It’s not bad at all to want some new Lego®s or a new doll or a cool iPod® touch to open on Christmas morning. It’s fun to give and receive gifts this time of year. But the problems start when the gifts become more important than the one most important gift—Jesus.

Want to get wrapped up in the real meaning of Christmas? Then here’s a little challenge for you: be generous with your time! Choose one person in your family and do something FOR them. You could clean your sister’s room or sweep the kitchen floor or take out the garbage can loaded with all that wrapping paper. Choose to spend your time helping someone else just because it’s the generous thing to do.

Know that God always sees when you are rich in good deeds.

DAY 4

©2014 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.