The Story of Jesus
ISBN: 978-1-928437-17-8
www.christianmediapublishing.com
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To: __________________________ With love fro : __________________________
Inhoud 1. Jesus is born
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2. The wise men
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3. Jesus tells a story about a sheep
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4. Water into wine
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5. Good Friday
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6. An empty grave
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7. The Holy Spirit comes
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The Story of Jesus
1. Jesus is born – Luke 2:1–20 “Joseph,” says the angel, “you must name Mary’s baby, Jesus. He is the Son of God.” But first Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem. The only place they can find to stay is in a stable with the animals. And this is where Jesus is born. Mary wraps Him in cloths and lays Him in a manger. That night the shepherds are in the field with their animals. Suddenly an angel appears before them and tells them about Jesus.
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They look up and the sky is full of singing angels. The shepherds set off immediately for Bethlehem to see the Baby. When they reach the stable and look down upon Jesus, they can still hear the words of the angels’ song, “Glory to God and peace to all men.” This is exactly how they feel!
Look and Learn Sammy and Amy can’t stop looking at the Baby. Help them find the hidden Bible. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is very special. He is the Son of God.
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Remember the Bible story Tell the story of Jesus’ birth. Turn back to the previous page. Whom do you see in the picture? How do they feel about the new Baby who was born?
The birth of Jesus brings great joy to everybody – even today.
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Prayer Dear Lord, All the people sing joyfully. The oceans roar, and the world shouts. The rivers clap their hands. The mountains sing for joy, because Jesus is our King. Amen
Activity Find out what happened on the day that you were born. Talk to the rest of your family about the day they were born. Talk about Christmas, each take a turn to say why you are glad that Jesus was born.
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2. The wise men – Matthew 2:1–12 One night, in a far away country, three wise men who study the stars, see a big, bright star. They realise that somewhere an important king has been born. So they load their camels with gifts fit for a king, and for the next few years they follow the star. Eventually the star stops above Joseph, Mary and Jesus’ home.
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Jesus is no longer a baby, but the wise men have found Him. They climb down from their camels and go inside the house. When they see the Child Jesus, they know that He is the greatest King of all time. They kneel before Jesus and give Him their king’s gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Look and Learn Do you see the gifts that the wise men have brought? And can you also see the Bible? The Bible teaches us that the best gift we can give Jesus is to be His friend.
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Remember the Bible story Tell the story of the wise men once more. What gifts did they bring Jesus? Myrrh was a good medicine for pain. Frankincense was also a lovely smelling medicine.
The wise men gave Jesus the best gifts they could think of.
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Prayer Dear Lord I love You. Just like the wise men from long ago, I want to bring You the best gift that I can, because You are great and good. Amen
Activity Would you like to give Jesus a gift? You can write Him a letter and tell Him what you want to give Him. Write down on a piece of paper, Jesus, I want to be Your best friend. Amen You can even decorate the letter. Keep your letter in your Bible.
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3. Jes s tells a story about a sheep – Luke 15:1–7, John 10:1–10, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 49:16
Jesus loved telling stories. Here is one of them: A shepherd had a hundred sheep. One day one of them got lost. The shepherd immediately went to look for it. He had to search far and wide, but finally he found the scared and tired sheep. The shepherd was so glad to have found it, that he lifted the sheep onto his shoulders and carried it home.
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When he arrived home they had a party to show how happy they were to have the lost sheep back again. Jesus then said to the people who were listening to Him, ‘I am the Good Shepherd, and you are My sheep. I take care of you. A good shepherd knows the names of his sheep. I know your names too!’
Look and Learn What are Sammy and Amy looking at? Help them find the Bible. The Bible teaches us that God loves His children. He knows all of us by name.
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Remember the Bible story Turn back to the picture on the previous page and tell the story. Count the sheep in the picture. How is the lost sheep feeling? How is the shepherd feeling?
Jesus loves you, and He knows your name.
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Prayer Dear Lord, thank You for loving me. You know my name, and You never forget about me. My name is written upon Your hand. Amen
Activity Write your name down on a piece of cardboard. Then make a mud print of your hand, and place it over your name. Leave the mud to dry. Each time you look at the handprint, remember: My name is written upon God’s hand. He knows my name and He will never forget about me!
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4. Water into wine – John 2:1–12 There is a big wedding in Canaan. Jesus, His disciples and His mother, Mary, attend the wedding together. They are talking and laughing, eating and drinking, as they celebrate with the two people who are getting married. Then the wine runs out. Mary immediately asks Jesus to help. Jesus tells the waiters to fill the six large, 100 litre empty water containers standing nearby with water.
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Then He says, “Ask the head waiter to taste this.” The head waiter drinks from the cup, he is amazed, and says to the bridegroom, “This is fantastic! Why did you save the best wine for last?” This was the first miracle that Jesus performed.
Look and Learn See whether you can help Amy and Sammy find the Bible among all the people. The Bible teaches us that Jesus performs miracles to help people.
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Remember the Bible story Repeat the story about the wedding in Canaan. Look at the pictures on both pages. How many water containers did Jesus fill with wine? How are the people feeling?
Jesus loves it when people are happy.
