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LESSON SNAPSHOT
BOTTOM LINE:
Jesus came to change our lives.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that when we come to Jesus, he will change the course of our lives.
KEY PASSAGE:
Matthew 2:1-8, Magi Follow the Star
MEMORY VERSE:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” - John 1:5
(NIV)
SUMMARY:
The Magi followed a star to the new king. On a stop along the way, they discovered
King Herod, a dark force who was not happy about Jesus’ birth.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to be a light in this dark world. Thank you that
we can know him and be changed by him.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
STAR TRIP: THE DARK SIDE
MEMORY VERSE
(NIV)
“The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.” - John
1:5 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Write each word of the verse on a poster board. Bring enough kids on stage so each
kid can hold one of the words. Then have the kids unscramble the words and put them
in order on stage so it can be read by the audience.
SMALL GROUP:
Have the kids create a picture puzzle that spells out the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a piece of paper. Give the kids 3-5 minutes to decorate the page with
something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up and let the kids put the puzzle back together.
SKIT
ITEMS NEEDED:
3 Jedi outfits (brown or beige Bible costumes will work for this)
Darth Vader mask
Black robe
Stormtrooper mask and costume (optional)
Clipboard
Pen
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: 5M/1F
CHARACTERS:
Narrator
Only One Kenobi – Wise Man
Yoma – Wise Man (shortest of the group)
Luke Skywatcher – Wise Man
King Herod
Herod’s Adviser
Narrator stands off to the side, stage right. As the Narrator speaks, the Wise Men enter
stage left and walk slowly across the stage and exit stage right.
NARRATOR: We now return to the adventures of Luke Skywatcher, Only One Kenobi,
and Yoma. When we last saw our three Wise Men they had been traveling for some
time, following a new star that God had placed in the sky. Eventually, they came to
Judah and to the capital city of Jerusalem. The temple of God was in Jerusalem. The
king’s palace was in Jerusalem. Surely, this would be the perfect place to find the
newborn king that God had promised. The current king of the land was a man named
Herod.
Herod, dressed like Darth Vader enters.
NARRATOR: Herod was feared by the people, disliked by his own family, and –
HEROD: Watch it.
SKIT
NARRATOR: Sorry. (Stage whisper) He wasn’t a nice guy.
Adviser enters, dressed as a Stormtrooper (if you can find the costume). He holds a
clipboard.
HEROD: What is on the agenda for today?
Adviser consults his clipboard.
ADVISER: Let’s see. At noon, you’re going down to the royal jail to torture some prisoners.
HEROD: Right.
ADVISER: At two, you’re having your own parents arrested.
HEROD: Let’s move that to 11:30. That way, they can take part in the torture.
Adviser makes a note of the change on his clipboard.
ADVISER: Yes, sir. Oh, and you have some visitors. Wise Men from the east.
HEROD: What do they want?
Adviser shrugs.
HEROD: Send them in.
Adviser exits. The Wise Men enter. They are a bit frightened by seeing Herod’s appearance.
HEROD: Hello and welcome to my kingdom.
LUKE: Uh thank you.
HEROD: To what do I owe this visit?
ONLY ONE: We’ve come to see the king of the Jews.
HEROD: Well here I am. Take a good long look.
YOMA: Come to see you, we did not.
SKIT
HEROD: Pardon. What was that?
ONLY ONE: He’s saying that we didn’t come to see you. We came to see the new king.
HEROD: New king?
LUKE: We saw his star in the sky and we have followed it many miles. We know we are
very close now. We thought he might be here in this royal palace.
YOMA: But here he is not, I fear.
HEROD: What? (shakes it off) Excuse me for a moment. Adviser?
Herod moves away from the Wise Men. Adviser enters and joins Herod.
HEROD: They say a new king has been born. But I’m king. I cannot let anyone take my
throne from me. We must find the child and kill him.
ADVISER: Yes, King Herod.
HEROD: Where was this baby born?
ADVISER: According to the prophet Micah, the new king and Savior will be born in
Bethlehem.
HEROD: Excellent.
Herod goes back to the Wise Men. Adviser exits.
HEROD: You must go to the town of Bethlehem. That is where the new (disdainfully)
king has been born.
LUKE: It is so exciting. Our long journey is almost over.
YOMA: Find him, we must. Worship him, we will.
HEROD: (Yells) Speak English. (Normal) I mean, once you find him come back here
and tell me where he is.
ONLY ONE: So you can go and worship him too?
HEROD: (Darkly) Yes, I want to take care of the precious little baby.
SKIT
YOMA: Creepy, you are.
LUKE: We’ve already changed so much on this journey, but I have a feeling that this
new king will end up changing everything.
ONLY ONE: Yes. This Savior came to change the world.
HEROD: (Darkly) I know.
LUKE: Thanks for the directions. We’ll be going now.
Wise Men start to exit.
ONLY ONE: I did not like that guy.
LUKE: I’m not looking forward to meeting up with him again.
YOMA: Go make home a different way, we should.
