Setup:

Lesson

1. Have the children sit around the campfire and turn the lights off. Using the sheets generated during small group time, discuss a few of the situations the children came up with that would require saving. Explain the following:

    Today we're going to talk about some people who needed saving and a hero who came to save them. Now, these probably aren't exactly the people you were thinking of. And the hero probably isn't exactly the kind of hero you were thinking of. And to top it off, he isn't going to save the people from any of the problems we've just talked about.

2. Explain the following:

    First, let's talk about why were sitting around the campfire.  That's because our Bible story takes place at night.  And the people back then didn't have light bulbs or furnaces to give them light and keep them warm.  They had candles and campfires.  Now, this isn't a real fire.  It's the best we can do indoors without burning the building down. We're also sitting around a fire because our Bible story takes place outside. And the night of our story, the guys you'll meet in the second probably had a fire going.

    And since we have a nice fake fire going, why don't we fake roast some marshmallows? (Give each child a marshmallow.  Put a marshmallow on the end of a  roasting stick and begin roasting it over the fire.)

3. Explain the following:

    Our story is about a bunch of shepherds.  A shepherd is a person whose job is to take care of small farm animals like sheep.  And the Bible says in the book of Luke that "there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby.  It was night and they were looking after their sheep." (Create marshmallow prop #1 and set it on the log.  See figure 1 below for instructions.)

4.  Explain the following:

    So, it was a pretty ordinary night for the shepherds.  All was quiet, except for the sounds of the fire, the nighttime bugs, and the few sheep by baa-ing in their sleep. Just a group of shepherds relaxing and enjoying the fire. 

    But, all of a sudden, boom! (Point the flashlight at your face and turn it on.)  An angel appeared!

    Now, you've probably heard the Bible stories with angels in them and figured it happened all the time and was no big deal.  Well, it didn't happen all the time.  An angel appearing out of nowhere?  The shepherds were freaking out!  They were scared to death!  Was this angel going to zap them to death with laser beam angel eyes?  Was this angel here to steal all their sheep and take them back to Angel-land or wherever they lived? Who knew?  All they knew is that they were terrified! (Create marshmallow prop #2 according to figure 1 below.  Set it next to the marshmallow sheep. Turn off the flashlight.)

5. Explain the following:

    So, what do you think the angel said? "We're here to zap you with our angel laser beam eyes?" Maybe "hand over your sheep and no one gets hurt!"  Remember, angels are God's messengers, and wherever he sends them to appear to people, he usually has something important to say.  (Hold up the marshmallow angel whenever you read something the angel said and shine the flashlight on it.)

    Well, the angel knew that the shepherds wouldn't hear a single word that was said if they were worried about getting zapped with laser beam eyes.  So, he began, "Do not be afraid!  I bring you good news of great joy.  And it's for everybody!"

    Imagine what it would have been like to be one of those shepherds!  First you're relaxing by a cozy fire. Then you're worried about being zapped by an angel.  And now you hear he has good news for you! What good news do you think the angel had for them?  (Allow the children to respond.)

6. Explain the following:

    Here's what the Bible says the angel said. "Today in Bethlehem, the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.  He is Christ the Lord."  The shepherds must have thought, "Awesome! A Savior has come! He's going to attack all the people who've been mean to us and chase them out of our country! Maybe he even shoots lasers out of his eyes, who knows? Who cares?  We are saved!"

    So, the angel's news was that a savior was born in Bethlehem.  A little baby was a savior?  That doesn't make sense.  Little babies can't save anybody.  They can't even save themselves!  Maybe the angel meant that the baby would grow up to be a savior.  That's probably what the shepherds were thinking. (Create marshmallow prop #3 and set it next to the others.)

7. Explain the following:

    But the angel wasn't done telling the Shepherd's God's message.  He said, "Here is how you will know that I am telling the truth.  You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  The shepherds must have thought that the angel had made a mistake when he said that they could find the baby in a manger.  Do you know what a manger is?  It's a box full of food that animals eat out of.  What kind of crazy person would put a baby and a donkey's food dish?

8. Explain the following:

    And just when the shepherds thought that their night couldn't get any weirder, a whole bunch of angels appeared next to the first angel! And together the angels praisde to God and said, "May glory be given to God in the highest heaven!  And may peace and be given to those he is pleased with on Earth!" And then, just as quickly as they came, the angels left and went to heaven.  And again, it was just the shepherds, the fire, and the sheep.

9. Explain the following:

    What would you have done if you were one of those shepherds, and an angel just told you all that?  You'd want to go check it out, of course! The shepherds hurried into the town of Bethlehem.  They ended up in a stable, a small barn.  There, they found a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph.  And they knew that the angel was telling the truth when they found a baby lying in a manger, an animals food box, all wrapped up in cloths.  The shepherds had found of the Savior in the angel had told them about.  And when they left, they praised God for the good news and they thought about just what kind of savior that little baby would become. Would he grow up big and strong and beat up all their enemies?  Or would he grow up really smart, become the ruler of the land, and throw all the bad people in jail?  Maybe he'd do both!

10. Explain the following:

    Well, by now you've probably figured out who that little baby was.  His name was Jesus.  He was God himself inside the body of a person.  And that little baby did grow up to be a savior.  But he didn't beat up all his enemies and chase them away.  And he didn't become the ruler of the land and throw the bad people in jail.

    Instead, Jesus came to save everybody from sin.  You see, sin is when we disobey God and everybody does it.  You, me, those shepherds, Mary, Joseph.  Everyone except God, everyone accept Jesus.

    And because we sin, we need to be punished.  The Bible says the punishment for sin is death.  We have to die because we've disobeyed God.  Doesn't that sound like the time for a savior to come, when everyone is about to die?  And that's why God came to earth as a little baby, to be our savior. Not to beat up bad guys, but to save everyone from their sins.  Jesus came to pay the punishment for our sin, which is death.  He came to die for us.  Sounds like a pretty good savior to me.