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Prayer Dear Lord, You can change anything. You can change water into wine, You can even make sad people happy again. Thank You for being so great and so wonderful. Amen
Activity Maybe you and your family would like to give a party. What will you need? Happy people and a fun game or two. Something to eat and drink. You could also decorate the room where you are having the party. Before you start, thank Jesus because He is so good, and because He is at your party.
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5. Good Friday – Mark 15 and Luke 23 An innocent Jesus hung on a Cross on Golgotha, outside of Jerusalem. It was nine o’clock on a Friday morning in the year 33AD. A criminal hung on either side of Jesus. Suddenly at noon it became pitch dark. When the sun came out again at three o’clock, Jesus said, ‘Father, I give Myself over into Your hands.’ And He died.
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Then the earth began shaking. Rocks flew through the air. Graves opened up and dead people became alive again. A Roman soldier cried out, ‘Jesus was really the Son of God!’ It was Good Friday, the day on which Jesus showed us how much He loves us! It didn’t end there though did it? – Sunday was coming!
Look and Learn Help Amy and Sammy search for the Bible. The Bible teaches us that Jesus died on the Cross because He loves us.
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Remember the Bible story What a sad story! What happened? Turn to the picture on the previous page. What are the people in the picture doing? How do they feel? Fortunately this is not the end of the story.
Something wonderful is going to happen on Sunday!
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Prayer Dear Lord, Good Friday’s Cross helps me remember how much You love me. I also know that You forgive all the bad things that I do. Thank You so much, dear Jesus. Amen
Activity See if you can learn John 3:16 and say it without looking at the paper: God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
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6. An empty grave – Matthew 28:1–10 and Luke 24:34 Early on the Sunday morning, three women, all ‘Jesus-Friends’, are on their way to Jesus’ grave. They are very sad. Suddenly, there is a violent earthquake, and an angel rolls away the heavy stone in front of Jesus’ grave. The guards are so frightened that they faint on the spot! But the angel says, ‘Do not be afraid. Jesus has risen from the grave like He promised He would!’ The women run straight to the disciples with the Good News.
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John and Peter hurry back to make sure that it is really true. They can hardly believe their eyes when they see the neatly folded cloths that Jesus had been buried in. He is alive! Later that Sunday Peter meets Jesus. Peter is so excited that he has to tell everybody. They all talk about it – Jesus has forgiven Peter!
Listen and Learn Do you think Sammy and Amy will find the Bible? Help them. The Bible teaches us that Jesus has risen from the grave. There is nothing that He cannot do!
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Remember the Bible story Talk about the wonderful thing that happened on that Sunday morning. Can you see the cock in the first picture? What does it remind you of? What do you think Peter told the people? How do you think it made him feel?
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Prayer Dear Lord, Thank You for rising from the grave. I know that You are still alive. You are the King! Amen
Activity Write down on a piece of paper: Jesus is risen! Nothing is impossible for Him. Below the words, draw something that makes you think of Jesus, Who is risen from the grave and is alive. Put your picture up somewhere in the house.
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7. The Holy Spirit comes – Acts 1:6 – 2:41
Exactly 40 days after Jesus rose from the grave, He stood on a mountain with His friends. He promised them, ‘The Holy Spirit will come to you, and you will tell people about Me.’ Then He was taken away in a cloud. Two angels appeared and comforted them. ‘One day Jesus will come back exactly like this.’ Ten days later all the ‘Jesus-Friends’ gathered in Jerusalem. Suddenly the building began shaking. Tongues of fire came down on them. It was the Holy Spirit entering them – as Jesus had promised.
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Not long after that Peter preached to thousands of people, telling them all about Jesus. Three thousand people decided to follow Jesus that day. The Holy Spirit gives all ‘Jesus-Friends’ special power so that they can do great things for Him ...
Look and Learn Somewhere among all the people a Bible is hidden. Can you find it? The Bible teaches us that Jesus is King of everything. Through the Holy Spirit He is always with us wherever we go.
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Remember the Bible story Turn back to the previous picture. Retell the story you read. Look at the faces of the people, how do you think they are feeling?
Say, “The Holy Spirit lives in God’s children. He helps us to love Jesus.”
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Prayer Dear Jesus, Thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit who lives inside of me. You are with me wherever I go. Amen
Activity You can talk to the Holy Spirit wherever you are? Because He lives inside you He hears even when you say the words quietly in your head. You don’t even have to close your eyes. You can simply say, “Lord, help me!” You can also say, “Thank You for the wonderful day, Lord!” Or, “We had so much fun, Lord!” Remember to do this during the day, then share some of the things you told the Holy Spirit with your family.
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Copyright ©2021 Christian Media Publishing Christian Media Publishing P.O. Box 3228, Matieland Post Office, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa www.christianmediapublishing.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means – electronically or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reg no 2010/008573/07 Author: © Ewald van Rensburg Illustrations: © Magriet Brink Layout: Zelda Botha Concept and Managing Editor: Noeline N Neumann First edition, first printing 2021 ISBN 978-1-928437-17-8
AN IMPRINT OF
CHRISTIAN MEDIA PUBLISHING
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The Story of Jesus
ISBN: 978-1-928437-17-8
www.christianmediapublishing.com