They exit. End.
OBJECT LESSON OR KIDS SERMON
ITEMS NEEDED:
String of Christmas lights
Set out the string of lights in front of you.
Can anyone tell me what these are? Where might you put these up in your home for
Christmas?
Give kids a chance to answer. Plug in the lights.
Christmas lights are great for a couple of reasons. First of all, they’re beautiful. The light
they give off is soft and warm. It makes you feel good. Second, not only are Christmas
lights beautiful, but they make other things beautiful as well. When the lights around the
Christmas tree are on, they make the bulbs and ornaments sparkle and shine. Everything has a magical shimmer to it.
The Bible says that Jesus is our light. Sometimes it’s good to think of that light as if it
were a flashlight – showing us a path, letting us know the best place to go next. Sometimes, we can think of that light like the light in your bedroom – the light comes on and
the darkness goes away. When Jesus is around evil has to flee.
But Jesus is also light like the light of this string of Christmas lights. Jesus is beautiful.
And when we get close to Jesus, he makes us beautiful as well.
LARGE GROUP GAME
YODA’S BACKYARD
ITEMS NEEDED:
8 sheets of cardboard, cut to look like flat rocks
INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring up 6 kids. Divide them into two teams of 3.
The goal of the game is simple. Get from one end of Yoda’s Backyard – the stage – to
the other the quickest. Of course, as we all know, Yoda’s backyard is all swamp; if you
try to walk through it you will sink. The only way across is to walk on the rocks. Give
each team 4 cardboard rocks (1 more than there are players). Only one player can
stand on a rock at a time.
Give them the go signal and see how long it takes them to figure out the best course
of action is form a single file line with the rocks. The person at the end picks up the last
rock after they have stepped off and passes it to the teammate in front to extend the
line.
First team to get across the swamp successfully wins.
VARIATION:
For younger kids, don’t make them figure out how the line works. Give them instructions
up front.
Have as many teams compete in as large of teams as you wish. Just make sure the
team always has one more cardboard rock than they have team members.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
By placing the rocks in the swamp, you changed it from a dangerous place to walk to a
safe place. When we invite Jesus into our lives, he changes our lives for the better.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
Jesus came to change our lives.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that when we come to Jesus, he will change the course of our lives.
KEY PASSAGE:
Matthew 2:1-8, Magi Follow the Star
INTRO
The world of Star Wars is really fun. That’s why so many people enjoy the movies, the
video games, and the toys. It’s entertaining. It’s a fun diversion from the troubles of this
world. But it’s just a way to avoid your problems for awhile. It doesn’t make any of them
go away. Star Wars can’t fix the things that are bad in your life. That’s because, no matter how great it is, it’s just a made up story.
Some people look at the stories in the Bible like that. Stories like the birth of Jesus
might be fun to read, but they don’t really believe it’s true. They decorate their homes
for Christmas, sing carols, give gifts, and even attend the Christmas service at church.
But none of it seems real to them; it’s just a diversion from the problems of real life.
But those of us who are Christians know differently. We know the stories are true.
We’ve asked Jesus into our hearts. We’ve seen him answer our prayers. We’ve felt him
inside. And we know how he has changed us.
Movies and video games come along to help us forget our problems. But deep down
everything stays just the same. The Christmas story is different. Jesus came so that we
wouldn’t have to be the same. The world was full of darkness and Jesus came to be a
light. He came to change our lives.
READ Matthew 2:1-8
MAIN POINT
We’re at the point in the story right now where the Magi haven’t met Jesus yet. Even
so, Jesus has already changed them. The Bible says they came from the east – far
away from the land where Jesus was born. They were foreigners – not Jews – and
would not have really been accepted in the Jewish society of the time.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
But that didn’t matter. The Magi saw a new star appear in the sky. Somehow, they knew
what it was: a star signaling the arrival of a new king. These men stopped whatever
they were doing. They loaded up their camels with food and provisions and they went
on their way. They journeyed many days over many miles following that star. They
didn’t even know who Jesus was yet, and still they changed their lives to seek him out.
Then we have King Herod. The Magi stopped in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the royal city so the Magi probably expected that the new king would have been born there.
When Herod heard why they had come and who they were looking for, he was very
upset. Why?
Herod was angry because he knew one thing about Jesus: he would change things.
And Herod didn’t want things to change. Herod was king and he wanted to stay king.
He was an evil king: there are many stories in the Bible and elsewhere that tell us some
of the terrible things that Herod did while he was king.
Herod liked being king. If God had finally sent the promised Savior, that baby would
be the rightful king. Herod didn’t want to give up his power. He didn’t want things to
change.
Herod learned from the words of the prophets that the baby would be born in Bethlehem. He sent the Magi to Bethlehem to find the baby and report back to him. The Magi
wanted to worship Jesus, but Herod wanted to find him to kill him. Next week we’ll look
at how God prevented Herod from getting what he wanted.
DRIVE IT HOME:
Star Wars is all about the force. There’s the light side of the force and the dark side of
the force. In this world, there is lightness and darkness as well. Jesus is the light.
