Kid's Corner - Parent's Guide - Jesus & Mary

Mary's Treasure

Dear Mom and Dad,
We applaud you for following Proverbs 22:6 by helping your child understand the Bible. Below, you will find some Teaching Tools to guide you in showing your child the truths of God’s Word and in helping your child apply them in his or her life

Ages 3 to 6 - Even if your children are older than six, we encourage you to lead them through this material before moving on to the content for their age group.

Ages 7 to 10

What we will learn
• It's important to make sure that what you believe is the same thing that the Bible teaches.
• When you're waiting for something God has promised, it's important to trust that He will give you the promise as He planned.
• Jesus came to earth as a baby because God has special plans for you.

LEARN ABOUT MARY & JESUS

In this section, help your child understand why Jesus' birth and its circumstances were so important in the plan of God. The nativity story shows that God is faithful, that His Word can be trusted, and that He has a special plan for you.

Teaching Tool #1:
When your child wonders why Mary and Joseph had to travel from Galilee to Bethlehem, explain that . . . God had told people long before Mary and Joseph were even born that Mary would go to Bethlehem to have baby Jesus. (Parents, read Micah 5:1-3 for this account.) Since God never changes, He had to be true to His Word. God never lies. That is why Mary and Joseph traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem.

Teaching Tool #2:
Take this opportunity to teach your child that sometimes people don't keep their promises, but God can always be trusted to keep the promises He makes to us in the Bible.

Spend some time looking up some of the Scriptures below. Choose one or two of them, which God has brought to fulfillment in your life. Tell your child the story of how God brought about that promise in His ways and in His timing. Ideas include . . .
- a promise to bear a child
- a promise that He would be with you when you were scared
- a promise that He would provide for you when you needed something

Remember to keep your examples short and simple enough for your child to understand.

Scriptures to help you:
- Psalm 37:4 (the desires of your heart)
- Jeremiah 29:11 (God's plans)
- Philippians 4:19 (provision)
- Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5 (God's continuous presence and protection)

Teaching Tool #3:
When your child wonders why Mary was so happy to hear what the angels had said to the shepherds, explain that . . . she was happy because she believed the Good News they had to share.

Use this as an opportunity to teach your child that we have to be careful what we believe. If something someone tells us does not agree with what the Bible tells us, the Bible always is right. Mary believed the shepherds because what they said went along with what God said was going to happen.

Take some time to establish a Bible reading plan for you and your child. That way, you're reading through the whole Bible with your child every day. It shows them the importance of knowing and understanding Scripture. Make a chart with headings such as "Today's Date," "Today's Bible reading," "What it means . . . ," and "What it means in my life." Each day you will record the passage that you and your child read, the meaning behind it, and how you and your child can apply it in your family life and daily activities.

It's helpful to have a Bible that is appropriate to your child's age. For more information about age-appropriate Bibles, go to the In Touch bookstore.

Teaching Tool #4:
When Mary first discovered that she was going to have a baby, she was a young teenager about to get married. Even though having baby Jesus was not in Mary's plan, it was part of God's plan. Mary gladly gave up her plans to follow God.

God also has plans for you. Part of that plan is why Jesus came to earth and died on the cross. (If your child is inquisitive and you feel he or she is ready to discuss salvation, go through the Kids Corner salvation material with him or her.)

To illustrate God's plans for each of us, help your child make a pinecone angel. (If pinecones are not available, cut a triangle out of paper, and fold the ends together. Tape your cone together.)

Use the cone or pinecone as the body of your angel. Next, help your child find other items to form the angel's head, wings, halo, and hair. Items you may choose to use include: a walnut, acorn, or tiny pinecone for the angel's head; small sticks glued to the back of the cone for wings; moss or yarn for hair; and dried flowers or foil for a halo. Once all your ingredients are gathered, glue them together and hang the angel from a paper clip.

This angel symbolizes the angels that spoke to the shepherds about God's plan for Mary to have baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Learning Concepts and Unfamiliar Words

Not only has your child learned a fundamental truth about God's character (that God is faithful, never lies, and plans good things for us), but he has also learned the meanings of the following words: shepherds and visitors.

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Parents' Guide

Dear Mom and Dad,

If you have children that are older (ages 7 to 10) and may enjoy learning more about Mary and Jesus, help him to understand the following questions. You may want to help your child write his/her answers in a journal.

What we will learn
• It's important to make sure that what you believe is the same thing that the Bible teaches.
• When you're waiting for something God has promised, it's important to trust that He will give you the promise as He planned.
• Jesus came to earth as a baby because God has special plans for you.

HOW TO APPLY WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT
MARY & JESUS

Mary was very happy when she heard that her baby, Jesus, would save the world from the punishment we deserved for our sin, or the bad things we have said, done, or thought about doing. God had promised a long time before Mary was born that Jesus would come and do something amazing to rescue us. Even though Jesus was only a baby and had done nothing spectacular yet, Mary believed that He would. She believed God would keep His promise..

Journal: Have you ever been disappointed by someone who did not keep his or her promise? Write about it in your journal, and then ask God to help you forgive that person. Then, thank God for being the only one who always keeps every promise He makes.

When you get discouraged or sad about not seeing one of God's promises being fulfilled, remember the promise that He first made. This is what Mary did. Re-read your memory verse from the story: "But Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them" (Luke 2:20 TLB).

Journal: Mary believed the shepherds when they told her what they had heard about Jesus. Why? Because what they said agreed with what God said a long time ago. How do you know what to believe is true? Write your answers in your journal.

The only way we can know for sure if something is true, is to study the Bible every day. Since we know that God doesn't lie, then we know His Word—the Bible—is always true. If a friend of yours tries to convince you to believe something you're not sure about, check it against the Bible. If it doesn't say the same thing the Bible says, then it's a lie.

Journal: If you discovered that something your friend was encouraging you to believe was a lie, how would you react? Write about it in your journal.

Sometimes, our friends, family members, and teachers don't know what is true or they don't believe the Bible. They may not mean to lie to us, but some of the things they believe and/or say may not be true. It's important to pray and ask God for help in loving them and being kind to them, even if what they said or did does not agree with the Bible.

Journal: Just like God had special plans for Mary, He has awesome plans for you! Do you believe that? Write a prayer to God thanking Him for His plans, and then look up Jeremiah 29:11 in your Bible. (Jeremiah comes right after Isaiah.) Memorize this verse, and write down what you notice about it. Ask God to help you apply it to your life.

Journal: Mary believed God. Do you believe in God? Have you ever asked Jesus into your heart? If you want to know how to ask Jesus into your heart, ask your mom or dad to help you read about "how to be God's friend."

Memory Verse: "But Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them" (Luke 2:20 TLB).

Remember Rhyme

Joseph and Mary did not know it
But God had great plans for them
He told them to go to a new town
The town was called Bethlehem.

When Mary and Joseph arrived
It was time for Mary to give birth
Jesus left His home in heaven
To be born a baby here on earth.

The shepherds came to tell Mary
What a special job Jesus had
When Mary heard what the angels said,
It made her heart very glad.

Learning Concepts and Unfamiliar Words

Not only has your child learned a fundamental truth about God's character (that God is faithful, never lies, and plans good things for us), but he has also learned the importance of believing God and studying His Word. Your child has also had a chance to learn the meaning of sin, and apply biblical truths to his life while remembering the story of Mary and Jesus through Scripture and song.

"Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. "

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