Lesson 3: Mary visits Elizabeth.
Passage: Luke 1:39-56 - After Mary had learned the news about her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy, she hurried to visit her. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb jumped for joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She exclaimed, “blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear.” She wondered about why she had been so favored that the mother of the Lord would visit her. Mary also began praising and worshiping God for bringing down the rulers of the world and lifting up the humble.
Big Idea: God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Christmas Character Guess Who — Activity Leader
There will be cut outs of a bunch of Christmas movie characters that the leader will hold up/put on their head without looking. The leader can ask yes/no questions to try and figure out who the character is.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our third Sunday talking about the story of Advent.
Can anyone remember what Advent means?
So far we’ve learned about the stories of two different people. First it was Zechariah the priest… Does anyone remember Zechariah's story?
Next we learned about a young woman named Mary who was also visited by the angel. Can anyone remember what the angel told Mary?
Today we’re going to find out more about Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth who was also Mary’s cousin.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video we learned that Elizabeth was a very old lady who didn’t have any children even though she really wanted one. How do you think she must have felt when she had waited so long for a child and it wasn’t happening?
Do you think she might have even given up hope after a while? Why?
Have you ever had to wait a really long time for something that you wanted? How did that feel for you?
Do you think that the people in the story, like Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary, were special people or just ordinary people like us? What was ordinary or special about them?
Do you think God can use everyday ordinary people to do big things in the world? Like what? What’s something big that you want to do in your life?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the stories we’ve been learning about people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary, who you called to be part of your big plan to send a savior to the world. Thank you that we can also be part of your big plans, and that you use everyday people to do great things. Please help us to see what we can do each and every day to show your love to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Christmas Pipe Cleaner Ornaments — Activity Leader
Use pipe cleaners and beads provided to make simple Christmas ornaments (ie. candy cane, ball, etc).
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves .
Warm Up Activity: Christmas Character Guess Who — Activity Leader
There will be cut outs of a bunch of Christmas movie characters that the leader will hold up/put on their head without looking. The leader can ask yes/no questions to try and figure out who the character is.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week three of our Advent series where we are learning about the stories of different characters in the Bible who were were waiting for the Savior to come to the world.
Does anyone remember who were the two people we learned about so far?
What do you remember about what happened to Zechariah and Mary?
What was so surprising about the angel's news for Zechariah? What was surprising for Mary?
Today we’re going to be finding out a little bit about Elizabeth’s side of the story. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
How do you think Elizabeth must have felt when she waited for so long to have a child but it just wasn’t happening?
Do you think she might have even given up hope after a while? Why?
Have you ever had to wait a really long time for something that you wanted? How did that feel for you?
Other than Elizabeth having a baby when she was very old, what was the other part of the angel's announcement? (her child was going to prepare the way for the Savior)
Do you think God can use everyday ordinary people to do big things in the world? Like what? What’s something big that you want to do in your life?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the stories we’ve been learning about people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary, who you called to be part of your big plan to send a savior to the world. Thank you that we can also be part of your big plans, and that you use everyday people to do great things. Please help us to see what we can do each and every day to show your love to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Christmas Pipe Cleaner Ornaments — Activity Leader
Use pipe cleaners and beads provided to make simple Christmas ornaments (ie. candy cane, ball, etc), those who are a little older might want to choose a more challenging shape (ie. star, tree, etc).
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Cotton Ball Toss — Activity Leader
Students have one minute to toss as many cotton balls as they can into a bowl at the end of the table.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week 3 of our Advent series where we’re learning all about the first Advent, the time leading up to Jesus being born, and about the stories of all the different characters who were waiting for the Savior.
Can you remember the names of the characters who stories we’ve learned about so far?
Can you tell me something that you remember from each of their stories?
What was something that you learned from their stories that you can apply to our own life?
Today we’ll be hearing from Elizabeth’s perspective; that is, Zechariah’s wife, who was going to be the mom of John the Baptist.
Let’s watch the video to find out more about her story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
How do you think it must have felt for Elizabeth to be childless for so long even though she really wanted to have a baby?
Have you ever had to wait so long for something that you wanted or for God to answer one of your prayers? How did that feel for you?
How long do you think it would take for someone to start giving up hope? Do you think Elizabeth and Zechariah had probably given up hope at this point? Why or why not?
How might you feel if an angel came to you and said God was going to use you to be part of some great big plan for the world?
What are some great things that you would like to be able to do with your life with God’s help?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the stories we’ve been learning about ordinary everyday people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary, who were called by you to be part of your great plan to send a savior to the world. Thank you that we can learn from these stories that you can do great things in our lives no matter how insignificant we might feel at times. Thank you that even we can be part of your big plans. Please help us to see ways that we can have a positive impact in the world each and everyday. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Christmas Pipe Cleaner Ornaments — Activity Leader
Using pipe cleaners and beads, kids can make Christmas ornaments of various shapes (candy cane, ball, snowflake, star, tree…).
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you think there was something special about the characters in the story (Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph…) or were they just ordinary people?
How did these people end up being part of God’s big plan to send a Savior to the world?
Do you think that God also has great big plans for your life?
What kind of big things do you want to do in the world with God’s help?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
What was the great plan that God had in store for the people? Who were the people that God used to make that plan happen?
Was there something special about them that made them become chosen by God, or were they just ordinary everyday people?
Why do you think God sometimes chooses ordinary people to be part of God’s great plans? Do you think that God could even use people like you and me for great things?
What are some big things that you would like to do with God’s help?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who are all the main characters that have played a part in the advent story so far? What were their roles?
Do you think there was something special or important about these characters, or were they just ordinary everyday people?
Why do you think God chose them to be part of God’s big plans for the world? How do you think they felt when they heard God’s message to them through the angel?
Do you think that you could also be a part of the work that God is doing in the world? In what ways?
