Bible lesson
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Christmas Memories (12/9/07) (©Jeff McNair)
The idea for this lesson is to consider the Christmas story in a bit of a different way. A way that might help the members of your group to connect a bit more with the
reality of the story, the message of the story and the real people in the story..
Begin by asking people about their favorite Christmas memory. You will get lots of answers. Everyone enjoys sharing and listening to others so let it go a bit.
Then segway into asking what their favorite/best Christmas gift was. Once again, lots of fun talking about toys and trips and so on. Then ask about your worst Christmas gift, which is also a lot of fun. Make the comment something to the effect, "Part of the fun of Christmas is the memories that we all have about the holiday. Memories of fun and gifts, but also memories of people of family members that are no longer with us." No doubt that you will get a few comments as well as a few tears as we did, which is entirely appropriate. Bring that to a close by saying "OK lets switch gears a bit and look at the Christmas story."
Have your students turn to Luke 2, the story of the birth of Jesus. One of our group actually volunteered to read a section of it and did a really good job. "That is the first Christmas, the actual birth of Jesus. You have memories of Christmas, lets think through what memories people living and present at the first Christmas might have had. Think about what people might have remembered five or ten or twenty years after the birth of Jesus. Lets start with the shepherds. What memories do you think the shepherds might have had?" Allow the group to supply the answers. Our group had lots of ideas.
-being out late with their sheep
-being afraid of the angels
-the wonderful singing of the angels
-following the star
-seeing the baby for the first time
-remembering that He was like them in the way he was born
and so on. Discuss each of these.
"How about Joseph, Jesus' father. What memories would he have had?"
-being worried about his pregnant wife being on a donkey
-not having any place to stay
-being among the animals when his son was born
-worrying about his wife while she was giving birth
-seeing the beautiful baby for the first time
-wondering if he was going to have to fight when all the shepherds came
-being amazed at what they told to him
"How about Mary, Jesus' mother. What memories would she have had?"
-being uncomfortable carrying the baby on the donkey
-being worried they would not find a safe place for her to have the baby
-the pain of childbirth
-seeing her son for the first time
-breast feeding her son
-the shepherds all coming to visit and wondering what they were up to
In Mary's case, the Bible actually addresses her memories when it says in Luke 2:19, "But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart."
She was probably wondering about all the things that had happened to her and her family at the birth of Jesus. I bet she wondered about them for the rest of her life.
So when you think about the story of Jesus' birth, realize that the people in the story were real people. They may not have remembered the same things that
you remember when you think of Christmas but their memories of Christmas followed them throughout their lives in the same way that your memories of
Christmas follow you throughout your life.
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© Jeff McNair