December 24 - Christ - The Son of God, Messiah
Gather
Make a list of as many different types of light as you can.
Light is often used as a metaphor in the Bible. Why do you think this is? Jesus says he is the Light of the World what do you think that means?
Engage
John’s gospel starts with these startling words, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” He is writing about Jesus, the baby who slept in an animal’s feeding trough, whose mum was called Mary and was the long-promised descendant of Abraham.
John was able to look back on the life that Jesus lived and to tell his story, but we read nothing about babies and shepherds. John wanted people to know that Jesus was not just a kind person, was not just the greatest storyteller ever, was not just the person who made sick people well again, the blind to see and the deaf to hear.
His message, loud and clear, right from the very first words of his book is Jesus is God. This takes some understanding as Jesus had a human mother, and lived the same sort of life as other people of his time. He ate food, became tired and even got disappointed when his friends let him down. But the really great news is that Jesus coming to earth made it possible for anyone who chose to become part of God’s family; girls, boys, grown-ups too were able to become children of God if that was what they wanted.
Respond
Talk about your favourite bits of the Jesse Tree.
Say thank you to God that they all fit together to show he keeps his promises.
Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness,
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You,
Hope of a life spent with You
(taken from Light of the World, by Tim Hughes)
Send
Why not have a go at making your own stop-motion film using Lego or playmobile figures to show your understanding of John 1:1-14
Jesus asks us to be light in the world as we reflect his light. What kind of things can you do in the coming days and weeks to be light in the world?