​T​here was once someone who said such amazing things and did such wonderful things that people followed him. They couldn’t help it. They wanted to know who he was, so they just had to ask him. 

So begins the beloved Parable of the Good Shepherd in the Godly Play repertoire.    As we approach Good Shepherd Sunday, this story    invites the children to    come closer. Children are invited to lean into the circle as the lid comes off the golden parable box, so they can wonder and learn about the parable inside.

A parable is a story that Jesus told to explain a concept.  It may reveal multiple lessons to you over your lifetime.   The different stages of our life help put a spot light on the different outlook that is possible from parables.

In the story of the Good Shepherd, the storyteller explains about the cool clear waters of life that nurture growth, dark moments shadowed by rocks and how the Good Shepherd is with us in both of those times.    Often when the storyteller asks the children about this story, a child will say, “I wonder if I’m the sheep who was lost in the dangerous place. And the good shepherd is God, coming to help me.” 

This week’s   Sunday School lesson about the Good Shepherd  www.nsumckids.info/parable-of-the-good-shepherd.htmlincludes Cheerios and Oreo sheep treats, puppet crafts and dot-to-dot sheep pages.  Good news is that the Good Shepherd includes everyone at the table of the great banquet! No one is left out and all are invited into His grace! 

​This parable is found in both Godly Play and Young Children and Worship books.  It's meaning is also found in the 23rd Psalm

​The Bible is so big.  There are so many pages and so many different authors. Did you know that it actually began as bunch of books and then during the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. the delegates combined the stories into one big book?  Today that is the book we call the Bible.  Our Protestant bible has 66 books. These books share history, poetry, law, prophecy, gospels, parables, letters of the prophets and Revelation.
 
We can separate the Bible into the Old Testament (stories before Jesus and the stories from the Torah) and New Testament (stories about Jesus and his followers). We can also examine the different writing styles and authors. These steps can help enlighten us to the wonderful messages in the Bible.
 
When we are in our Godly Play atriums at NSUMC, we show the relationship to the stories on the shelves and their location in the Bible.  The Godly Play manipulatives offer a great visual representation of the Bible scriptures.  NSUMC was blessed to have so many members create these supplies for our children!
 
As Christians we have a rich history that teaches us how to offer extravagant hospitality, extend grace, and share compassion.  This week’s Sunday School lesson will share many ways that students can learn about the different books of the Bible through game!  We have Jenga, Legos, Duplos, golf balls, hopscotch, clothes pins, bingo cards, Jeopardy, Minute-to-Win-It and cups!  Come play games and learn about the B.I.B.L.E.!

​When a baby is baptized, the parents and everyone in the congregation promise to love and nurture the child, teaching him or her about Jesus so that she or he will grow up knowing God's love.  Baptism is a way for parents to say, "I believe in the promises God has made in the Bible to love and care for my child, and I want my child to walk in that love."  Baptism is also a way of saying, "Yes!" to God's invitation to enter the community of faith.
 
The Godly Play baptism story allows us to weave in the trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the light through candles and the blessing using water.  It also grants us the opportunity to present the importance of each child and the name that they were given. This is a great opportunity for the children to recount their baptism and to review Jesus' baptism.
 
As our story tellers retell the story, they help us remember our Baptism, recreate the light of God and then, when the lesson ends, the children can take that light of God into the world to share it with their family, friends and neighbors.
 
For this week’s Sunday School lesson, we invite families to upcycle their old candles, crayons, jars, milk cartons and shells to recreate a new candle for 2021 as a reminder that YOU are loved by God!

The Bethlehem star that the magi followed became a little more popular in 2020.  On the eve of the winter solstice (12/21/2020) two planets aligned to become a planetary conjunction.  Historical astronomers believe that as two planets converged they were most likely responsible for the light that the magi followed to the Christ child’s birth.  This conjunction only happens every 400 years and was last seen 800 years ago!
 
The star, the light of hope, the candle for Christ’s birth!  What an amazing light to celebrate especially in 2020.  A meme posted on social media said that “After of 40 days of rain God showed Noah a rainbow. At the end of 2020 God shows us the Star of Bethlehem!”  The sweetest part of this is if you are a Christian, one gift that never leaves you is the gift of HOPE and it began at that    manger over 2000 years ago.
 
We are offering our families a Sunday School lesson on the star, the magi, their camels and HOPE!  Please enjoy these crafts as you hold on to the HOPE that came with the star that the magi followed to the birth of the Christ child.  Let us carry this light of HOPE into 2021! 

 ​It was a simple day.  Baby shower gifts were being delivered in the Amazon truck by the “wise men.” The baby shower hostess was confused because the gifts that were delivered were actually intended for funeral director down the street.  The local government had just proclaimed death to all children under the age of two. The “wise men” delivery truck intentionally led that government’s army in the wrong direction to save the baby.  Queue up music for the Marvel Comic Hero theme song.  This could be a great storyline for a book or movie, right?  Oh, wait.  That book was written, about 2,000 years ago, and you know how the story ends. 
 
The astronomers (those wise men) were following a star to meet this mysterious baby and they really did bring gifts that were used for embalming.  Those gifts were of the most valuable commodities of the time.  The weary pregnant momma barely made it to town before the delivery, and dad found a crib in the nick of time.
 
The story continues with just the breath of the animals and minimal swaddling keeping the baby warm.  Oh, by the way, the cow was very patient when the baby was cooing in his food trough.   The baby shower guests might have made a few wrong turns because they were more than “fashionably late.”
 