King Herod was in the darkness, and he liked it. He didn’t want the light to come.
Hopefully none of us would be as evil a king as Herod was, but every one of us was in
darkness before we meet Jesus. The Bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short
of glory of God. We are trapped in our darkness. But God sent Jesus to be our Savior.
Imagine you are in a dark room. Is it a little scary in there? Now imagine yourself hitting
the light switch. What happens? The room fills with light. Not just that, but the darkness
goes away. The light came and changed the darkness. Drove it away. That’s how it is
when we ask Jesus into our hearts. He comes in and shines a light in our hearts. That
light drives the darkness away.
When we accept Jesus he changes our lives. The question is: will we be like the Magi
who welcomed the change, or will we be like King Herod who fought against it?
LARGE GROUP LESSON
Let Jesus in. Your life will never be the same.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You are the light that shines in the darkness. Come into our hearts and change our lives
for good.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER
What places do you and your family travel to during the Christmas season?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
John 1:5
something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up, and let the kids put the puzzle back together.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Loopy Lightsabers. Create loopy light sabers by taking pool noodles and cutting them in
half. Cover one end of each noodle in black duct tape to form the handle. Two at a time,
have kids engage in a little friendly lightsaber battle. Instruct kids that they can use their
lightsabers to strike the other lightsaber, but not to hit the other kids.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Matthew 2:1-8.
Why did the Magi travel to Jerusalem?
Who did they meet in Jerusalem?
What question did Herod ask the chief priests and teachers of the law?
What lie did Herod tell the Magi?
Why was Herod so upset that a new king had been born?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You sent Jesus to bring a change to people’s lives. Help us to meet Jesus for ourselves
and let him change us for the better.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3-5TH)
ICEBREAKER
What places do you and your family travel to during the Christmas season?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
John 1:5
something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up and let the kids put the puzzle back together.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Loopy Lightsabers. Create loopy light sabers by taking pool noodles and cutting them in
half. Cover one end of each noodle in black duct tape to form the handle. Two at a time,
have kids engage in a little friendly lightsaber battle. Instruct kids that they can use their
lightsabers to strike the other lightsaber, but not to hit the other kids.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Matthew 2:1-8.
Why did the Magi travel to Jerusalem?
Who did they think they would find that they were looking for in Jerusalem?
What question did Herod ask the chief priests and teachers of the law?
What lie did Herod tell the Magi?
If Jesus came to bring change, why would that be upsetting to King Herod?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You sent Jesus to bring a change to people’s lives. Help us to meet Jesus for ourselves
and let him change us for the better.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
POWERPOINT REVIEW GAME
MULTIPLE CHOICE
The Magi came from the east following __________.
A. an angel
B. a star*
C. their hearts
The Magi wanted to find the newborn king so that they could __________ him.
A. pray to
B. play with
C. worship*
According to the prophet Micah, the Savior would be born in _____________.
A. a stable
B. the middle of the night
C. Bethlehem*
Herod told the Magi that as soon as they found the baby, they should ______________.
A. report back to Herod*
B. go back home
C. give him gifts
Jesus came to change _________.
A. tires
B. diapers
C. lives*
5 Simple Ways You Can Make This Lesson Stick With Your Kids
THIS WEEK’S LESSON: THE DARK SIDE
IN THE CAR:
Ask your child what they learned about this week on the drive home:
The Magi followed a star to the new king. On a stop along the way, they discovered King
Herod, a dark force who was not happy about Jesus’ birth. Matthew 2:1-8, Magi Follow
the Star
HANGING OUT:
Make this week’s lesson real: What are some of your family’s Christmas traditions? As
you experience some of those traditions this week, talk about where they came from and
why they are important to your family. What are the things that seem to stay the same –
in a good way – year after year? Compare this with how Jesus came to bring change, to
give our lives meaning and purpose. Though traditions may stay the same, with Jesus in
our hearts, we are forever changed.
AT DINNER:
Here are some great discussion starters:
- Why were the Magi following a star?
- Why did the news of Jesus’ birth upset King Herod?
- Why did Jesus come to earth?
AT BEDTIME:
Quiz your child on this week’s memory verse:
(NIV)
PARENT TIME:
What you need to know:
Spend some alone time with God through journaling. Make a list of some of the ways
that you have seen God work over the years. Document how things were, and how they
changed after God stepped in. Bring him your current struggles and concerns in confidence that he is ready to change things for the better in his power and in his time.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it.”
- John 1:5 (NIV)
- John 1:5 (NIV)
- John 1:5 (NIV)
- John 1:5 (NIV)
CUT ON DASHED LINE
CRAFT ACTIVITY
On sheets of card stock, have kids use pencils to design their own Star of Bethlehem
shape. Cut out the stars. Cover the card stock in aluminum foil. Punch a hole in the top
of the star and run ribbon through the hole. Kids now have their own Star of
Bethlehem ornament to hang on the tree.

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