Sunday 5 December 2010

Family Home Evening - Jesus Once Was A Little Child

Yay for the Month a December. I thought as we talk so muh about Christ this month what a great time to teach the children that he was once a child too.

Opening Song: Jesus Once Was A Little Child

Opening Prayer:

Lesson: Mommy

Before the lesson try to get a hold of some baby items. If you cant get the items some pictures of baby items will work. Items such as Diapers, Bottles, Blankets, etc. Show these items to the children. Ask what they are used for. Then ask the children if they think that jesus would have ever used these items?

Show this picture:



Ask Children who they think this baby is. What is the difference between this baby and other babies?


Jesus Had a Home. Show the following picture:

Tell the children that this is the kind of home that the people of Nazareth lived in. Nazareth is the town where Jesus grew up (see Matthew 2:23), and Jesus may have lived in a home like this one.

To help your family understand this picture better as the following questions:

Where do you think the family slept? (Point out the mat the woman is putting away and the closet behind her that seems to hold other rolled mats. Explain that the roofs of the houses were flat, and steps on the outside of each house led up to the roof. Perhaps the children sometimes slept on the roof.)

Where did the baby in this home sleep? (Point out the cradle. Explain that Joseph was a carpenter and might have made a cradle like this one for the baby Jesus.)

What do you think the big jars were used for? (Some held water. All the water the family used was carried from the well in the village because there was no running water in the homes. A well is a deep hole in the ground with clean water in it.)

What is the woman who is sitting on the floor doing? (Grinding grain to make into bread.)

Since there was no electricity, how could they light this home? (They used oil lamps. Point out the lamp on the stool behind the woman grinding grain. Perhaps some of the jars held oil for the lamps.)

Show the next picture:



Who are the people in this picture? (Jesus and Joseph.)

What are they doing?

Explain that just like the children help you around the house Jesus helped his mommy and daddy. Just like your childrens daddy has to work so did Jesus daddy. Jesus daddy was a carpenter and his father probably taught him to be a carpenter too.

In Jesus home he was told stories about the prophets, like the stories we read in the Bible. He was also taught to pray and to choose to do the right just as we are taught by our parents. Mary and Joseph believed in Heavenly Father just as we do.

Ask the children these questions:

How do you think your childhood is different from Jesus’ childhood?

How do you think your childhood is similar to Jesus’ childhood?

Have the children discuss things they do that Jesus Christ may have done as a boy. For example, they may run errands, help their parents, go to school, take care of a baby, sing songs, play games, run races, or ride horses. Suggest that Jesus probably did these or similar things (for example, Jesus may never have ridden a horse, but he probably rode a donkey).

Bare your testimony of Jesus Christ. I will tell my children that Just like I want the best for them I know that Joseph and Mary wanted the best for Jesus.

Activity: Colour Picture of Baby Jesus:

4 comments:

Pitterle Postings said...

What a great little lesson and a perfect way to start off the month celebrating the Christ Child's birth. Thank you for sharing!

marie said...

This is a beautiful lesson that I will be using for FHE this week. Thanks!! :)

Valerie said...

This is great! I am looking for lots of activities and lessons and will use this. Thanks.
(And I love that little poem your sisters wrote about pj's on Christmas Eve!)

Cook Family said...

Thanks for this wonderful lesson. My kids loved it. It was great to see what it may have been like when Jesus was younger.