It began as a very simple birth.  Yet this simple baby grew up and He ended up sharing some amazing teachings.  He humbly cared for the sick, poor, and downtrodden.  What an amazing role model!  What a gift to the world.  Over 2000 years later we still lovingly reminisce about the simple birth that changed the world.
 
This week’s Sunday School lesson is about that baby and that simple birth!  Please share these nativity crafts with your children and grandchild as you retell this familiar yet majestic story.  Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed!

Aren’t the decorations beautiful at Christmas? We enjoy colorful lights, nativity scenes, ornaments, stars and lots and lots of angels. 

When we think of angels at Christmas, our first thought is generally the angels that appeared to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. But an angel is important to Christmas even before Jesus was born.

Our Bible lesson today tells us about a visit from an angel. Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married. Can you imagine the thoughts that came to Joseph's mind when he discovered that Mary was going to have a baby and they weren’t married yet? He probably asked himself, "What do I do now?" Joseph was a good man and did not want to disgrace Mary publicly, so he decided that it would be better to break off the engagement quietly. While he was considering this, an angel appeared to him in a dream.

"Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife," the angel said. "The child that is inside her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus."

When the angel of the Lord had spoken and made God's plan clear, Joseph listened. He didn’t have to understand how everything was going to happen. He didn’t need to worry about what anyone else would think. Joseph trusted God.
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Sometimes we may find ourselves in a situation where we don't know what to do. Like Joseph, we might ask ourselves, "What do I do now?" If we listen, God will guide our actions. He probably won't speak to us through an angel, but he can speak to us through the words in the Bible. This week we have “Directed Drawings” for you to do.  You can listen and watch the videos and tutorials to make a directed drawing of the nativity, Mary & Joseph, baby Jesus, and angels!  

It was just another night in the fields for these shepherds, until the angels appeared to them over 2,000 years ago.  The angels told them the Christ child had come as a baby and was nearby in Bethlehem. Like most Jews at that time, the shepherds were waiting for the Messiah. It’s not difficult to imagine how excited they were as they rushed to find the baby.
 
The Christ child was an unbelievable gift to the people of that time. The Bible tells us that the people “got excited and rejoiced over the greatest gift of all.”
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As we know the story it begins with some shepherds tending their flocks at night.  On that night an angel suddenly appeared to the shepherds and told them that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem.  Then a bunch of angels appeared with the biggest “angel in the sky party” ever!  They were celebrating the birth of baby Jesus.
 
Can you just imagine the excitement that they felt?  They sure had a great reason to rejoice!  As you prepare for Christmas this year try to focus on the excitement that you would have felt if you were one of those shepherds outside that night.  What would the sky have looked like?  Would you have been cold or hot in that desert?  Would you have run or walked to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus?  Would the excitement of angels make you smile, laugh or sing with joy?
 
Our Sunday School lesson this week is about the joy that the shepherd felt the night the met those angels.  We have links to angel and shepherd crafts to get you crafting.  YouTube videos with the Drummer Boy, The Worlds Littlest Shepherd and Oh, What a Glorious Night to get you singing!  We encourage you to spread the joy of the season through gift, song or word with all you meet!

The Advent season allows us to prepare for the mystery of Christmas.  We are all on that journey to Bethlehem.  This week we meet Jesus’s parents; Mary his mom, and Joseph his dad.  They were both unaware of the tasks that they would have in this special birth yet they both listened to the angels.  

God could have chosen anyone to give birth to Jesus, but he chose Mary, from   the little village of Nazareth. She wasn't very important, but she was important to God, and he chose her to do the most important thing one could imagine -- he chose her to give birth to his Son.

Now Joseph was a simple carpenter.  He listened to the words of the angel “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”  So Joseph got up and took the mother with child while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. 

God still chooses unimportant people to perform important tasks.  He has given you and me the task of sharing hope, joy and peace with family, friends and neighbors.  He supports us by offering these words through prophets.  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13
 
Can you imagine a greater gift than “abounding in hope?”  It’s also our task to share that hope, joy, and peace that we have received! This year, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, let us, like His parents, answer God's call. "I am the Lord's servant; Let it be with me just as you have said."
 
The Sunday School lesson this week includes multiple ways to create a Nativity scene.  Your family can use tissue paper, popsicle sticks, paint, graham crackers, pebbles, wood pallets, finger paint and remember to add that star!  It offered hope back then and it still does today!

​Christmas is so special it takes four weeks to prepare for it; the four Sundays of Advent.  On our first Sunday of Advent we remember our prophets that pointed the way to the birth of the Christ child.   Those prophets came so close to God and God came so close to them that they knew how important it was to show us the way.
 
There were many prophets in the Old Testament.  The people of God followed the sage wisdom of these prophets who fully expected and prepared for the coming of the Christ child.  They helped us prepare and told us what to expect.  They were generally an inspirational teacher. Some of us have had these types of people in our life on earth.  Wise people who taught how to live like Jesus did.  It might have been our grandparents, parents, friends, neighbors or maybe just walking into a Sunday School classroom to learn about Jesus’ life.
 
As we begin to prepare for Christmas let us give thanks for the prophets that came before us!  If that special wise person is still with you on earth, consider sending them a card of thanks.  If that person has joined Jesus in heaven, offer up a prayer of thanksgiving.  These people that came before us inspired us to live a life of faith, hope and love.  We should be forever grateful that they supported us on our faith journey.
 
This week our Sunday School lesson offers crafts to honor the people we have met on our faith journey that brought us closer to God.  We have poems to share, painting to recreate, ornaments to place on a Christmas tree and new prayers to say before we go to bed.