A fun creative activity about the Bible story of Mary's meeting with the angel Gabriel

Gabriel tells Mary that she has to give her son the name ‘Jesus’. But what does that mean?

This idea is part of a complete Sunday school lesson on Mary meeting the angel Gabriel as part of our series for advent and Christmas.

What do you need:

- worksheet with the names of Jesus in many different languages

You can download the worksheet here: Names-of-Jesus-in-many-languages.pdf

What do you do:

Do:
Ask the children if they know what their name means.
Show them the worksheet with the names of Jesus in different languages.

Ask:
Which of them can we pronounce?
Which ones do you like?
Which sound a bit strange to you?
Which languages do you recognise?
Who knows why Mary had to call her son Jesus?
What does the name mean?

Tell:
The name Jesus comes from the name Joshua.

Ask:
Who knows who Joshua was?

Tell:
Joshua and Jesus both mean ‘God saves’. Later in the Bible the disciples go on to tell the
people:
There is no one else through whom we can be saved, because his name is the only one on
earth that can save. (Acts 4:12)

Do:
Look together once again at the worksheet.

Ask:
Why is this name the only name that can save people?

A fun creative activity about the Bible story of Mary's meeting with the angel Gabriel

Gabriel tells Mary that her son Jesus will be the king of Israel and that he will reign for ever. How does it feel to be a king?

This idea is part of a complete Sunday school lesson on Mary meeting the angel Gabriel as part of our series for advent and Christmas.

What do you need:

- a paper crown, beautifully decorated

What do you do:

Let's use this fun Bible study tool on Philippians 2

Today we are going to use a fun Bible study tool. It is very easy and it will certainly help the children in your Sunday school lesson, Bible lesson or youth ministry to reflect on this passage in Philippians.

In Philippians 2: 1 – 11 Paul writes that we should take Jesus as our example and look to him. He became a servant and was even willing to die on a cross. Paul encourages us to look at Jesus and then try to become like Him.

This Bible study tool on Philippians 2 is all about discovering who Jesus is. It will help the children in your Sunday school lesson, youth ministry, Bible lesson, children’s church or children’s ministry to reflect on this powerful Bible passage.

What do you do:

Tell:
Today we are going to make a list together of what we know about Jesus. We are going to write down as many things as possible.

Ask:
- What do we know about Jesus?
- How many things can we write down about Jesus?

Do:
Make a list together with the children and write this down on the A3 paper.

Tell:
Now we are going to make another list of how Paul looks at Jesus in this part of Philippians 2.

Do:
Let the children read this passage first for themselves.
Let one of more of the children read this passage aloud. 
You can repeat this one or two times.

Ask:
- What does Paul say about Jesus in this passage?
- How many things about Jesus can we discover in these eleven verses of Philippians?

Do:
Make a new list together with the children and write this down on a new A3 paper.

Tell:
Shall we look at the differences and similarities in our two lists?

Ask:
- Before we begin, are there any words of things you don't understand in Paul's list of Jesus?
- What similarities do the children notice in the two lists?
- What differences do the children notice in the two lists?
- What new thing have you learned about Jesus today?

Living life to the full, because Jesus restores the balance in your life

In John chapter 4 Jesus meets the Samaritan woman near the well. This woman was like a empty Coke can - totally empty, lying on its side, blown over by life. A woman who knows what it is to be judged by all the full Coke cans in her village. The men and women who live such nobles lives, who pour shame on this broken and emptied woman.

But then something amazing happens. Jesus offers her life to the full. He offers her living water. And the woman drinks it in. A miracle happens. The woman is filled with water and suddenly there is a restored balance in her life.

An ideal object lesson for baptisms

You show a large silver bowl that is empty. When you turn it upside down nothing comes out. When you pick it up again and start tip it up, water will pour out of it!

Something from nothing, liquid from mid-air! This can be repeated again and again, with the vase continually filling with water.

Being able to produce water from nothing time after time makes this trick ideal for telling different Bible stories, such as:

- Moses getting water from a rock (Num 20:11)
- the widow's endless jar of oil  (2 Kings 4:4)
- Jesus being baptised (Matt 3:13). 

It is an ideal object lesson for baptisms.

You can also colour the water with red food dye and use it to symbolise the blood of Jesus that was shed for all.

Where to buy

You can buy your own sets of Lota Bowls here on Amazon. 

Using a Matryoska doll to teach in your Sunday school lesson

Another beautiful and powerful object lesson. that you can use to explain the Biblical truth of the (Holy) Trinity to children, teenagers and adults.

How do you do this in a way that they can see it and understand it?

Several images to explain the Trinity

Of course you can use the image of an egg: "The Trinity is like an egg. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg."

Or the image of water: "The Trinity is like water. Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. Just as water changes forms so too is the Trinity."

Or the image of a three-leaf clover: "The Trinity is a like a three-leaf clover. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the Trinity."

But did you know that you can also use a Matryoshka doll / Russian doll to very easily and visually explain the truth of the Trinity to them?

You can use the Matryoshka doll not only to teach them about the Trinity, but it is also a beautiful example of us being safe in Christ and secure in God the Father.

Watch the video below:

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