The Bestest News Ever!

December 7, 2014 .:. Tiger Room

Pathways Church Early Childhood Ministry

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This Weeks Scope

Theme: The Bestest News Ever
Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever.
Key Question: Why is Jesus special?
Bottom Line: Jesus is Gods Son.
Memory Verse: God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. John 3:16, GNT
Bible Story: The angel told Mary she would have a special baby.
The Angel and Mary Luke 1:26-33, 38, 46

Worship
LEADER: Hi, friends! Im so happy to be with you today. Are you ready to sing a fun song with me
about how [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son? (Pause.) Great! Here we go!
Lead children in singing Best News Ever.
LEADER: Great job, friends! Im so glad that Jesus is Gods Son and that we have Christmas to
celebrate that. Lets get ready for our Bible story so we can hear the REAL story of Christmas.

Bible Story
What You Need: A Bible
STORYTELLER: Come here, everyone, and sit with me! Its story time! Yay for story time! Our story
comes from this very special bookthe Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) Can
you say, Bible?
CHILDREN and STORYTELLER: Bible!
STORYTELLER: We love the Bible because it has Gods stories in it. And Gods stories are always
TRUE! Todays story is about the bestest news ever! And YOU are going to help me tell it! Just say
what I say and do what I do.
(Lead the children in saying the story rhyme. Say one small section at a time. Repeat the rhyme a few
times.)
The angel came down (make a flying motion)
From God to say (cup hands around mouth like you want to say something)
Mary will have a baby (pretend to rock a baby in your arms) on Christmas day.
His name will be Jesus (make a V with both arms up and fists closed)
Gods only Son (point a finger and arm straight up)

To show that God loves everyone (hug yourself)

Yay! You did it! The bestest news ever is that [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son! Thats why Jesus is
SO special! [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son! Why is Jesus special?
CHILDREN and STORYTELLER: [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son.
STORYTELLER: Thank you for being such great listeners today. Now lets put our hands together,
close our eyes, and talk to God.
God, thank You for Christmas. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our friend forever. He is so special
because He is Your Son. In Jesus name, amen.

Dear God,
You for making animals. [Bottom Line] Thank You, God, for
Memory
In thank
Motion
Our Memory Verse for this month goes like this:
We have a new Bible verse and its one of my favorites! I cant wait for you to learn it. It says: God
loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, John 3:16. That is the bestest news ever!
Now lets try it with the motions. Watch me and try to follow along the best you can.
God (point up) loved (hug yourself) the world (raise your arms overhead to form a circle) so much
(stretch your arms out as far as possible) that He gave (place your hands together with palms up in
front of you as if youre offering something) His only (point up) Son (hold your arms as if youre
cradling and rocking a baby), John 3:16. (Open your hands like a book.)
Great job! Lets say it again! (Repeat as many times as desired.)
The angel told Mary in our story today that God was sending His Son, Jesus, to be our friend forever.
That is the bestest news ever! Do you remember why its the bestest news ever? (Pause.) I mean, why
is Jesus so special? (Pause.) [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son! Yes, He is. Jesus is Gods only
Son and that makes Him very special.
Repeat with the children several times until you feel they have learned this months verse.

Make It Fun
How Did Gabriel Get There
How Did Gabriel Get There is a movement activity that allows the child to have fun while using critical
thinking skills.
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
Before the activity: Help the children line up in front of you.

During the activity: Ask the children how many ways they can think of that Gabriel could have come to
Mary. Could he have crawled, flown, marched, jumped, or run? Have the children act out each of these
activities as you say them.
At the end of the activity: Ask the children what Gods message was that Gabriel told Mary.
What You Say:
Before the activity: Today in our story God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to give her a special
message. Can you think of how many ways Gabriel could have come to Mary?
During the activity: Gabriel could have crawled to Mary. Can you show me how Gabriel could have
crawled? (Allow the children to crawl). He could have flown to Mary. Can you flap your arms and show
me how you can fly? (Allow the children to pretend to fly.) He could have marched. Show me how you
can march. (Allow the children to march.) Great! He also could have run and jumped. Can you show me
how you can run and jump? (Allow the children to run and jump.) Awesome!
At the end of the activity: Gabriel came to Mary to give her a very special message. Do you remember
what that message was? (Pause.) Yes! Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a very special
baby named Jesus. Why is Jesus special? (Pause.) You got it! [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son!

Make It Fun
Christmas Stories
Christmas Stories is an activity that allows the children to have a relaxing reading time that they can
do alone or with a friend. This activity also will help the child distinguish the difference between made
up stories and the true Christmas story.
What You Need: Several Christmas books (these books can be any childrens Christmas story; if
possible, do not include any book that talks about Santa Claus so that the children will not be confused
and ask hard questions) and pillows or cushions
What You Do:
Before the activity: Place the pillows or cushions around the activity area, and lay out all of the books.
During the activity: Allow the children to pick their own book to read and look at the pictures. Encourage
them to relax on the pillows as they enjoy their book.
At the end of the activity: Introduce the upcoming Bible story as the TRUE story of Christmas.
What You Say:
Before the activity: Look at all of these books. I love to read! These books are all about my FAVORITE
time of yearChristmas! Choose a book and find a cozy place to lay or sit and read your book.
During the activity: I love the way you are all reading so nicely. If you would like you may join a friend
and read a book together. Christmas stories are always so much fun to read!
At the end of the activity: Those were some awesome books and so much fun to read. My favorite
Christmas books are those with the REAL Christmas story! We heard from our Bible story the REAL
Christmas story! Do you remember the bestest news that Gabriel told Mary? (Pause.) YES! Gabriel told

Mary that she was going to have a very special baby named Jesus. Why is Jesus special? (Pause.)
[Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son! Thats right! [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son!

Coloring Page
During the activity: Give each child a copy of Angel and Mary. Demonstrate for the children how to
trace the lines with your pointer finger and then ask them to do the same with their finger. Next, instruct
the children to trace the lines with a marker. Once they have traced all five lines, tell them to color the
pictures. Briefly discuss the Bible story while the children complete their page.
What You Say:
During the activity: Look at the paper I just handed you. Who is this on the left side of your paper?
(Point to the angel.) Yes! That is an angel. God sent an angel to give Mary a special message in our
Bible story today. Who is this on the other side of your paper? (Point to Mary.) Right again! This is Mary.
The angel told Mary she would have a special baby named Jesus. Why is Jesus special? (Pause.)
[Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son. I want you to trace the lines going from each angel across the
page to Mary with your finger like this. (Demonstrate.) Good job! Now I want you to trace the lines
again, only this time use a marker. When you are done tracing your lines you can color the pictures.
At the end of the activity: You did a great job helping the angel find Mary so he could tell her Gods
special message. Who remembers what the special message was? (Allow children to respond.) You
got it! The angel told Mary she would have a special baby named Jesus. And why is Jesus special?
(Pause.) [Bottom Line] Jesus is Gods Son.

Need More?
If you happen to finish up with these activities early feel free to use any of the activities in the preschool
game binder. If you are unsure as to where to find this binder, please contact your service coach.