The Christmas Story - lesson 1

The Nativity

Can you recall the key events in The Christmas Story?

Multiple Choice

Who was Jesus' mother?

• Margaret

• Mary

• Madeleine

• Marrisia

Multiple Choice

Where did Mary go to have her baby?

• Beruit

• Bethlehem

• Judea

• Palestine

Multiple Choice

How did Mary get to Bethlehem?

• Uber

• Donkey

• Pony

• Camel

Multiple Choice

Where did they sleep?

• In an Inn

• In a hotel

• In a stable

• In a house

Multiple Choice

Who was Jesus' father?

• Joseph

• Jacob

• Jonathon

• Jude

Multiple Choice

Visitors brought gold, frankincense and...

• silver

• bronze

• spice

• myrrh

Open Ended

Brainstorm any elements of The Christmas Story you can remember:

The Nativity

The Christmas Story is also called The Nativity. It starts with an angel appearing to Mary and telling her she would have a baby. The angel told Mary that the baby would be God’s son and would be called Jesus.

Mary then explained the angel’s visit to her husband, Joseph, and they prepared for their new baby. Due to a census, everyone had to travel to their town of birth. This meant that Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. They rode there on a donkey as Mary was heavily pregnant. 

Multiple Choice

Do you think Joseph believed an angel had visited Mary?

• yes

• no

Multiple Choice

Why did Mary and Joseph have to travel to Bethlehem?

• They were visiting family

• They needed to travel to the place of their birth for the census

• Joseph was looking for work

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, there was nowhere left for them to stay. Luckily, an innkeeper said they could stay in his stable with his animals. It was in this stable that Jesus was born and he was placed in a manger.

Multiple Choice

Do you think it is significant that Jesus was born in a stable, rather than in a comfortable room?

• Yes

• no

Open Ended

Why do you think it might be significant?

Open Ended

Who visited Mary and Joseph?

Open Ended

How did they know about the birth?

Open Ended

Was anyone else aware of the birth?

The visitors

An angel appeared to shepherds on the hillside and told them the Son of God had been born, so they went to visit him in Bethlehem.

Wise men spotted a bright star in the sky. They knew this meant a king had been born so they travelled with special gifts for the new king. On their journey, they went to King Herod to ask about the new king. The wise men made their way to visit Jesus and brought him gold, frankincense and myrrh. Having heard that a new king had been born, Herod ordered all the baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Mary, Joseph and Jesus travelled to Egypt and were safe.

Truth and significance

There are parts of The Christmas Story that some Christians do not believe to be literally true, whilst other Christians believe the story is literally true. All Christians do believe though, that there is significance to their life within The Christmas Story.

Can there be different kinds of truth?

Could a story ever be true without being literally accurate?

An example

Yesterday I walked to school with my best friend. We held hands all the way and talked about school. It was sunny when we were walking. I was wearing my black school shoes and my friend was wearing her trainers.

An example

If we later found out that the friend’s trainers were blue, does this mean none of the story is true?

Or, could it still be true but the storyteller forgot to mention the colour of the friend’s trainers?

Or perhaps the storyteller felt that the colour of the friend’s trainers was not an important fact to mention.

 

An example

How about if the storyteller had claimed the trainers were red and we later found out they were blue.

Does this impact on the truthfulness of the story?