Simple strips of cloth
Children's sermon
Object:
some long strips of cloth for wrapping a baby & have enough strips to pass one out to each child present
Good evening, boys and girls. Tonight I'm going to tell you a wonderful story. It's the story of the birth of Jesus.
Joseph and Mary were traveling back to the place where their families were raised to register for a tax made by the king. People were not happy about the tax, but they all had to pay it. Mary was pregnant and knew that soon she would deliver a baby. Joseph trusted in the words of an angel that this was a special child of God. Even with a donkey for Mary to ride on, the trip was still very uncomfortable for her. They fell behind most of the other travelers so that when they arrived in Bethlehem all of the good places to stay were already taken. Finally, an innkeeper felt sorry for them and gave them a place to stay in a stable with cows and sheep and donkeys.
Like all men feel when their first baby is about to be born, Joseph was nervous. He didn't even have anyone else around to help him. He didn't have Mary's mother or his own mother with him. There wasn't a nurse or doctor standing by. The animals were pretty quiet except for an occasional moo or baa. The donkeys hardly moved, especially the one who had carried Mary up the final hills into Bethlehem. Mary asked Joseph for his hand to hold and soon he was cradling the baby Jesus in his arms. Jesus was like all other babies and was born without any clothes on. Mary didn't bring any special clothes for him. Instead she had long strips of cloth that she and Joseph wrapped Jesus in to keep him warm and protect him from the rough straw. After loving Jesus and thanking God for a beautiful child, they placed him in a manger. The manger was usually filled with food for the animals but on this night it was a bed for Jesus.
I brought along some strips of cloth and I would like to share them with you. Perhaps you have a doll that you would like to wrap in this cloth or maybe you would just like to hang it on your bed. I am going to put mine on my Christmas tree so that I can be reminded of the birth of Jesus. Just think, there were no nice suits for Jesus when he was born, only strips of cloth. God told the shepherds in the field that they would find the Christ child in a manger wrapped in strips of cloth just like this. They found Jesus just as the angels had described and they worshiped him on his birthday.
Joseph and Mary were traveling back to the place where their families were raised to register for a tax made by the king. People were not happy about the tax, but they all had to pay it. Mary was pregnant and knew that soon she would deliver a baby. Joseph trusted in the words of an angel that this was a special child of God. Even with a donkey for Mary to ride on, the trip was still very uncomfortable for her. They fell behind most of the other travelers so that when they arrived in Bethlehem all of the good places to stay were already taken. Finally, an innkeeper felt sorry for them and gave them a place to stay in a stable with cows and sheep and donkeys.
Like all men feel when their first baby is about to be born, Joseph was nervous. He didn't even have anyone else around to help him. He didn't have Mary's mother or his own mother with him. There wasn't a nurse or doctor standing by. The animals were pretty quiet except for an occasional moo or baa. The donkeys hardly moved, especially the one who had carried Mary up the final hills into Bethlehem. Mary asked Joseph for his hand to hold and soon he was cradling the baby Jesus in his arms. Jesus was like all other babies and was born without any clothes on. Mary didn't bring any special clothes for him. Instead she had long strips of cloth that she and Joseph wrapped Jesus in to keep him warm and protect him from the rough straw. After loving Jesus and thanking God for a beautiful child, they placed him in a manger. The manger was usually filled with food for the animals but on this night it was a bed for Jesus.
I brought along some strips of cloth and I would like to share them with you. Perhaps you have a doll that you would like to wrap in this cloth or maybe you would just like to hang it on your bed. I am going to put mine on my Christmas tree so that I can be reminded of the birth of Jesus. Just think, there were no nice suits for Jesus when he was born, only strips of cloth. God told the shepherds in the field that they would find the Christ child in a manger wrapped in strips of cloth just like this. They found Jesus just as the angels had described and they worshiped him on his birthday.
