Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 2:1-12
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn Jesus fulfilled several Old Testament prophecies during the events surrounding his birth.
- Students will learn the shepherds and angels rejoiced and worshipped the ultimate shepherd, Jesus.
- Students will learn the wise men recognized Jesus as the King of Kings and brought him gifts usual given to royalty.
- Students will learn how shelters and foster parents care for babies and children while completing a service project to meet needs of infants.
Guiding Question: How can we love little children just as Jesus does?
Materials: Plain onesies in various sizes, iron on fabric, fabric markers, scissors, cardboard to put in the onesie while decorating
Procedure: Review the story of the birth of Jesus from the scriptures above. Explain that when babies are born, they have a lot of needs. Ask the students what some needs are of babies that parents must have once the baby is born. Explain that clothes can often become expensive as babies grow quickly and need many different sizes of clothes. Discuss shelters and foster parents roles in caring for infants and why providing clothes for shelters and foster parents is a good way to serve them.
Introduce the service project. Give each student a onesie and provide them with the materials necessary to create cute designs on the onesies that will be donated to either a shelter or foster care agency of your choosing. Make sure that cardboard goes inside the onesie so fabric markers do not bleed through. When purchasing the onesies and fabric markers, make sure both are of high quality and safe to have around infants.
Additional Questions: How can the students support local shelters and/or foster care agencies?
Supplemental Activity: Have the students reach out to a local shelter or foster care agency to gather a list of their needs that could be met through a service project. Have students discuss needs and pick one or two needs to meet and design a service project for them.