Jesus is Born

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 12th December 2015. Have a look and try a few!

Sock Baby Jesus

Take a sock and fill it with stuffing beyond the heal.  Poke your finger to the side, fill it with a little ball of stuffing and put a rubber band over it to make an arm.  Then do the same on the other side.  Put a rubber band round the neck fill the head and then another rubber band above it.  Turn the top down to make a hat.

Wrap it in cloth and place it in a tray with hay.

Jesus is also called ‘Christ’ which means chosen one

Have you a baby in your family?  What are they like?

Advent candle

Stick the peel off numbers 12 to 24 on to the candle with 12 at the top and 24 at the bottom. 

Jesus was given different names which meant special things.  They showed who he was

The sheet on the table tells you some of these names.  Take the sheet home with you too and look at it each time you light the candle.

Names of Jesus mobile

Tie pieces of ribbon around the card loop and then thread them through the hole punched different names of Jesus.

Jesus was given different names which meant special things.  They showed who he was

How many names have you got?

Lollystick crib

Glue the lolly sticks together with glue dots to make a stable.  Colour in the cut sticks to make them into people and stick them on.  Add a bit of straw.  Tie some string on the top so you can hang it up.

Jesus is called the ‘prince of peace’.  This is because he would bring peace with God

What do you find peaceful?

Envelope crib

Cut the yellow sheet along the lines to look like straw.  Decorate the envelope.  Stick the star to the top point of the envelope.  Then slot in the straw and the baby.

Jesus was born on earth, but he had been since the very beginning of the world

That is very hard to imagine isn’t it.  What is the oldest thing you can think of?

CD Nativity scene

Decorate the CD with nativity stickers to make a nativity scene.  Slide it into the wooden block so that it can stand up.

Jesus calls God his father

Do you have anyone with you here from your family?

Mosaic Jesus

Roll out some clay and use cutters to make the name Jesus.  Then stick on tiles to make the name stand out.  This will make the word JESUS look very special

Mary treasured Jesus and all the things that happened when he was born

Can you think of some things that are very special to you?

Nativity painting

Paint the nativity scene.  Use the stamps if you like to

Jesus was called ‘Emmanuel’ which means God with us

What would it have been like to go and see Jesus when he was born?

Gingerbread stars

Ice the gingerbread stars to decorate them

The special star showed the wise men the way to Jesus

If you go out in the dark, how do you find your way?

Tile nativity

Make a footprint on a tile in brown paint for a crib.  Paint on to it some straw and a baby

The name ‘Jesus’ means God saves

This was a popular name for Jewish boys to have.  What popular names can you think of?

Blackboard Sorry

tick the black sheet in the middle of the board.  Decorate it round the edge.  Thread some raffia through the hole and tie it to some chalk.

Jesus came to put right the wrong things we do

We mess things up when we do the wrong thing.  Perhaps we say something to hurt someone, we don’t do what we are told, or we say something that isn’t true.

Write on the blackboard something you are sorry for.  Then rub it off because Jesus forgives us when we say we are sorry.

Nativity set

Can you tell the story of Christmas with this nativity set?

Which is your favourite part of the story?  

Why do you like it?

Are there any parts you can’t remember?

Scratch nativity scene

Scratch a pattern into this nativity scene

The pattern is bright in the dark background.  

Jesus brought brightness in the darkness too, but a different sort of darkness.  It was dark because people had forgotten about God

What do you like best about your pattern?

Foam star nativity

Stick two stars together.  Add some raffia for straw then add a baby.

Like the star Jesus gives light so that people can see the way to go

Do you ever look at the stars?  Do you know any of their names?

Card competition

If you have brought a card for the competition leave it here with your name, age and phone number.  Three prizes will be given out over the meal.

Also if you like you can still make a card.  It must include something about the Christmas story.

Stable

Go and have a look in the stable.  What can you see from the Christmas story?

The angels, the shepherds and the wise men all worshipped Jesus. 

Take one of the cut out babies.  Think of something you can say to praise God.  There are some examples on the sheet.  Write or draw on the baby what you would like to say to Jesus and place it in the manger.

Cardboard stable

Work with the group to make the stable out of cardboard