Scripture: Matthew 1 and Luke 1:25-56
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God had a plan for the Messiah to come to earth from the very beginning.
- Students will learn Jesus fulfilled many prophecies in the Old Testament including his genealogy.
- Students will learn God wants us to be excited Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins.
- Students will create Jesus’ “family tree” while reviewing stories from each person’s life.
Guiding Question: How does Jesus and his lineage fulfill past prophecies?
Materials: Bibles, white, brown, and green construction paper, pencils
Procedure: Review the story of Jesus coming from the scriptures above. Explain that God had a plan for Jesus to come and save us from our sins and that prophecies were made by people called prophets well before Jesus came to earth. These prophets talked about a savior coming to save us from our sins and foretold much of Jesus’ life. Jesus fulfilled many prophecies about His life and His genealogy (explain genealogy depending on age/background experience of students).
Have each student create a Jesus’ “family tree” using the information from the given chapters. As the students add a leaf for each person, they will draw a picture on that leaf that reminds them of a story from that person’s life. This will probably need to be talked through as a group and do each leaf together to keep chronology and stories straight. If you have older advanced students, they can be encouraged to try the activity independently, but have an adult review it before gluing down the leaves permanently.
Additional Questions: In what ways did Jesus fulfill prophecies from the Old Testament?
Supplemental Activity: Have the students make research and make a list of 10 prophecies made in the Old Testament about Jesus coming. Then have the students research the New Testament to see how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies.